John Cooper Clarke

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 on musical backing from the Invisible Girls, which featured Martin Hannett, Steve Hopkins, Pete Shelley, Bill Nelson, and Paul Burgess. 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, the 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 characterised 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"....(

Festive Fifty Entries

 * 1977 Festive Fifty: 'Suspended Sentence' (#05)

Sessions

 * Number of sessions? Any commercial release of sessions?

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(Please correct mistakes and add any missing info)

Other Shows Played

 * 17 August 1978: 'Post-War Glamour Girl (7")' (CBS)
 * 25 August 1978: 'Post-War Glamour Girl (7")' (CBS)
 * 25 September 1978: 'Valley Of Lost Women (LP-Disguise In Love)' (CBS)
 * 26 September 1978: 'Strange Bedfellows (LP–Disguise In Love)' (CBS)
 * 13 October 1978: 'I Don’t Want To Be Nice (LP–Disguise In Love)' (CBS) (JP: 'And if you were watching the programme, the Omnibus television programme last night, you would have seen the famous Radio One playlist committee meeting in session. And in the course of this meeting, John Cooper Clarke was described as a “weirdy”. You may have noticed that. Well, here’s that well-known weirdy … And hey, wasn’t Dickie Lee Torpid (Dave Lee Travis) just huggable?')
 * 07 November 1978: 'Readers Wives (LP–Disguise In Love)' (CBS)
 * 26 June 1979: 'Majorca (LP-Ou Est La Maison De Fromage?)' (Rabid)
 * 02 August 1979: 'Suspended Sentence (7"-Innocents E.P.)' (Rabid)
 * 03 May 1982: 'A Distant Relation (LP-Snap, Crackle & Bop)' (Epic)