John Cooper Clarke

All Music Guide:

Punk poet John Cooper Clarke was born January 25, 1949 in Manchester, England; he first began performing his verse backed by a local folk group called the Ferrets, but in 1977 signed to the Rabid Records label to release the Martin Hannett-produced single "Psycle Sluts." With his rapid-fire verbal delivery and stinging social commentary, Clarke quickly emerged as the poet laureate of the punk movement, and he read his work as an opening act for groups including the Sex Pistols and the Buzzcocks; an LP, Disguise in Love, followed on Epic in 1978. After supporting Elvis Costello and the Attractions on their legendary Armed Forces tour, Clarke scored a Top 40 hit with the single "Gimmix; " a live disc, Walking Back to Happiness, appeared in 1979, and a year later he released a second studio effort, Snap, Crackle and Bop. While hugely popular as a stage performer, his records sold poorly, and 1982's Zip Style Method was his final release for Epic; while still maintaining a high visibility as a live act, Clarke appeared less and less frequently in the years to follow, spending the better part of the 1980s battling an addiction to heroin. (He also spent several years romantically involved with former Velvet Underground chanteuse Nico, no stranger to drug problems herself.) By the following decade Clarke cleaned up his act, returning to the stage and contributing regularly to poetry journals.

Wikipedia:

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". He released several albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and continues to perform regularly.

His recorded output has mainly centred around musical backing from The Invisible Girls, which featured Martin Hannett, Pete Shelley, Bill Nelson, Paul Burgess and Steve Hopkins.

Career

Clarke was born in Salford, Lancashire in 1949. His first job was a laboratory technician at the University of Salford. He began his performance career in Manchester folk clubs, where he began working with Rick Goldstraw and his band The Ferrets. His first releases were on the independent label Rabid, starting with the EP Innocents in October 1977. He toured with Bill Nelson's band Be-Bop Deluxe in 1978 and was signed by Epic Records, who issued the Nelson-produced debut album Disguise In Love in 1978. In 1979 he had his only UK top 40 hit with "Gimmix! (Play Loud)". Clarke toured with Linton Kwesi Johnson, and has performed on the same bill as bands such as Sex Pistols, The Fall, Joy Division, Buzzcocks, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Elvis Costello, Rockpile, and New Order (including at their May 1984 Music for Miners benefit concert at London's Royal Festival Hall). His set is characterized by lively, rapid-fire renditions of his poems, usually performed a cappella. Often referred to as "the bard of Salford", he usually refers to himself on stage as "Johnny Clarke, the name behind the hairstyle".

In 1979 he applied to join actors' union Equity, but as there was already a member named John Cooper Clarke, he joined under the name Lenny Siberia. His 1980 album Snap, Crackle & Bop gave him his highest album chart placing, reaching number 26.

Clarke appeared in a 1982 music documentary compilation Urgh! A Music War, where he performed his poem "Health Fanatic". The film featured live performances of mainstream artists (The Police, The Go-Gos, Pere Ubu, XTC, Devo) as well as more obscure bands (The Alley Cats, Invisible Sex, Athletico Spizz '80, Chelsea) using concert footage from around the world. For many people, this was their first introduction to the works of John Cooper Clarke. He also starred in another 1982 film titled John Cooper Clarke - Ten Years in an Open Necked Shirt directed by Nick May and produced for the Arts Council of Great Britain and Channel 4. Somewhere between a narrative film, a series of music videos, and a documentary, the film features interviews and performances by the poet and Linton Kwesi Johnson among others.

Clarke released a further album in 1982, Zip Style Method, which was less successful, and Clarke performed his live act less frequently, spending much of the 1980s addicted to heroin, living in a "domestic partnership" with singer and fellow addict Nico. He made an appearance in two UK adverts for Sugar Puffs in 1988, taking second billing to the Honey Monster. He returned to live performance in the 1990s. More recently, Clarke has turned some of his stage act away from an emphasis on performance poetry and towards more of a stand-up-oriented affair, but poetry is still very much a key part of his performance. He supported Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros. He has toured several times supporting The Fall. He also duetted with a poem entitled "Last Resort" with Reverend Jon McClure at a Reverend and the Makers concert at London's Spread Eagle, which later was released as the b-side for the band's single "Heavyweight Champion of the World". Clarke also recorded a song with the band entitled "Dead Man's Shoes". 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. A live performance of the same poem appears in the film Control with Clarke portraying himself in a re-creation of a 1977 concert where he supported Joy Division, despite having aged 30 years since the events depicted in the movie. "Evidently Chickentown" (recited by Christopher Eccleston) is featured in the made-for-television film Strumpet.

His poem "Out of Control Fairground" was printed inside Arctic Monkeys' single "Fluorescent Adolescent" CD, which was released on 9 July 2007. The poem is also the inspiration behind the single's video in which clowns brawl. Another poem was printed inside the 10" release of the same single. Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys has said he is very fond of Clarke's work and takes inspiration for lyrics from his poems.

Bibliography

Ten Years In an Open-Necked Shirt and other Poems (1981), Arena