John Cooper Clarke
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| John Cooper Clarke | |
|---|---|
 John Cooper Clarke, 1979 |
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| Born | January 25, 1949 Salford |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Nationality | British |
John Cooper Clarke (born January 25, 1949) is an English performance poet from Salford, Lancs; he is often described as a punk poet, having initially achieved recognition in the late 1970s during the flourishing punk movement. 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 is fairly famous as a poet in England and 'Ten Years In An Open-Necked Shirt' remains his most popular and successful published work.
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[edit] Career
Clarke has opened for such acts as the Sex Pistols, The Fall, Joy Division, Buzzcocks and Elvis Costello and his set was, and still is on occasion, characterized by lively, rapid-fire renditions of his poems, which were usually performed a cappella. He opened for Be-Bop Deluxe on their 1978 U.K. tour and later for Rockpile on their 1979 U.S. tour. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Clarke enjoyed some chart success in the UK with the single "Gimmix! Play Loud",[1] and subsequent album Snap, Crackle & Bop.
Often referred to as "the bard of Salford",[1] he usually refers to himself on stage as "Johnny Clarke, the name behind the hairstyle". Having released a handful of records into the early 1980s, Clarke performed his live act less frequently and spent much of that decade battling a heroin addiction (and making an incongruous appearance in two UK commercial for Sugar Puffs in 1988, taking second billing to the Honey Monster). 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 has in the recent past supported Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros. He also can often be seen supporting The Fall on British tours or performing as a headlining act in his own right. 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 bands single Heavyweight Champion Of The World. Clarke also recorded a song with the band entitled Dead Man's Shoes which is rumoured to appear on the upcoming album The State Of Things. Clarke's recording of "Evidently Chickentown" from his album Snap, Crackle & Bop was also featured prominently in the closing scene of the 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. He is from a Roman Catholic background, and is reportedly now living in Hythe, Colchester, Essex, with his French wife & daughter. He had a "domestic partnership" with singer Nico in the 1980s.[2]
John Cooper Clarke also appeared in the 1982 music documentary compilation Urgh! A Music War, where he performed his poem "Health Fanatic".[3] The film featured live performances of main-stream artists (The Police, The Go-Go's, 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.
In June 2007, Clarke worked with artist Alan Williams for a piece entitled 'Ou est la maison de fromage (Translated)' in the University of Salford Visual Arts BA Degree final exhibition show. The work aimed to be a covert form of appropriation that investigated the potential of literal translation as a visual act as well as touching on notions of authorship and originality. It presented the appropriation and transference both content and context and drew attention to shifts in meaning.[4]
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 Cooper-Clarke's work and takes inspiration for lyrics from his poems.[5][6] A version of his poem "Evidently Chickentown" is performed at the start and end of the video for Joy Division's "Transmission" single which shows John Cooper Clarke reading the refrain and third verse from the poem whilst coming down escalators and then walking in the Manchester Arndale Centre.
[edit] Discography
- Où Est la Maison de Fromage? (1978) [7]
- Disguise In Love (1978)
- Walking Back to Happiness (1979)
- Snap, Crackle & Bop (1980)
- Me and My Big Mouth (1981)
- Zip Style Method (1982)
[edit] Bibliography
Ten Years In an Open-Necked Shirt (1981)
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Bell, Nigel. "The Very Best of John Cooper Clarke". BBC.co.uk, August 2002. Retrieved on 23 February 2008.
- ^ "John Cooper Clarke. comedycv.co.uk Retrieved on 23 February 2008.
- ^ "Urgh! A Music War ". IMDB. Retrieved on 23 February 2008.
- ^ "Artist Alan Williams' Website. alan-williams.co.uk Retrieved on 15 April 2008.
- ^ "Arctics go for poetry". Retrieved on 20 August 2007.
- ^ "Lyrical Genius". Retrieved on 20 August 2007.
- ^ Downloadable from http://www.johncooperclarke.com/Pages/Ou_est_la_maison_de_Fromage.htm
