Gerald Rafferty's innate sense of pop tempo and styling--similar to Lennon and McCartney and the best of his younger contemporaries, like Difford and Tillbrook (of Squeeze)--was evident to his locals and peers since he first picked up a guitar at age 12.  The son of an alcoholic and abusive father, his mother was known to stay out with Gerry until his Dad was home, drunk, and asleep.  Gerry was beaten as a child and, although it impacted his life, he seldom spoke of his abuse even as an adult. Some say his contemplative songwriting reflects the healing wounds of his childhood. But Papa Rafferty may have given Gerry something worse than the physical abuse: alcoholism.  Quiet Gerry fell victim to the vices of the bottle, a lifelong and possibly hereditary affliction for this even-tempered and well-loved man.