At 21, having dropped out of drama school he got himself busted for dope in Oklahoma, of all places. It was during this time that he began writing and performing songs around the Greenwich Village coffee-house circuit. Thanks to a stunning debut album and a slot in a GAP ad, Rufus is now turning pop god. In terms of Wainwright Sr's oeuvre the relevance of all this domestic history is the directness with which it fed his songwriting. Besides, they've all come to expect it by now.
People like to be written about anyway.
Deep down, though, he's not as flippant on the issue as this might sound. As far as the kids go, I've run a lot of the songs past them, like the one about hitting my daughter, on History - she was the first person I played it for, and she said she thought it was a good song. I'm certainly willing to shock people, but that has to come from the songs, being rooted in some kind of truth. A hint is given by the proviso on the Social Studies press release that interviewers refrain from asking about his children. As a parent I have concerns about the amount of the publicity they've been receiving.