John Cooper Clarke
Encyclopedia
John Cooper Clarke 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.
. 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 The Sex Pistols, The Fall, Joy Division
, Buzzcocks
, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Elvis Costello
, Rockpile
, and New Order
(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 main-stream 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.
Compilations:
Compilation appearances:
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s 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
The Invisible Girls
The Invisible Girls were a British rock band, formed in Salford, Greater Manchester in 1978, to provide a musical backdrop to the recorded output of Salford punk poet John Cooper Clarke...
, which featured Martin Hannett
Martin Hannett
Martin Hannett , sometimes credited as Martin Zero, was a record producer and an original partner in Factory Records with Tony Wilson...
, Pete Shelley
Pete Shelley
Pete Shelley is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the leader of Buzzcocks.-Biography:...
, Bill Nelson
Bill Nelson (musician)
Bill Nelson is an English guitarist, songwriter, producer, painter and experimental musician...
, 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 SalfordUniversity of Salford
The University of Salford is a campus university based in Salford, Greater Manchester, England with approximately 20,000 registered students. The main campus is about west of Manchester city centre, on the A6, opposite the former home of the physicist, James Prescott Joule and the Working Class...
. 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
Bill Nelson
Clarence William "Bill" Nelson is the senior United States Senator from the state of Florida and a member of the Democratic Party. He is a former U.S. Representative and former Treasurer and Insurance Commissioner of Florida...
's band Be-Bop Deluxe in 1978 and was signed by Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
, 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
Linton Kwesi Johnson
Linton Kwesi Johnson is a UK-based dub poet. He became the second living poet, and the only black poet, to be published in the Penguin Classics series. His poetry involves the recitation of his own verse in Jamaican Patois over dub-reggae, usually written in collaboration with renowned British...
, and has performed on the same bill as bands such as The Sex Pistols, The Fall, Joy Division
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...
, Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton in 1976, led by singer–songwriter–guitarist Pete Shelley.They are regarded as an important influence on the Manchester music scene, the independent record label movement, punk rock, power pop, pop punk and indie rock. They achieved commercial...
, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
, Rockpile
Rockpile
Rockpile were a British rock and roll group of the late 1970s and early 1980s, noted for their strong rockabilly and power pop influences, and as a foundational influence on new wave...
, and New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
(at their May 1984 Music for Miners
Music for Miners
Music for Miners was a collective of UK writers, artists and filmmakers who attempted to engage young people with politics during the UK Miner's Strike of 1984-1985. Members of the collective included the television producer Don Coutts and the writer and artist Ian McKay...
benefit concert at London's Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
).
His set is characterized by lively, rapid-fire renditions of his poems, usually performed a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
. Often referred to as "the bard
Bard
In medieval Gaelic and British culture a bard was a professional poet, employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities.Originally a specific class of poet, contrasting with another class known as fili in Ireland...
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
Snap, Crackle & Bop
Snap, Crackle & Bop is the fourth album by John Cooper Clarke, originally released in 1980. As with Disguise in Love, the album was backed by The Invisible Girls and produced by Martin Hannett....
gave him his highest album chart placing, reaching number 26.
Urgh! A Music War
Urgh! A Music War is a British film released in 1982 featuring performances by punk rock, New Wave, and post-punk acts, filmed in 1980. Among the artists featured in the movie are Magazine, The Go-Go's, The Fleshtones, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, XTC, Devo, The Cramps, Oingo Boingo, Dead...
, where he performed his poem "Health Fanatic". The film featured live performances of main-stream 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
Nico
Nico was a German singer, lyricist, composer, musician, fashion model, and actress, who initially rose to fame as a Warhol Superstar in the 1960s...
. He made an appearance in two UK adverts for Sugar Puffs
Sugar Puffs
Sugar Puffs are a honey-flavoured breakfast cereal made from sugar-coated wheat sold in the United Kingdom. For many years it was made by the Quaker Oats Company but in 2006 it was sold to Big Bear t/a Honey Monster Foods, based in Leicester...
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
Performance poetry
Performance poetry is poetry that is specifically composed for or during a performance before an audience. During the 1980s, the term came into popular usage to describe poetry written or composed for performance rather than print distribution.-History:...
and towards more of a stand-up
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
-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
Reverend and The Makers
Reverend and The Makers are an indie pop band based in Sheffield, England and signed to Wall of Sound. The band is fronted by Jon McClure, nicknamed "The Reverend"...
concert at London's Spread Eagle, which Later was released as the b-side for the band's single "Heavyweight Champion of the World
Heavyweight Champion of the World
"Heavyweight Champion of the World" is the "top ten" debut single by Reverend and The Makers, as well as the first single from their debut album The State Of Things. The single was released on May 6, 2007 on download only and was subsequently released on CD and 7" vinyl on May 28 that year...
". 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
Snap, Crackle & Bop
Snap, Crackle & Bop is the fourth album by John Cooper Clarke, originally released in 1980. As with Disguise in Love, the album was backed by The Invisible Girls and produced by Martin Hannett....
was also featured prominently in the closing scene of The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
episode Stage 5
Stage 5 (The Sopranos episode)
"Stage 5" is the seventy-ninth episode of the HBO television series The Sopranos. It is the second episode of the second half of the show's sixth season, the fourteenth episode of the season overall...
. 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
Christopher Eccleston
Christopher Eccleston is an English stage, film and television actor. His films include Let Him Have It, Shallow Grave, Elizabeth, 28 Days Later, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Others, and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra...
) is featured in the made-for-television film Strumpet
Strumpet (film)
Strumpet is a 2001 British television movie made by the BBC. It is directed by Danny Boyle, written by Jim Cartwright, and stars Christopher Eccleston, Jenna G and Stephen Walters. It is 72 minutes long....
.
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band. Formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield, the band currently consists of Alex Turner , Jamie Cook , Nick O'Malley and Matt Helders...
' 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.
Albums
- Disguise in LoveDisguise in LoveDisguise in Love is the second studio album by John Cooper Clarke, first released in 1978. Most of the tracks are spoken over musical accompaniment provided by Clarke's band The Invisible Girls, except "Psycle Sluts 1&2" and "Salome Maloney" — both live recordings from the Ritz Ballroom in...
(1978), EpicEpic RecordsEpic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A... - Walking Back to HappinessWalking Back to HappinessWalking Back to Happiness is the third album by John Cooper Clarke, originally released on 10" clear vinyl in 1979, though it has long been out of print. All tracks were recorded live. The final track, "Gimmix", was also recorded in studio and was a UK top 40 hit that year...
(1979), Epic - Snap, Crackle & BopSnap, Crackle & BopSnap, Crackle & Bop is the fourth album by John Cooper Clarke, originally released in 1980. As with Disguise in Love, the album was backed by The Invisible Girls and produced by Martin Hannett....
(1980), Epic - UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
#26 - Zip Style MethodZip Style MethodZip Style Method is the sixth album by John Cooper Clarke, originally released in 1982.-Track listing:#"Midnight Shift"#"New Assassin"#"Face Behind the Scream"#"Travel in Biscuits"#"The Day the World Stood Still"#"Heart Disease Called Love"...
(1982), Epic - UK #97
Compilations:
- Où est la maison de fromage?Où est la maison de fromage?Où est la maison de fromage is the debut album by John Cooper Clarke, originally released in 1978. It comprises a mix of live performances, demos and rehearsals. The name means "where is the house of cheese?" in French.-Track listing:#"The Serial, Pt...
(1978), Rabid - Me and My Big Mouth (1981), Epic
- Word of Mouth: The Very Best of John Cooper Clarke (2002), Sony
Singles, EPs
- Innocents EP (1977), Rabid
- "Post-War Glamour Models" (1978), Epic
- "Gimmix! (Play Loud)" (1979), Epic - UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#39 - "Splat"/"Twat" (1979), Epic
- "The It Man" (1980), Epic
- "The Day My Pad Went Mad" (1982), Epic
- "Night People" (1982), Epic
DVDs, Videos
- Zip Style (2011), Ozit
Compilation appearances:
- Urgh! A Music War (1981), Warners - "Health Fanatic"
- The Old Grey Whistle Test Volume 3 (2004), 2 Entertain - "I Don't Want to Be Nice"
- Poets, Punks, Beatniks and Counter Culture Heroes (2010), Ozit - includes rare JCC film footage from the 1980s