The Arctic Monkeys song using the same lyrics can be found on their AM album from 2013. A Music War, in which he performed his poem "Health Fanatic". meet Salomey Maloney. However, I laughed out loud and thoroughly enjoyed the book once he started performing. He is a wonderful writer and storyteller but I would have swapped the first 100 pages about his childhood for a longer reflection on his most recent years. "My paternal grandfather had been a regular soldier in India until 1948, and bore an uncanny resemblance to Mahatma Ghandi (who apparently suffered from corns and bad breath, in other words a supercallousedfragilemysticplaguedwithhalitosis, as Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke almost sang).". 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. He would approach a song as though it were a poem and then he would decide how to sing it. British punk poet who set lyrics of rebellion to the music of lesser-known bands. From the emergence of rock n roll in the late 50s; The Beatles and The Stones; the rise of Northern Soul at the Wigan Casino; mid-70s dub reggae; punk rock; and Manchesters immortal Factory-led post-punk scene in the 80s, Clarke saw them all. A brief summary of his concerns: political turbulence, tacky holidays, people you cant help but hate, walking down streets of squalor and being a hopeless romantic. The worlds defining voice in music and pop culture: breaking whats new and whats next since 1952. I don't think that songs are poetry but I think that a good song has something poetic about it. First shown: 05/02/1979If you would like to license a clip from this video please . Especially not in Australia. John Cooper Clarke", "BBC One Would I Lie to You?, Series 9, Episode 3", "Would I Lie to You? The only two things I disagree with him on are a) Genesis (dude, you've confused them with the Grateful Dead--that's the band with the 30 minute guitar solos) and b) that an artist should never avow their politics. JCC goes into. Its onomatopoeic innit? Many have acknowledged that: The Sopranos used his song rendition in season six and its even cropped into school curriculums (I met it in the classroom at 15 years old). But unlike any other art forms, everybody gives it a go. On Sale I Just Wanna Be Yours T-Shirt. Pest is ostensibly about someone urinating in public but really is Clarke delighting in his mastery of the English language. He toured with Bill Nelson's band Be-Bop Deluxe in 1978 and was signed by Epic Records, who issued the studio album Disguise In Love, produced by Hannett, in 1978. John Cooper Clarke (born 25 January 1949) is a British performance poet from Salford, Lancashire. [22], 2015 saw Clarke present a documentary on Thomas De Quincey's Confessions of an English Opium-Eater in the BBC's second series of The Secret Life of Books. I'll give you an example whereby I've tried to stay true to myself while dealing with the modern world. I Wanna Be Yours, (Macmillan), is a groundbreaking piece of literature. I Wanna Be Yours is out now via Pan Macmillan. JCC featured on BBC Radio 4's Chain Reaction in August 2011 being interviewed by none other than New Order's Peter Hook. The most surprising influence of all, however, is the agony aunt section of his mothers Womans Own magazine, one of the first places he fell in love with the written word. The veteran poet befriended Arctic Monkeys in their early days and knocked about with some fascinating non-famous characters. Hes done a great deal and drops a lot of names. He never relies on style. He might consider himself relegated to the realm of the old fashioned but at 73, John Cooper Clarke is as relevant and influential as ever. People think the internet is as reliable as a newspaper. Famous fans include Ben Drew, aka the aforementioned Plan B as well as Alex Turner and his Arctic Monkeys. His musical albums include Snap, Crackle & Bop; Zip Style Method; Disguise in Love; and Walking Back to Happiness. Rhythm machines at the ready, his cultural performance is about to kick off Theres a real sense of artistic perception when Cooper Clarke is on stage, because he doesnt just stand there and read lines of words. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); You have entered an incorrect email address! The often divisive production that Martin Hannett brought to John Cooper Clarke's poetry works to best effect here, complimenting the dark undertones and careful alliteration of 'in an X certificate exercise ex-servicemen excrete'. 1. It refers to lines of verse that contain five sets of two beats, the first of which is stressed and the second is unstressed. His only prose work is I Wanna Be Yours, a memoir. Whenever I cite Pam Ayres as being an influence on me - which she was because of her success - it would always be met with laughter. I'm smiling. Anybody with a pen and a piece of paper can do it. "For many years as well - this is where Ive been ploughing the lonely furrow - rhyming was seen to be a capital offence. There's a bit where I'm in it, reciting Chickentown in an Irish Pub but I wrote this poem especially for it called Pity The Plight of Young Fellows. 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. And when you happen to see him, in these very ordinary settings, it's a bit like magic. Around this time, he performed on stage with several punk and post-punk bands and continues to perform regularly. I'm annoyed at myself for finishing this book so quickly but I couldn't bloody help it ! Its what we all talk about in everyday conversation, but Clarke converts it to gritty poetry. I can see the worth of a Martin's meat and potato pie. He laughs as he remembers The Vault, a room many pubs had with a dartboard, no carpet and no women - a room where swearing was allowed. Sort of rave kids. His life is as extraordinary as youd expect and had me wondering if it is actually a privilege to be working class. I Wanna Be Yoursis very different from a lot of the poems that have been analyzed on Poem Analysis. He is considered a major figure in punk poetry and punk literature . Benjamin Zephaniah Writer. He completely dismantles it sometimes and puts it back together. Bit of a bizarre analogy, certainly, but totally exposed and kind of tragic. I can imagine how it went in the meeting when they were discussing the construction of MediaCity. I don't know why more people don't do it. He hastens to add that he values newspapers hugely and doesnt like to see any newspaper collapse. I was not equipped psychologically to deal with any of this new reality, he writes. Famous fans include Ben Drew, aka the aforementioned Plan B as well as Alex Turner and his Arctic Monkeys. The frog dies and nobody laughs. I couldn't put it better than the late Baz.. The name of a group is important and that one is unforgettable. It's consciously antediluvian., Hes a fan of rap music though, How could I possibly complain? John Cooper Clarke (known as Alice Cooper) has this important message about heroin addiction, saying the best prevention is never starting. 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. Roger McGough Poet. . 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. "With charm you've got to get up close." Login Sign Up. So why pick on cigs? When will Manchester City achieve European Champions League glory? 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. It's kind of Dickensian. You never meet an artist who isn't a fan [of Mark]. I can only think of one instance where a poem has become a song. John Cooper Clarke is a poet and musician who was most popular during the late 70s/early 80s but has had widespread success in recent years. Putting a punk spin on simple matters has given the northern man a master status: purveyor of subcultural shock. Opening and closing your mouth. John Cooper Clarke shot to prominence in the 1970s as the original 'people's poet'. 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!). [1] He released several albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and continues to perform regularly. After a 40 odd year career, its perhaps surprising that John Cooper Clarke has only actually released two books of poetry. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . I was eagerly anticipating this and got it within a few hours of release; went for the audiobook version because JCC has one of the most characterful and listenable voices in showbusiness. [15] That same year, Clarke featured in rapper Plan B's feature film Ill Manors and subsequently the Ill Manors album. (For adults and teenagers). Then right at the end, in 2004, hes buying crystal meth. Extra charming, in fact, because I clandestinely downloaded the audio book to hear the great poet's self-defined adenoidal Mancunian Yiddish and Cockney slang-laced voice reading his life to me. Follow us on Vero for exclusive music content and commentary, all the latest music lifestyle news and insider access into the GQ world, from behind-the-scenes insight to recommendations from our Editors and high-profile talent. In addition, he published two poetry collections, Ten Years in an Open Necked Shirt and The Luckiest Guy Alive. John Cooper Clarke (born 25 January 1949) is an English performance poet who first became famous during the punk rock era of the late 1970s when he became known as a "punk poet". It's Working Men's Club. Fortunately, Clarke did. On a 1980s Australian tour, meanwhile, his encore consisted of cover of Lady Godivas Operation with none other than New Order as his backing band. Among poets, John Cooper Clarke is the closest thing to a rock star our contemporary times can offer. I was tempted to count all the words in Pest and see what percentage of them actually began with P, but realised in the nick of time what kind of a nerd that would make me. 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. Despair obviously drives the poem, carved into claims that instantly slots it into the social realism commentary club. He released several albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and continues to perform regularly. John Cooper Clarke (born 25 January 1949) is an English performance poet who first became famous during the punk rock era of the late 1970s when he became known as a "punk poet". Linton Kwesi Johnson Poet. The clubs I used to frequent: The Twisted Wheel, The Oasis, The Jungfrau - all those great rock and roll venues were really for under 18s. Again we are presented with a nightmarish vision of the future that may sound unnecessarily alarmist these days, but as Tom Robinson once pointed out, just because it didnt go the way of military repression or fascists taking over the Conservative party, that doesnt mean to say it couldnt have done. The 70s were scary times and Clarke mirrored these concerns. Among the revelations of I Wanna Be Yours, however, is the fact that the two distinctly voiced flatmates came extremely close to recording an album of duets under the name Nico And Johnnie. I've just realised that now after all these years.. [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. It doesnt say much, but it goes to great lengths to say it. It was hand to mouth. At the same time, you had people like Wordsworth, waxing lyrical about the Lake District. Earning the epithet of Punk Poet, John Cooper Clarke managed to somehow ride the zeitgeist of punk as a poet while looking like a skinny, burst Bob Dylan. He might not be a pub man but John loves a good restaurant. John Cooper Clarke (born 25 January 1949) is an English performance poet, who first became famous as a " punk poet" in the late 1970s. 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. Trochaic pentameter is an uncommon form of meter. He might consider himself relegated to the realm of the old fashioned but at 73, John Cooper Clarke is as relevant and influential as ever. Came across JCC through the Arctic Monkeys. It refers to macaronis who were kind of pre-Beau Brummel dandies from 200 years ago. 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. Are you happier now than you have ever been? There is the local thug Lemonhead, an embittered nutter who spends his time camped out on waste ground taking potshots at passers by with a sniper rifle. With more and more millennials beginning to search for political clarity through poetry, sales of Clarkes work are currently soaring high. The 73-year-old poet was born in England, United Kingdom. Even his musical tastes were mine in those early days; Dylan and Captain Beefheart. One of his more upbeat musical compositions accompany this one, the delivery of which veers startlingly close to a sung melody. On Sale POETRY QUOTE BLACK T-SHIRT. You can finesse the way you approach any part of the song. ", John famously set his poetry to music when he signed to Rabid Records - not my favourite way to consume his poetry, I have to tell him and he agrees, saying he just couldn't think of a good argument against it. One of. But hes never mannered. Like a lot of Brits, he has a clear dislike of someone, but, unlike a lot Brits, he manifests that into angry, firing verses that make for a condemning rant. Anywhere else in a pub, the landlord or landlady would say, There's a room for that kind of language. To be honest, [women] wouldn't want to go in The Vault. "What a great name! In. Maybe it's a limitation in me. 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. John Cooper Clarke (1983). Igr kvll underhll han hela Hammersmith Apollo med sin legendariska performancepoesi och den dr clarkeska deadpanhumorn. In October of 1981 Clarke appeared in episode 2 of series 3 of The Innes Book of Records (TV series), reciting "Evidently Chickentown". My all-time favourite, Sean Locke was the funniest guy alive. Its really my only skill. Some advice for you. If youre wondering how to deal with someone elses problems, the solution is right in this piece of poetry. Sometimes a band hit . 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. John Cooper Clarke (born 25 January 1949) is an English performance poet who first became famous during the punk rock era of the late 1970s when he became known as a "punk poet". It is not Clarke that embraced punk, however, but the other way around. All rights reserved. The sartorially suave punk poet grew up in the Higher Broughton area of Salford, opposite the Rialto Picture House where he spent a lot of time immersed in the movie world that inspired much of his work.