OUR LATEST ISSUE
Patrick Wolf
Patrick Wolf
Chatting to Patrick Wolf on a sunny afternoon is inspiring, serious, educational and fun in equal measure.
"I definitely had to grow up quickly, which I personally think was a blessing. I got over a lot of issues that I see people dealing with at my age or older."
‘When I met my boyfriend the floodgates opened and all these more positive songs started appearing. With The Bachelor I wanted to make a very pure message of single, solitary life, while The Conqueror is about all-encompassing love and being conquered by that love.’
William can also be credited with calming the self-destructive streak in Patrick where, plagued by insecurities - ‘I convinced myself I was utterly un-loveable’ - he turned to a life of excess and hedonism.
‘I will always be part of the wild life. My roots are in performance art and the extremities of night life - it’s in my blood, but there’s a certain time and place.’
So now he’s found love is it all slippers and early nights?! ‘Ha! Yes, it is a little bit Antiques Roadshow at the moment! We went on holiday to Cornwall recently and it was literally like two grannies. We were making stew, watching The Apprentice and doing jigsaws.’
It is astounding to see such a transformation. With wisdom beyond his years, he is philosophical about how he went from such a dark place, to one of such happiness.
‘Being bullied put a fire in me that said, “Do better, go out there and show them they’re wrong” but you can be a victim of being marginalised and it poses the risk of you living your life as a sort of vigilante. Once I realised that, I decided to focus on being a better human being and poured myself into creativity, which I think paid off.’
It certainly did pay off, with a host of stars vying to collaborate with the ‘next big thing’. One of those stars was Tilda Swinton, who features as the ‘Voice of Hope’ on this album.
‘It wasn’t exactly like that. I gave her a CD at a Q&A session for her film Julia, and it went from there.’
But why Tilda?
‘Her film
His sexuality has been the subject of much debate, from playground teasing to media stereotypes, it seems it’s the one thing he can’t escape… even now.
‘The music industry is extremely homophobic,’ he says. ‘Gay artists aren’t given the same respect, they don’t go on the same TV shows or in the same magazines. People look at their sexuality first and artistic credibility second. It’s a long and boring road that I have to walk in order to gain respect from my peers, but I’m getting there slowly.’
But this could be a teeny bit of ‘glass-half-empty’ syndrome creeping into his otherwise positive attitude.
In between striking his best pose for Burberry and hobnobbing with Elton, he runs his own record label - he and the majors just didn’t get along - to much acclaim.
‘It’s not about being a megalomaniac – it’s about choosing the most wonderful people in the world to work with, and enjoying setting up your own company. I really enjoy it all to be honest.’
It seems there’s a lot for Patrick to enjoy at the moment, and finally - four albums into his career - it looks like he is doing just that.
