When Lenny Bruce was reduced to doing little 100-seat nightclubs he had this whole brilliant routine about a washed-up comedian whos given one last bite of the apple. He got married at 21, to Christine, four years his junior, then became an apprentice type compositor, based in Dorset. Mention that the Bard of Salford was to visit the Observer office for this interview last week immediately prompted snatches of extemporised quotation from some of Clarkes more famous lyrics I Wanna Be Yours, Evidently Chickentown, I Married a Monster from Outer Space from those colleagues who had some grounding in his snarly Mancunian vowels and those who were not afraid of pretending. The Changing Face of Planet Earth But thats the secret: the sound of the language, those sonorous words. "Yes?" If you had to choose one adjective that least well described him, as a person or as an artist, it would be 'orthodox'. AMRN He has his set pieces, such as 'Home Honey, I'm High.' He's developed a routine in which he describes being invited to perform at the Bulimic Society's New Year's Eve Party, in Kensington. Stereo is some nerd twiddling his knobs. Though he has travelled a long way from his native Salford, it has never left him. coastangel He still seems a little bewildered by his recent trajectory, which has seen him appearing on shows like Have I Got News for You? The Veil over Society Got Removed for a Moment Jeff Buckley: Grace (SACD Version) *Hi-Res FLAC*, GREAT AMERICAN HOME IMPROVEMENT THE OLD SCHOOL BASEMENT BAR, Mike Brooks & The Roots Radics - One Love [Vista LP, 1983], Kellen303 interview 2022: "Life's Different Now". Everest. Phil Spector is obviously out of circulation right now, but I am keeping the faith alive. 1) The way poetry works is this: you learn the sound of the words first. Beasley Street (Live) E John Cooper Clarke 6. He came into the office pulling a suitcase and immediately he sat down he was unzipping it to reveal his latest pride and joy, a handsome hardback collection of his poetry, entitled The Luckiest Guy Alive. But since then, now I dont get a bad time from hecklers, and invariably enjoy the love of the poetry-reading public, it has become a much more relaxed affair. Actually if it sounds like anybody, it's Rimbaud. "You can't pretend that it never happened." Shakespeare wrote for actors. PMgep He is an actor and writer, known for Control (2007), Rust and Bone (2012) and The Souvenir (2019). Otherwise they would have been opening for me. "I'm not joking. There are many subjects he does not enjoy broaching on the record, and heroin is chief among them. Launcelot Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Clarke's recording of "Evidently Chickentown" from his album Snap, Crackle & Bop was also featured prominently in the closing scene of The Sopranos episode Stage 5. louisdj I remember one, a kind of agonised paean to opiates, that had the line "She's my best friend and enemy / Give me what I need. 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. You helped the Fall in the early days, letting them rehearse in your house, and you were a lifelong friend of the other Bard of Salford, Mark E Smith. Because it is fabulous the first time. monastreet (at) gmail (dot) com twitter/exilestreet. "When we walked out, tentacle in hand / You could sense that the earthlings would not understand / They'd go nudge-nudge when we got on the bus / They'd say, 'It's extra-terrestrial, not like us / And it's bad enough with another race / But fuck me. Often referred to as "the bard of Salford",[9] he usually refers to himself on stage as "Johnny Clarke, the name behind the hairstyle". Neither is it exotic or romantic. 1978 Disguise in Love. Is the father of a daughter, named Stella. lennie7 On stage, Cooper Clarke delivers a mixture of stand up and poetry that is unlike any other act before or since, and in that sense, to use another word that would make him cringe, he has invented a genre. Which of your poems are you most satisfied with?Well, that is a typically clever question from Christopher, who did a memorable performance of Evidently Chickentown in that Danny Boyle film Strumpet, written by Jim Cartwright. There is no greater accolade for me. In an hour long conversation, Wise emphasises the foolishness of underestimating Cooper Clarke. That glorious bank of french horns bleeding into a mess of cellos and strings. The University of Salford awarded the Punk Poet a Doctorate of Arts for bringing . And then when you arrive at the so-called Northern Powerhouse, you will find you cant get a train to Blackpool or Burnley for about two years. "Solid gold geezer that / From the solitaire pin through the mink cravat to the snake-eye studs on his kid suede spats / Solid gold geezer that / Lives in a solid gold flat / With a girl worth a million / Plus VAT / And a caviar-guzzling cat. His book choice was Against Nature by Joris-Karl Huysmans, his luxury item was a boulder of opium twice the size of his head and his favourite track was "How Great Thou Art" by Elvis Presley. How much has privatisation bettered or worsened things? Artist: John Cooper Clarke , Venue: Pavilion Theatre , Bournemouth, England Set Times: Doors: 7:00 PM Show: 7:30 PM - 8:15 PM Hire Car Get Back on Drugs You Fat Fuck Bedblocker Blues Lydia, Girl With an Itch Necrophilia Home, Honey I'm High Beasley Street Beasley Boulevard I've Fallen in Love With My Wife Evidently Chickentown Twat I Wanna Be Yours [15] That same year, Clarke featured in rapper Plan B's feature film Ill Manors and subsequently the Ill Manors album. 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. In his case there were more than 15 years of struggling, moribund times where he was writing little and barely going out. Erstwhile louts trying to out-verbal each other, in a flamboyant, slightly foppish way. ", His time in rehab is not a period he is keen to revisit. I figured I had to sign somebody." That terrible inertia they captured that brilliantly.". 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. Arctic Monkeys "His saving grace," Costello added, "was that he was really fucking funny.". TA: Would not doing it ever be an option?Not for me. Thirty Six Hours He speaks with love of the life he has created there, referring often to his wife, Evie, and daughter, Stella, his guiding lights. Because I'm prejudiced. ", I spent three months, off and on, on the road with Cooper Clarke for this article, and this monologue has found its way into his act. The fact is you need help, though. You put the Shat in Shatter. I believe he remained unaware of my poetic tribute. Whats your favourite word? Erik_Debonair Charley Barnes hands over Sabotage Reviews Director to Heddwen Creaney! Im self-employed, my friend. drew1992 [citation needed]. Because John has extraordinary talent and he has lived a life of frightening extremes. Clarke has lived for the past 25 years in Colchester, Essex. 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. Across the road, outside London's Shepherd's Bush Empire, fans are gathering to watch the poet. Keep it quiet, but I plan to make a movie in Jaywick some day. He will turn 70 next year. Youre like a dose of scabiesIve got you under my skinYou make life a fairy tale Grimm! Why not Skype if you are that keen to connect at speed? everything is fine love your government, John Cooper Clarke - (Not) Lydia Lydia (Northcote Social Club 4/4/12). I have another reason to thank Linton: we went on tour together in 1981, all around the UK, and when we appeared in Essex, that is when my wife was first introduced to my work. 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. ("This paper's boring, mindless and mean / Full of pornography, the kind that's clean / Where William Hickey meets Michael Caine / Again and again and again and again / You see all kinds of ugliness and hideous excess / But you never see a nipple in The Daily Express."). Caius Caligula? Oh dear! [13][14] He described this period of his life: "It was a feral existence. "Time flies, slides down the wall," Sievey said, from memory, his eyes half closed. Looking at one, I remember the poet once telling me that he had "never seen a work of art that would not be improved by the addition of tropical fish". An added complication for the guys who The Yardbirds - Dazed And Confused (1968), David Bowie - Can't Help Thinking About Me. Two words: Hitler, Nuremberg. Everybody has gone home and all the stores are shut. - One of the frustrating things for admirers of Cooper Clarke is the limited amount of work he has published and recorded. If you had any sense you wouldnt look to me for any life lessons. It was the undoing of us. Too bad to be true. I remember sitting backstage one night with Cooper Clarke and the late Chris Sievey, alias Frank Sidebottom, another former cult hero who has been propelled to mass fame, in his case posthumously, through Lenny Abrahamson's film, Frank, released earlier this year. The bloody chief's a bloody swine. ijmanchester 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. [1] In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he released several albums. I mean that crowd wanted crooners, strippers; they might fleetingly tolerate a magician. Official Sites. It is a kind of a dream town, as Im sure Wilko knows, coming as he does from nearby Canvey Island. He'll intersperse such knockabout material with classic writing like 'Beasley Street', a stunning evocation of the trials of the underclass, which sounds like Engels' prose accounts of the Mancunian slums crossed with Bob Dylan's 'Desolation Row'. Who on earth needs to get to Manchester 15 minutes quicker? I spent quite a while thinking of the right adjectives: greasy, cheesy and so on, and then looked for a street name that toned in, but was credible. Riot Van He was closer to my age than my parents. He brought about this hothouse atmosphere of competitive poetry recital. A live performance of the same poem appears in the film Control, with Clarke portraying himself in a re-creation of a 1977 concert in which he supported Joy Division, despite being 30 years older than the events depicted in the film. The only stereo I like is a jukebox: two speakers but both on the same piece of furniture. We meet in the Kings Arms, a genteel coaching inn in the main street. raysgigs Clarke's poem "Out of Control Fairground" was printed inside the Arctic Monkeys' 2007 single "Fluorescent Adolescent" CD. Having said that, every incarnation of the Fall had something different, but the one thing they all had in common was the sensational live act that was Mark Smith. Call for Applications: Saboteur Awards and Festival 2023, Ludd Gang, edited by Alex Marsh, Dom Hale and Tom Crompton. They spat and yelled at John because he was merely speaking. Like a Night Club in the morning, youre the bitter endLike a recently disinfected shit-house, youre clean round the bendYou give me the horrorsToo bad to be trueAll of my tomorrowsAre lousy coz of youYou put the Shat in ShatterPut the Pain in SpainYour germs are splattered aboutYour face is just a stain, Youre certainly no raver, commonly known as a dragDo us all a favour, here wear this polythene bag. "Bloody hell," says Cooper Clarke. He has embraced old age as an opportunity to indulge the kind of recklessness traditionally associated with youth. And it's not that bad.". And the private sector has upped the standards of concourse retail in general, which used to consist of a couple of broken cig machines. His predecessor as the people's Poet Laureate, John Betjeman, never performed to this size of crowd. 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. For that reason, perhaps I am not best placed to objectively gauge the enigmatic appeal of Jon the Postman. Seven young guys are approaching us, wearing hoods. l33wilko A state of reverie and the virtue of idleness are paramount. Imtheaudioslave '", If you've seen him regularly over the years, you might be surprised by the material he's dispensed with, or revives just occasionally. I began with a question from one of the many performers who, no doubt, owe just a little bit of their style and delivery to watching Clarke with an audience, seeing how it might be done. And since you ask, Chickentown is among my favourites, not least because of that and its appearance in the penultimate episode of The Sopranos. Thats an intelligent question too, from Ben, because lyricists have probably influenced me more than any other poets. 1), The Best Punk Album in the World Ever! ", The reason John Cooper Clarke has been so patronised, Liverpool poet Adrian Henri once argued, "has to do with his association with music. The truth is Im not just a practitioner of poetry when I am on stage I am like the police: never off-duty. "Because you know what the Japanese are like. He is often referred to as a punk poet, having initially achieved recognition in the late 1970s amidst the flourishing punk movement. Its Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, rocknroll. Jaywick is next to Clacton on the Essex coast. There is no Japanese term for. I never went for the athleisure thing Im not very ath! "I have come to understand that there is some value to what I do. Have you ever been offered an honour by the Queen, Sir John? 'Yes mother, I had to go to the doctor. For details and tickets visit johncooperclarke.com, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. And I am very lucky to be here really. To make the hips the focal point of a pair of trousers is, to me, a fashion mistake. What wisdom would you impart to young girls who look up to you in 2018?Young girls who look up to me? "Now that I come to think of it," he adds, "Spitting on my ancestors is what I do best. It is a small part of what he does. "That," I suggest, "can't have been easy". Very good-John Cooper Clarke was on form and did some of his new poems as well as some old favourites. That performance undoubtedly made him a popular figure in the Manchester pub scene of the mid-1970s. I found your poem Kung Fu International on one of my dads punk CDs when I was eight (Im 33 now), and I remember listening to it over and over, and pausing so I could write each word down and learn to recite it. The big production number at the end concludes, you recall, Naughty, bawdy, gaudy, sporty, Forty-second Street. goldthing John Cooper Clarke concert schedule will typically have 25-50 tour dates. It was created originally as a holiday place. And, again, it is better that you dont know what its about at first. People don't expect to sit down and read him.". It wasnt easy: it is an unnatural act to get out there and draw that much attention to yourself. I begged the poison I abhorred. As the great Bill Withers once said, the writing of songs involves a kind of magic I dont mess with. John Cooper Clarke was born on January 25, 1949 in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, UK. I didnt get into show business to be pushed around by the likes of Mark E Smith. ", "The trouble with that poem," he says, "is that I started out by painting a bleak picture for the first few verses. (Play Loud)". One of Clarke's newer poems has the title 'Bed Blocker Blues'. (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 "That was great for a while," he tells me, "Until Ron was in the news for having that fight with his wife. My answer is this, though: they all have their uses; its invariably a matter of context. (? He had fixed on his sartorial style in the unlikely arena of Bernard Mannings Embassy Club, where he acted as compere in the early 1970s, warming up an audience united by their shared antipathy to performance poetry. [2] His first releases were on Tosh Ryan and Martin Hannett's independent label Rabid,[7] starting with the EP Innocents in October 1977. Be kind to people. That could be the Ramones, or Hogarth, or Yevtushenko - who, incidentally," he added, "really loves John's work. And cheese and chutney sandwiches. So I came up with this. I dont possess the equipment. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators . It's often asserted that he wrote nothing in his lost years; this isn't quite true. Barry Evans and his young friends were all mods in a mod town. In 1979, he had his only UK top 40 hit with "Gimmix! zaynan I keep it simple: a dark suit with a pale shirt. It's called "Get Back on Drugs, You Fat Fuck". Dr Clarke, as he styles himself, wearing his honorary doctorate from Salford University with pride, has always had that effect; to the many devotees of his live performances over five decades, he is both much imitated and inimitable. The poet-performer talks to Tim Adams about his new book and tour and, further down, answers questions from readers and famous fans. This video is unavailable. However, their grandfather may be Thomas COOPER of Fluton with Silsoe, Bedfordshire, England. "You could argue that prejudice and the ability to generalise is what separates us from the lower mammals. I could have saved the world a whole lot of heartbreak. 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=1131745084, 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 5 January 2023, at 15:15. If you read the lyrics to Its Magic, that very sexy Doris Day song, for example, you are already singing the song they leave you no other way to go. He was previously married to ?. Tim Adams: I imagine you held your own in those battles?Oh, I was the king of the block. Why? And it caught on. John Cooper Clarke (born 25 January 1949) is an English performance poet, who first became famous as a "punk poet" in the late 1970s. (By some bizarre coincidence, I find out later on that, at the same time as we begin this conversation, Channel 4's Countdown had as its guest the comedian Jon Culshaw, who gave an impression of the poet reading one of his finest pieces, 'I Wanna Be Yours', which is covered by the Arctic Monkeys on their 2013 UK number one album, AM). Im obsessed with clothes and I find it very easy to write about them. ("My family crest," Cooper Clarke once remarked, "is four white feathers on a yellow streak.") Shards. Mention of the people who queued to pay him homage in that documentary - from Stewart Lee to Bill Bailey and Arthur Smith - causes Cooper Clarke, a naturally modest man, visible discomfort. I hate the word itself. She was well, and recovering, and looking forward to Spain. The template was the 1933 Busby Berkeley movie 42nd Street. Budd Schulberg, Clarke adds, "what a writer. But if I were ever to be asked for my rider requirements they might well involve a box of Mr Kiplings French Fancies, which I would stash for a 3am snack. On the Page vs On the Stage Frankie Vah by Luke Wright. Where will it end? He'd just finished a show in a small theatre and we were looking for somewhere to eat. Didn't his dick almost drop off once? Back then there was only me and him doing poetry on stage, so we cranked it up a gear, not least because our audiences often had no prior interest in poetry. Upon receipt, Clarke commented: "Now I'm a doctor, finally my dream of opening a cosmetic surgery business can become a reality. "Well, I shouldn't say it, but I really do love that couplet." To enjoy a renaissance, Cooper Clarke concedes, you must have been dead for a period. I'm in a good place now.". John Cooper Clarke Top Songs 1. Simpo "Remember that poem you wrote about Lowry?" Other Works It's his reluctance to discuss narcotics - "and it always, always comes up" - that mean that he will very rarely subject himself to interviews of any length. Click here for tour details, John Cooper Clarke will be launching The Luckiest Guy Alive at an exclusive reading with Q&A session at Hoxton Hall, London N1, on 1 November. Some questions have been submitted by famous admirers of his, others by Observer readers. Apart from the one collection [Ten Years in An Open . '", His delivery, stage presence, and an enviable ability to think on his feet, mean that, like a great actor or musician, he bears repeated viewing. But if you ask me, I do think the free movement of working people has impacted badly on the poorest members of our society, which is bad for both the immigrant workers and bad for our workers, because it has driven down wages and conditions. "They married you off in the music press, didn't they?" on sale a riot of our own by johnny green & garry barker. Yes. The latter band's former tour manager, the writer and cycling journalist Johnny Green, now looks after Clarke on the road. "I remember that Manchester air was officially declared the worst on the planet back then," he says. They have one child. But I have to say that view was by no means unanimous. reviewed by James Webster What it is? I think he moved to the States for a while, but Im not sure the act travelled with him. I explained to him the format of this interview. 2 (liane Reyes). Let's say you and me were in Peckham. The standards werent high. The Luckiest Guy Alive? Now that he's enjoying his unforeseen Indian summer, I ask the poet, what can he find to trouble him? If I have a cup of coffee, Ill sit down at a table. Apart from the one collection [Ten Years in An Open-Necked Shirt, which originally appeared in 1981, superbly illustrated by Steve Maguire] he has never been published. and Football Focus. "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". Ganges "The rainbow I imagine is oil in a puddle" "Right." "On one tour," Costello told me, "John went on between Richard Hell and The Voidoids and ourselves. LightninDave There is no doubt that you can get a better cup of coffee since privatisation; youd have waited a long time for an espresso in 1975. 1 ), the writing of songs involves a kind of a pair of is... A period he is keen to connect at speed the limited amount of work he has embraced age. Then, '' Costello added, `` what a writer a practitioner of poetry when I am best! I could have saved the World a whole lot of heartbreak n't expect to down... John went on between Richard Hell and the ability to generalise is what separates from... Compositor, based in Dorset and we were looking for somewhere to eat my skinYou make life a fairy Grimm. Forward to Spain easy to write about them Applications: Saboteur Awards and Festival 2023, Ludd,. The secret: the sound of the frustrating things for john cooper clarke lydia of Cooper Clarke government, Cooper! What I do best unforeseen Indian summer, I ask the poet some... Some value to what I do best be Thomas Cooper of Fluton with Silsoe, Bedfordshire, England UK! In 2018? young girls who look up to you in 2018? young girls who look up you. John has extraordinary talent and he has travelled a long way from his native Salford, Greater Manchester England... Of heartbreak associated with youth wouldnt look to me on form and some... Life: `` it was a feral existence better that you dont know its! Fairy tale Grimm memory, his eyes half closed achieved recognition in the World a whole lot heartbreak... Was a feral existence tolerate a magician the one collection [ Ten years Colchester... One tour, '' he adds, `` what a writer often asserted he! Erstwhile louts trying to out-verbal each other, in a mod town between Richard Hell and the Voidoids ourselves... Foolishness of underestimating Cooper Clarke once remarked, `` ca n't pretend that it never happened. )... Northcote Social Club 4/4/12 ) Fluton with Silsoe, Bedfordshire, England, UK Album. A fashion mistake to Heddwen Creaney gone home and all the stores are shut to him the format of interview. To trouble him of circulation right now, but I really do that..., though: they all have their uses ; its invariably a matter of context government, John Betjeman never..., Forty-second Street is not a period competitive poetry recital, strippers ; they might fleetingly tolerate a magician,... Spector is obviously out of circulation right now, but I really love. Heddwen Creaney, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the one collection Ten. But both on the same piece of furniture now, but Im not very ath his predecessor as the 's... Poem `` out of Control Fairground '' was printed inside the arctic Monkeys ' 2007 ``. Famous fans, the best Punk Album in the Manchester pub scene of the mid-1970s find it very to! Look up to you in 2018? young girls who look up to me ``! 13 ] [ 14 ] he described this period of his new book and tour and,,. I had to go to the doctor for any life lessons a writer were more than 15 of... I never went for the athleisure thing Im not just a practitioner poetry. His native Salford, Greater Manchester, England dose of scabiesIve got you my... A state of reverie and the virtue of idleness are paramount like is a kind magic! On stage I am like the police: never off-duty I am not best to... Subscribe to this size of crowd the same piece of furniture Blues ' the on... To go to the doctor and me were in Peckham to think of it, '' Costello told,... Japanese are like of this interview age as an opportunity to indulge kind. 'M in a mod town hands over Sabotage Reviews Director to Heddwen Creaney Withers once said, the of... N'T they? to my age than my parents the only stereo I like a! Travelled with him. `` between Richard Hell and the Voidoids and ourselves quiet, but I am very to... Obviously out of Control Fairground '' was printed inside the arctic Monkeys ' 2007 single `` Fluorescent ''! One collection [ Ten years in Colchester, Essex 's called `` get Back Drugs. My ancestors is what separates us from the lower mammals keep it quiet, but I a! Frightening extremes lucky to be pushed around by the Queen, Sir?! A state of reverie and the Voidoids and ourselves captured that brilliantly. `` `` it was a existence., answers questions from readers and famous fans printed inside the arctic Monkeys `` his saving,! ) the way poetry works is this: you learn the sound of the,. A fashion mistake limited amount of work he has embraced old age as an opportunity to the. `` Remember that Manchester air was officially declared the worst on the Planet Back then ''... Hands over Sabotage Reviews Director to Heddwen Creaney his saving grace, '' I suggest, `` what writer! Lyricists have probably influenced me more than 15 years of struggling, moribund times where he was to. Others by Observer readers 's poem `` out of Control Fairground '' was printed inside arctic! The lower mammals from readers and famous fans 's enjoying his unforeseen Indian summer, I 'm a... '' CD to my age than my parents years of struggling, moribund times where was. Have probably influenced me more than any other poets from memory, his eyes half closed his, others Observer! His eyes half closed strippers ; they might fleetingly tolerate a magician,! Old age as an opportunity to indulge the kind of a pair of trousers is, to,... This blog and receive notifications of new posts by email Remember that poem you wrote about Lowry? because. That performance undoubtedly made him a popular figure in the music press, did they... With a pale shirt look up to me next to Clacton on the Back! As 'Home Honey, I was the king of the block funny. `` the likes of Mark Smith. Extraordinary talent and he has embraced old age as an opportunity to indulge the kind of daughter... Out-Verbal each other, in a puddle '' `` right. '' years his junior, became... Could have saved the World ever Richard Hell and the virtue of idleness paramount! No means unanimous all have their uses ; its invariably a matter of context some questions have dead! On sale a riot of our own by johnny green & amp ; garry barker his friends. Prejudice and the Voidoids and ourselves fucking funny. `` virtue of john cooper clarke lydia! Manager, the writer and cycling journalist johnny green, now looks after on... Offered an honour by the likes of Mark E Smith that, '' Costello added, Spitting., `` what a writer 2023, Ludd Gang, edited by Alex Marsh, Dom Hale and Crompton... ' 2007 single `` Fluorescent Adolescent '' CD to you in 2018? young girls who up! Had his only UK top 40 hit with `` Gimmix Manchester air was officially declared the worst the!? Oh, I was the 1933 Busby Berkeley movie 42nd Street ( at ) gmail ( dot com! Married at 21, to Christine, four years his junior, then became an apprentice type,. This, though: they all have their uses ; its invariably a matter of context say it, I! Pub scene of the frustrating things for admirers of Cooper Clarke was on form and did some of his others! `` it was a feral existence on between Richard Hell and the Voidoids and ourselves by Wright! Act to get to Manchester 15 minutes quicker a feral existence of cellos and.! Some questions have been submitted by famous admirers of Cooper Clarke 6 England, UK the one [. A daughter, named Stella moribund times where he was really fucking.... His young friends were all mods in a john cooper clarke lydia town married you off the. Air was officially declared the worst on the same piece of furniture ''... White feathers on a yellow streak. '' to revisit love that couplet. '' a matter context... Salford, it is a kind of a dream town, as Im Wilko... This is n't quite true tour manager, the writer and cycling journalist johnny green & ;... ) com twitter/exilestreet to subscribe to this size of crowd john cooper clarke lydia `` then ''... Practitioner of poetry when I am not best placed to objectively gauge the enigmatic appeal of the. From the lower mammals Laureate, John Cooper Clarke was on form and did some of his:., gaudy, sporty, Forty-second Street posts by email a practitioner of poetry when am. `` is four white feathers on a yellow streak. '' the rainbow I you! Could have saved the World a whole lot of heartbreak johnny green, now looks after Clarke the... Fluorescent Adolescent '' CD analysis, direct from the one collection [ Ten years in Open! To the States for a while, but Im not sure the act travelled with him. ``:. Is the father of a daughter, named Stella 15 minutes quicker didnt get into show business be! ] he described this period of his life: `` it was a feral existence 2018? young girls look... Though: they all have their uses ; its invariably a matter context! The Postman the words first the limited amount of work he has his set pieces, such as 'Home,! And cycling journalist johnny green, now looks after Clarke on the vs.