Rufus Wainwright on why it’s not about breaking rules — but going back and working out why they exist

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT’S first pop album in eight years is an album for these times.

He says: “There’s a lot of love and loss and fear and regret on there — and, of course, humour.

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“When Trump won his presidency, I felt I was needed back on board: ‘We are paging Wainwright to get on the ship because we need to fix this’.”

Meeting the American-Canadian singer and composer in London before the coronavirus lockdown has begun, he’s in good spirits although jet-lagged after flying back from performing in Australia.

Looking happy and healthy with his silvery beard, Rufus,  even though homesick, is enjoying promoting his new record.

He says: “I’m getting very involved in getting rid of Trump and, however possible, restoring our democracy.

“If Trump wins again, we are f****d.”

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He adds: “It’s devastating and horrific, but a lot of the problems we are having to face have been around for a long time.

“We just happen to have come from a very blissful state of ignorance and now we have to go home and do our homework. It’s unfortunate but necessary.”

Rufus, 46, had been busy working before producing his latest album.

He composed two operas (Prima Donna and Hadrian) and set Shakespeare’s sonnets to music (Take All My Loves: 9 Shakespeare Sonnets).

He says: “I had no intention of abandoning my pop roots.

“I just always had this passion for opera, and I had to engage with it finally and come to terms with it, so I went out and did that.

“And in leaving pop for a while I was able to love it again and appreciate it far more.

“I kept writing songs during that whole period, because I write all the time, and so there was a big body of material that I could choose from.

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“And working with (Crowded House and Paul McCartney) producer Mitchell Froom, he was able to really help me pinpoint and kind of focus on what was needed for this album in terms of production and budget.”

Unfollow The Rules was a title that Wainwright’s nine-year-old daughter, Viva, came up with.

And, says Wainwright, it’s not about “getting rid of the rules”.

He adds: “It’s not about breaking the rules, it’s about turning around and going backwards and trying to figure out why those rules exist and if you need them or not.

“It’s about examining the system. That is how I look at it.

“And the other side is it’s a very 21st-century word — you are unfollowing someone on Instagram or Facebook.

“You are discarding everything in five seconds, you have this disposable kind of life that is paper-thin and so forth “So, it kind of describes these two concepts.”

It was turning 40 and moving to Los Angeles with his husband of eight years, German art director Jörn Weisbrodt, to be near Viva, his daughter with Lorca Cohen (the daughter of Leonard), that gave Wainwright a new creative inspiration.

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“It became my LA record,” he says.

“I will always love New York and we still have a place and a lot of my family there.

“It will always have a place in my heart.

“That being said, LA has won the war. I live there and I started my career there.

“It was the city that really accepted me.

“New York didn’t know what to do with me when I first arrived — I’ve been spat out of that town a few times.

“LA is this mecca for Hollywood and the movies but it’s also a centre for incredible figures in music like Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell or Crosby, Stills & Nash.

“Even though Dylan’s more of an East Coast phenomenon, he wouldn’t exist without Los Angeles.

“Damsel In Distress is an homage to Joni Mitchell and I now live in Laurel Canyon.”

Unfollow The Rules, an album of melodic, anthemic artsy pop, includes tracks such as Only The People That Love, Peaceful Afternoon and My Little You, which are about his family.

Becoming a father has changed Wainwright in many ways.

‘My life is richer  for being a dad’

“I grew up in a very bohemian environment and there was a lot of drinking, partying and a lot of music and it was the 70s and not so much attention was placed on the children.

“So, once I had a kid, I did realise at a certain point, that I just don’t have the tools.

“I am not equipped for this process and so forth.

“So I was a little bit disconcerted at times.

“Jörn, on the other hand, grew up in Germany with a stable, middle-class family, where they really focused on the well-being of the child primarily, and they have these strong support networks, both in society and in the home.

“He knows how to do it.

I’m getting very involved in getting rid of Trump and, however possible, restoring our democracy. If Trump wins again, we are f****d.

“It’s been a revelation and really made me love him all over again, because he’s an incredible father.

“Viva knows the deal and that I am her biological dad. But she is more secure with Jörn.

“It’s great because she has got both of us — he’s the one with the rules.”

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Rufus is the eldest child of folk singer-songwriters Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle, and his sister is Martha Wainwright, who sings on the track Hatred.

But January marked the tenth anniversary of his mother’s death and that and coming to London to do his annual Christmas Show was a tough time, says Wainwright.

“The fact that my mother has never met Viva and is missing all these amazing moments is painful.

“At Christmas I got incredibly depressed about it.

“It was initially because of my mother that I took the decision to become a father.

“It was my mother who told me that I had no choice and I’d chosen to do it.

“It was a bit radical at the time but the right decision.

“My life is so much richer for it. And things are also really good with my dad.

“We have worked really hard over the years to have a really fruitful relationship.

“I’ve just had to accept him for who he is and I’m assuming it is the same with him.

“Putting out a new record is hard too and so at times, the confidence goes, and you become more sensitive and prone to depression.

“It’s been hard but there is something beautiful in that.

“You have to be more compassionate, accepting and you have to celebrate things on a profound level.”

The death of Leonard Cohen in November 2016 was also tough for Wainwright.

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He says: “It was difficult for the world.

“He was one of the great figures of the 20th century, I guess. It’s fascinating how loved he was by everybody.

“It was very difficult when he died but he and Viva were very, very close.

“In fact, I would argue that children probably understood him better than adults could.

“Older men of a certain stature can often feel more comfortable with small children because it’s less complicated.”

Wainwright says with such musical heritage, Viva is naturally very musical.

“But she is also just a kid,” he adds.

Five-day bender on crystal meth

“It’s important actually to try really hard to make her upbringing as, I wouldn’t say normal as possible, I wouldn’t say that is really an option at this point, but to imbue her with core values that human beings should have in general, and to steer away from this sense of entitlement or specialness that she has.”

Wainwright has been open about his troubled younger days when he struggled with drug addiction, going temporarily blind after a five-day bender on crystal meth, Special K and ecstasy in 2002.

It was his friend Elton John who saved him by sending him to rehab.

He wrote the song Early Morning Madness about the darkness of addiction.

He says: “I wrote it a few years ago when I was drinking at that time.

“I am now on the straight and narrow. But it was about being very hungover.

“Now, in my early middle-age, I have those moments where you get up at 5am and everything seems so mad and there is this real frightening situation.

“These anxiety moments are really profound, and I think are just going to have to be part of my life forever.

“You have to accept it. But what is lovely about it is that then you appreciate it when it’s not happening.”

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There are some funny moments on the album too.

This One’s For The Ladies (That Lunge) is a song that Wainwright wrote after a show in Bexhill in East Sussex.

He laughs: “I hope desperately that the ladies don’t take offence as it’s quite cutting and a little brutal.

“It was after being on the road a lot and I was tired.

“I met a wonderful group of women who had gathered to see me.

“They were there to have a good time but at one point I felt threatened and I was barricaded in my dressing room because of their enthusiasm.

“I was exhausted and not in the mood. So, I wrote that song as an antidote.”

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Once this period of lockdown and uncertainty is over, Wainwright says he’s ready to get on stage and sing these songs.

He says: “They are challenging numbers, but I am confident that I have the voice to do it.

“Right now, I have the best voice that I’ve ever had.

“Over the years, I’ve focused on my technique, breathing and pronunciation. And arguably, I am a much better singer than I ever was at the outset of my career, but that will end, my voice will fade at some point.

“Now the early morning madness is setting in.

“And I am very proud of the lyrics on this record — they’re my favourite lyrics.”

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And with so many accomplishments, I ask Wainwright what’s left to achieve?

He says: “There are a few little nuggets that I feel I need to acquire.

“I would like a Grammy at some point, mainly because my dad got one and I’d like it to happen while he’s still alive so we can put that to rest. A Grammy would be nice.

“I want to make a ton of money, but I do feel for the work that I put into my career . . . It would be nice not to have to work so hard as I do because it’s a diminishing game.

“Hard work and the travel was easy in my 20s and 30s, but now it’s harder.

“So, I just have to figure out a way to do that.

“I also feel like my game with opera is in full swing, really.

“I will return to opera and continue that journey.

“For now, though, I’m super proud of this album and just want to get back on stage.”

The album Unfollow The Rules is out on April 24.

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