john cooper clarke famous poems

At the same time, you had people like Wordsworth, waxing lyrical about the Lake District. That point is quite obvious name-dropping a politician in a dark line that was actually censored by the BBC upon play in 1980. Best line: If you like your coffee hot, let me be your coffee pot. One of the greatest and coolest things I've always been able to tell people is that, not only do I live in the town where Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Humpty Dumpty were written, but that the captivating individual that is John Cooper Clarke lives here. I cant prove this, because sadly there is no recorded evidence, but youve gotta believe me.. The first half of the book acts as a social history of Salford and Manchester in the 50s and 60s and it's a fascinating read and it flew by. [28], Clarke has lived for nearly 20 years in Colchester, Essex, with his second wife, Evie, who is French. But of all the times when we might consider poetry to have been encouraged, the punk explosion of 76/77 would likely not be included. The subject of the piece remains unnamed (lucky guy), but the ambiguity of the poem deems it one of the Salford lads finest pieces. And yet they voted for Tony Blair., Whoever went in a pub for the good of their health? Hes done a great deal and drops a lot of names. Leading line: Time flies slides down the wall. He released several albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and continues to perform regularly. How many people would take a scene like this and craft a poem from it? The gutturally nasal Northern machine gun verse of John Cooper Clarke, as full of vitriol as it is humour and irony, is as inimitably his own as the black hairspray explosion and 28 inch waist black drainpipes still omnipresent in his 70s (70s!). Have you got a sense of humour? The bits of the book Id previously dipped into were superbly written, but hearing the Bargain Basement Baudelaire read his own life story lifts it to another level altogether. The 2023 GQ Food & Drink Awards shortlist. John's 2018 poetry collection The Luckiest Guy Alive features 30 new poems including the favourites; I've Fallen In Love With My Wife and Get Back on Drugs you Fat F*ck. He layers them over melodies, relaying a sort of spoken song that makes his compositions an outpour of awareness rather than just forms of entertainment. Simple yet utterly perfect, Evidently Chickentown is a stark depiction of a location so grim that Clarke can only adequately express this by using a stream of continuous expletives. I can imagine how it went in the meeting when they were discussing the construction of MediaCity. 10.00 GBP. Nothing ages you more than trying to look like you're 'down with all that'. JCC goes into fascinating detail about his early life in Manchester leading up to punk superstardom, drug addiction and then the massive comeback as major poet he enjoys today. At 5 feet 11 inches (32in chest, 27in waist), in trademark dark suit, dark glasses, with dark messed-up hair and a mouth full of gold teeth, he is instantly recognizable. John Cooper Clarke is an English poet who is regarded as a "punk poet." He became famous in the late 1970s and released several albums. Since my main imperative was now the acquisition of ever-increasing amounts of heroin, there was always something better to do than write poetry. Around this time, he performed on stage with several punk and post-punk bands and continues to perform regularly. Feargal Kinney gave us his top 10 John Cooper Clarke poems. His unique poetry was put to music by producer Martin Hannett and a band of Mancunians The Invisible Girls. Opening and closing your mouth. I used to think trees were dirty, because when I was a kid in Salford you'd climb them and come off filthy, it was like you'd been up a chimney and even if you got a stretch of park you just had to scrape the grass and there were, like, cinders underneath it was horrible[5], His first job was a laboratory technician at Salford Tech. Upon receipt, Clarke commented: "Now I'm a doctor, finally my dream of opening a cosmetic surgery business can become a reality. John Cooper Clarke: a poet with a fondness for the f-word The influential English punk poet is still full of piss and vinegar after five decades By Liisa Ladouceur Apr 9, 2018 Gerald. Best line: The pandemonium prompted the police, who patrolled the precinct in panda cars, to pull up and peruse the problem, while pickpockets picked pockets in pairs.. One of his more playful numbers, this tale of take away violence at the hands of an embryonic Bruce Lee was released as a b-side to single Post War Glamour Girls in 1978, and its light hearted nature echoes the nightclub circuit in which Clarke cut his teeth before the punk era. I Wanna Be Yours is out now via Pan Macmillan. [26] He has also been a panellist on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. He believes The Guardian now pushes a narrow set of beliefs, insisting he was always more of "a red top guy. Very sonorous, a kind of mezzo baritone. I think I've got that. He was known in his pomp as the punk poet. It is far from gratuitous, take the swearing out and the poem would cease to function as such. They have one daughter, Stella.[15][29]. John Cooper Clarke. 4. Cooper Clarke spent some time in the 80s sharing an apartment in Brixton with notorious femme fatale Nico - famous for singing in The Velvet Underground with rock legend Lou Reed. The constant use of the word fucking functions as a hammer, used to drive the points home. He never does the same song the same way twice. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Dr John Cooper Clarke's 2019 autobiography, named after his most famous poem I Wanna Be Yours, (Macmillan), is a groundbreaking piece of literature. But Clarke is one of a kind, and with this piece he redefined traditional ideas of poetry altogether. Give it a name. And when you happen to see him, in these very ordinary settings, it's a bit like magic. There was little of the 'poet in the making' insight. Theres a reason why John Cooper Clarke was dubbed the first punk poet: his words have long delivered an honest exposure of urban Britain. Twat There was a cut off in the 80s where people like me were just rendered completely old fashioned. Famous fans include Ben Drew, aka the aforementioned Plan B as well as Alex Turner and his Arctic Monkeys. The book is a sure fire cure for insomnia. We both just love words. SNAP, CRACKLE & BOP CD. (I Married A) Monster From Outer Space(I've Got A Brand New) Track Suit23rd36 hoursA Distant RelationAction ManApart From The RevolutionAre You The BusinessArts N' CraftsBeasley StreetBelladonnaBronze AdonisBunch Of TwigsBurnleyConcussionConditional DischargeCycle AccidentDay My Pad Went MadDay the World Stood StillDrive She SaidDumb Row John Cooper Clarke: If I might start this off, I'm a late convert to your work, Grian! [4] He also duetted with Reverend Jon McClure at a Reverend and the Makers concert at London's Spread Eagle, performing the poem "Last Resort", which would later be released as the B-side for the band's single "Heavyweight Champion of the World". I do love a circular conversation.. But truth be told, you cant escape the rough turbulence of its profanity and that fact does well to showcase the frustration of living in a satellite-style town. In. I listened to it as an audiobook, and Clarke is so engaging and skilled at storytelling that this book could've been twice as long and it still wouldve felt like no time at all. There are pharmacy-robbing brothers Angie and Marcel, and there is moustachioed jazz aficionado Spanish Fred, dressed with psychotic attention to detail in a pinstripe suit with his hair slicked back. Clarke often seemed to bear beats in mind when writing and performing, possibly indicating there is a frustrated rock star hiding under the poetic exterior. [27], In November 2019 Clarke was a participant, alongside Phill Jupitus, in BBC's Celebrity Antiques Road Trip. Along the way we get treated to some of John Cooper Clarkes finest writing and maybe as we gained a poet, we lost an author. Instead we get perhaps John Cooper Clarke's hardest hitting poems. Hes even on the GCSE curriculum these days! ", I'm seeing the value of pubs now because they've been banned. When you hear his version of Lost In Music you realise that even when Sister Sledge did it, it was always a Fall tune.. John Cooper Clarke, poet, shares the eight tracks, book and luxury he would want with him if cast away to a desert island. Endless name dropping and lists of songs, even ad jingles. A book of two halves by Britain's "bargain basement Baudelaire" as poet John Cooper Clarke writes an autobiography of sorts. Please whitelist confidentials.com to continue to our site and enjoy an Ad-Light experience. Are You the Business? Few and far between, we say. Of all the artists who appear in the book, The Fall, Clarke says, were the best of the best. Series 15: Episode 1", "Pointless Celebrities Next on BBC One", "BBC Radio 4 Desert Island Discs, John Cooper Clarke, poet", "BBC Two Celebrity Antiques Road Trip, Series 9, Episode 7", "John Cooper Clarke: The punk poet whose time has come again", "John Cooper Clarke Post-War Glamour Girl / Kung Fu International CBS UK S CBS 6541", "Movie Highlights | Interviews, Quizzes & More", "Various Short Circuit Live At The Electric Circus (Vinyl) at Discogs", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Cooper_Clarke&oldid=1142709900, People associated with the University of Salford, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, "Pity the Plight" (2012 Ill manors album Plan B), This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 23:42. But you might be surprised to learn that hes not a fan of its modern-day iteration. It's consciously antediluvian., Hes a fan of rap music though, How could I possibly complain? The first, Ten Years In An Open Necked Shirt was released in 1983. I do recognise that there's a lot of the hack in the way I write poetry. In the early 1900s, poetry was taken seriously enough that it was part of the Olympics. Well bet that when you listen to its leading lines, youll naturally prescribe a name in your head. Poem Solutions Limited International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct,London, EC1A 2BN, United Kingdom, Discover and learn about the greatest poetry ever straight to your inbox, Discover and learn about the greatest poetry, straight to your inbox. Her run of success on the British TV show Opportunity Knocks led both Clarke and his mother to believe that he could make a living at poetry.[8]. Somewhere between a narrative film, a series of music videos and a documentary, the film features interviews and performances by Clarke and Linton Kwesi Johnson among others. The combative stage persona he developed with his formative gigs at Bernard Mannings Embassy Club meant that shows in front of these viscious, drunken, delinquent, blocked-up punks held no terrors for me, and his sharp stage get-up was perfectly suited to the scene. It's the only thing I ever had a natural aptitude for. I'm annoyed at myself for finishing this book so quickly but I couldn't bloody help it ! Famous fans include Ben Drew, aka the aforementioned Plan B as well as Alex Turner and his Arctic Monkeys. JCC featured on BBC Radio 4's Chain Reaction in August 2011 being interviewed by none other than New Order's Peter Hook. [12], Clarke released Zip Style Method in 1982, but thereafter performed his live act less frequently, spending much of the 1980s mired in heroin addiction, living in a "domestic partnership" with singer and fellow addict Nico. So hes still out there wild mane and grungy tailored look intact soon set to embark on his 2019 British tour. Kung Fu International I Don't Wanna Be Nice "One of the more upbeat compositions made to accompany Clarke's poetry, the delivery of the recorded version of "IDon't Wanna Be Nice' veers startlingly close to a sung melody. The result of that time was this a piece of poetry that feels more like a piece of meditation. Dr John Cooper Clarke's 2019 autobiography, named after his most famous poem I Wanna Be Yours, (Macmillan), is a groundbreaking piece of literature. Sat around with a load of swearing old blokes playing darts and farting.. Leading line: If you like your coffee hot, let me be your coffee pot. The second, post-Pistols half of I Wanna Be Yours sees Clarke encountering just about all of the great, good and downright grim of 70s and 80s music Elvis Costello, Gil Scott-Heron, Nico, Mark E. Smith, Richard Hell, Linder Sterling and legendary NME scribe Nick Kent to name a few but its the obscure local characters, the figures skulking around the peripheries, that are the most entertaining. Bob Mortimer has shared a new lockdown poem in the style of John Cooper Clarke - watch it below . the girls are on the shelf. His working class roots are clear and make a fascinating tale. Much older than Johnny Rotten, Pete Shelley and co. (or at least the only one not lying about his age), he always loathed the hippies. Like having a cig and a pint at the same time and being able to swear about current events. John Cooper Clarke was born in England on January 25, 1949. (catalogue number NOZE 1), which was a collection of live recordings, demos and rehearsals. John Cooper Clarke shot to prominence in the 1970s as the original 'people's poet'. Pest The brilliant and irrepressible Dr. John Cooper Clarke.For those who don't know, John Cooper Clarke is an English performance poet, who first became famous d. Even his musical tastes were mine in those early days; Dylan and Captain Beefheart. anarchic punk poetry John Cooper Clarke is . He released several albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and continues to perform regularly. In which I get beaten up says Clarke as introduction to this poem on its live recording. I saw people like John Lee Hooker, The Animals, The Who. Grab one of the last remaining tickets for John Cooper Clarke at The Bridgewater Hall here. The shock and awe of those times would not seem to be particularly fertile ground for a poet to thrive in, but, hidden in the depths of Salford, a young poet was getting ready to do exactly that. Could anyone, I ask, with enough time and dedication, learn how to be a poet or is it something youre born with? I don't know why more people don't do it. Discover John Cooper Clarke famous and rare quotes. First shown: 05/02/1979If you would like to license a clip from this video please . Surely a poet of the music world, if ever there was one, and one whose impact on left-field arts is impossible to overestimate. The frog dies and nobody laughs. I couldn't put it better than the late Baz.. Discombobulated youths, confined spaces Clarke gets it all spot on. John Cooper Clarke shot to prominence in the 1970s as the original 'people's poet'. The punk . I am 53 and saw John many times.. and lover his warts and all adventures..not for everyone, but most working class boys or anyone who is not interested in average people and prepared to not to be told how to live..gets messy , but met all the rock n roll greats and all the people worth knowing who were on same path..his wit and compassion to fellow musicians in trouble would help emotionally never wandered..a good man knows a good man..first saw at Glastonbury..and said with paper they in hand look my divorce..not bad 50/50 on house she got the inside and I got the outside and pay for arrangements..I was hooked.. also part of the school curriculum (wanna be your washing machine). Perhaps an indication of what would have happened if John Cooper Clarke shunned poetry to sing in a band, the artful defiance and proud cynicism of a friend in need is a friend in debt creates one of Clarkes most compelling creations. 9.50 GBP. At first, theyre known as The Mafia, an unquantifiably bad blues covers band, who play their first gig with matching full-on metallic-Christmas-tree-decoration gold hairstyles after buying the wrong shade of dye. Credit: Getty Images. It draws on his childhood perceptions specifically, the poverty he came across on the streets of Salford while Britains backdrop was entirely Thatcherite. Even his shambolic attempts to form a Beatles-inspired band in the 60s meant we were punk rockers before that became a good thing.. The photographs of David Bailey, are quite rightly seen as a poetic take on the 60s. Show more Ratings Friends & Following Revolutions are often bloody affairs and, in this instance, there were executions, somebody had to pay but the result of this is a land where peasants eat cake and children have healthy teeth and gums.