His perennial UK tours he is just about to embark on another are invariably sold out to audiences of all ages. To order a copy for 12.89 go to guardianbookshop.com or call 0330 333 6846. August 24, 2017 October 21, . People used to go on about how soulless life in those new towns was, but that was not my experience of Stevenage. I dont graze. "I don't really look forwards in that way," he says. TA: Do you do much Skyping?Never. In July 2019 Clarke was the guest for BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. "Frontal lobes just had a trim," it begins, "or did you meet the Moonies? John Cooper Clarke - What's In My Bag? He was closer to my age than my parents. The bloody chief's a bloody swine. For that reason, perhaps I am not best placed to objectively gauge the enigmatic appeal of Jon the Postman. (catalogue number NOZE 1), which was a collection of live recordings, demos and rehearsals. [11] The film featured live performances of mainstream artists (the Police, the Go-Go's, XTC, Devo) as well as more obscure bands (Pere Ubu, Invisible Girls, the Alley Cats, Athletico Spizz '80, Chelsea) using concert footage from around the world. There is no greater accolade for me. | I hate the word itself. Whats your favourite gig venue, and why?It has to be the London Palladium, at which I have the honour of appearing again next month. Someone asked him, 'Why a lobster?' Clarke's poem "Out of Control Fairground" was printed inside the Arctic Monkeys' 2007 single "Fluorescent Adolescent" CD. One of the frustrating things for admirers of Cooper Clarke is the limited amount of work he has published and recorded. Its an intelligent question, Phil, not least because I am old enough to have a historical perspective of the railways, but not yet too old to have lost my memory of how things were. Jon the Postman would climb up on stage at any gig he attended and do an impromptu a cappella version of Louie Louie by the Kingsmen. Oh dear! And at 66, the original punk poet is not about to stop any time soon, Netflixs endless cancellations signal the end of the prestige streaming TV era, Jeff Beck had a phenomenal car collection, How to wear men's jewellery beyond that one single chain, Ten coolest things to do in London this week, Joe Locke and Kit Connor cant believe any of this is real, The best classic hairstyles for men that just won't quit, All the must-read books to look forward to in 2023, A quick call about tracksuits and Kendrick with Kano, No More Red, Arsenal's campaign for a safer London, wants you to join the team, Print copies & Digital access for only 1. Read John Cooper Clarke's poem for Topman's show at London Collections Men. Anything can kick you off. Armys Magic Bullet Will Hang Out in Midair, But Murdochs UK political friendships backfire on all, The Neurological Roots of Lingering Regret, Trentemller (ft. Marie Fisker) - My Dreams. You're late home.' But mostly it is down to his brilliant rambling dramatic monologue of a stage show, which has become less staccato over the years. You are not going to understand The Lady of Shalott you are a 10-year-old boy in Salford and it was written by a 33-year-old bloke 150 years ago. It is sensationally good, in the manner of Family Guy or King of the Hill. "Now that I come to think of it," he adds, "Spitting on my ancestors is what I do best. ukje11ybean I didnt meet her then, but she was in the audience. Ive done everything the wrong way. everything is fine love your government, John Cooper Clarke - (Not) Lydia Lydia (Northcote Social Club 4/4/12). "I judge by appearances," he tells audiences. Thats more or less the way Ive dressed since 1965. John Cooper Clarke EvidentlyChickenTown@BarFly10thOctober2009. Dr John Cooper Clarke at the Firestation Arts Centre 21/06/17, Treasure in the History of Things by Katherine McMahon, Review: John Cooper Clarke w/ Mike Garry and Salena Godden Apple & Snakes 30th Anniversary 01/12/12. [21] In October 2020 Clarke published an autobiography which took its title from his poem I Wanna Be Yours. He connects with a young audience precisely because he has never attempted to deny his years. What do you want to listen to the bass player over your left shoulder for? "But where did you get the dead canary from?" windymiller VD, with its hard, accusatory consonants. Every time I saw him he had a meat-cleaver in his hand and the look of a man who might have been Henry Coopers psychotic kid brother. ", When Nico died after falling off her bike in Ibiza, in July 1988, her Daily Telegraph obituary remarked that 'she gave up heroin for cycling, which proved to be the more lethal recreation.' Kind of literate punk, he said. The first lyrics I became aware of would have been in the pre-rocknroll 1950s, when my Uncle Dennis was demobbed from the RAF and he lived at our house for a bit. ", His celebrated haiku has developed into a routine that can last 20 minutes. Now that he's enjoying his unforeseen Indian summer, I ask the poet, what can he find to trouble him? I learned a long time ago that if you wear trousers where you can put something in the pockets, you will put stuff in those pockets and before you know it you are clad in jodhpurs. "I believe I was thinking you know that bit in On the Waterfront where they throw the informer off the roof, and the line is: "He could sing, but he couldn't fly". Is Vince the ageing Savage, [who] betrays no kind of life, but the smell of yesterdays cabbage and the ghost of last years wife in Beasley Street based on anyone in particular? BBC Radio 4 - Dr John Cooper Clarke at the BBC (Nov 2016) Somebody once said that a wedding is a funeral where you can smell your own flowers. Culture Show - John Cooper Clarke (10.03.09) Video unavailable. The brown ones Id give away. It can be done, clearly, but it aint easy. You might look up a piece by our former Poet Laureate, Andrew Motion, written to commemorate Prince William's 21st birthday. Cooper Clarke's audience, once a sea of grey, now has a healthy quotient of 16-25s. Cooper Clarke's Salford vowel sounds remain untarnished by two decades in the South East. I didnt get into show business to be pushed around by the likes of Mark E Smith. And cheese and chutney sandwiches. It was the undoing of us. The Gary Lucas & Gods and Monsters - Jedwabne, Can - Deadly Doris (from The Lost Tapes), Rupert Murdoch admits NoW phone-hacking cover-up. I keep it simple: a dark suit with a pale shirt. ", The work, once a struggle, is flowing freely from him. John Cooper Clarke: 'I've dressed the same way since 1965' The poet and performer on keeping his clothes simple, stapling them back together, and being fashionable once every 15 years for. But I know by their name that I hate them. There were events hosted by beat poets at the Royal Albert Hall in the Sixties, but they were ensemble shows and they didn't always sell out. When this piece was used in The Sopranos, there was a communal surge of pride among Cooper Clarke's longstanding admirers, at the knowledge that this work by the poet could resonate as powerfully with New Jersey as it does with Moss Side. The parents of Lydia, John & Ann Cooper are not known. /, The library's bound to fail / since the sudden departure of Jeffrey Archer / It's rotten here in jail.'". However, I am interested in what you get out of it. [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". Christopher gets back on smack and he's sat in that same position, in the market, just nodding out. I will never resolve. And it's not that bad.". He had it all. New Avalanches Mixtape? Will he only be happy when he has lost all of his fingers? I cant talk that guy up enough. I pray that you are successful. I believe he remained unaware of my poetic tribute. Since he first began performing in Mancunian working men's clubs in the mid-Seventies, he has evolved a unique stage act that is part comedy, part knockabout verse, part rather more moving - serious poetry whose profundity slips by you without you quite noticing. Radiohead 'Lotus Flower' (Austin City Limits - be Megaupload: Data access talks to begin on 26 April. 1) John Cooper Clarke was born on 25 January 1949 in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, UK. And I thought I would do that, but with a lousy street. He would have been very surprised if he had found out that people would sit in a room poring over his words in a textbook.". It is also more true to life. His father George was a skilled engineer. Stereo, my ass. I explained to him the format of this interview. on 14 August 2015[24] and again on 7 January 2022.[25]. Phone orders min p&p of 1.99. There are good reasons, he argues, for judging by appearances. '", The emaciated figure, the shades, and the obsessive attention to the minutest detail of his wardrobe ("the only casual item I own," he tells me, "is a Levi's jacket") mean that he is occasionally mistaken for the Rolling Stones' Ron Wood. I mean that crowd wanted crooners, strippers; they might fleetingly tolerate a magician. I may be simple minded. Here [at the Contains Strong Language spoken word festival in 2017] Ive also got a bolo tie, which chimes in with the snakeskin boots by Jeffery West. 'Danger'? It was the beginning of the end." [15] That same year, Clarke featured in rapper Plan B's feature film Ill Manors and subsequently the Ill Manors album. Now, he makes sure that he arrives at any venue two hours early. In an hour long conversation, Wise emphasises the foolishness of underestimating Cooper Clarke. "And I've never heard their albums. Surely theres some dead bloke? Bonnaroo is held in Manchester, Tennessee. [Pause] He's a cunt. John Cooper Clarke at the Contains Strong Language spoken word festival at the University of Hull in 2017. his is my default look. "Time flies, slides down the wall," Sievey said, from memory, his eyes half closed. The 2,000-seat venue, which has hosted entertainers including Bob Dylan and David Bowie, has proved to be a little small for Cooper Clarke. View agent, publicist, legal and company contact details on IMDbPro, Evie Did you ever think you could stop using smack [heroin]? Mine is arbitrary I keep meaning to get a favourite word. ", The definitive poem about drug addiction, Cooper Clarke told me back then, '"is 'The Vampire' by Charles Baudelaire. And get it off my shoulders.'". "In the French, it's imbcile.". Its a one-poet show by Luke Wright, capturing a heady mix, -Collated by Claire Trvien Its that time of year again, where end of year lists sprout across the internet, tilting, reviewed by David Mitchell Punk poetry, fifty years on It is fifty years since the summer of love. "Because you know what the Japanese are like. The second guy, a bit more kinky, says, 'beat me up.' I recall sitting in his back kitchen while he read me new poems: outstanding work, but not the sort of thing he cared to perform live. Youre like a dose of scabiesIve got you under my skinYou make life a fairy tale Grimm! I have no children. It was a time of letters left unopened, heavy curtains warding off the maddening reality of daylight and, as he would concede, anxiety and reclusiveness. And since you ask, Chickentown is among my favourites, not least because of that and its appearance in the penultimate episode of The Sopranos. John Cooper Clarke - 'Lydia, Girl With An Itch' @ Sheffield, Leadmill, 29.05.2010 3,511 views May 31, 2010 7 Dislike Share Save polewka123 2.05K subscribers Classic JCC Stevie Maclane 63K views. One thing: when I met Linton, I knew I had to tighten up my game in the wardrobe department. The poet-performer talks to Tim Adams about his new book and tour and, further down, answers questions from readers and famous fans. The third punter - Jewish guy - hands over his fiver and says, 'paint my house. I really do. Across the road, outside London's Shepherd's Bush Empire, fans are gathering to watch the poet. And you will live with those items for years, halfway up the lounge wall. So I came up with this. "), He has always been a gifted mimic and, having been in Essex for so long, has perfected the local accent. I believe that John Cooper Clarke should be regarded as being among the very best writers in Britain. But theoretically, on planet Bizarro, where Superman is bad and Lex Luther is good, that is what I would do. Actually if it sounds like anybody, it's Rimbaud. [15][29], "Ten Years in an Open Necked Shirt (film)", John Cooper Clarke performs Beasley Street at Hammersmith Palais, "John Cooper Clarke interview: 'Poetry is not something you have to retire from', "John Cooper Clarke On Life In Higher Broughton", "John Cooper Clarke: 'It's diabolical how poor I am', "Plan B's Ill Manors set to hijack charts in Olympics opening week", "John Cooper Clarke honoured by University of Salford", "Does Rock 'N' Roll Kill Braincells?! She was well, and recovering, and looking forward to Spain. To take one of my more popular poems, Beasley Street: I worked my way back on that one. deadgraham, John Cooper Clarke at Cliffs Pavilion, Southend-on-Sea, England, John Cooper Clarke at Pavilion Theatre, Bournemouth, England, John Cooper Clarke at Brighton Centre, Brighton, England, John Cooper Clarke at The Forum, Bath, England, John Cooper Clarke at Eventim Apollo, London, England, John Cooper Clarke at St David's Hall, Cardiff, Wales, John Cooper Clarke at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, England, John Cooper Clarke at Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland, John Cooper Clarke at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, England, John Cooper Clarke at O2 Apollo Manchester, Manchester, England. I think of it more like Tin Pan Alley work. I was unemployed at the time. It is things that he might eat if he ever did turn up to my show: which is to say various heavily flavoured, deep-fried, lavishly salted snack treats. 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