John Cooper Clarke

Born in Salford and inspired to write poetry by a charismatic English teacher, Clarke cut his teeth as a performance poet in the folk clubs of Manchester. He released his debut EP in 1977 and signed to Epic Records the following year, where his wry wit and rapid-fire delivery aligned him with the more cerebral end of the punk rock movement. During the late 1970s he performed on the same bills as The Fall, The Sex Pistols, Joy Division, Elvis Costello and many more key punk and post-punk acts. Now a beloved and influential elder statesman of both the music and poetry scenes, his verse has been collected in three volumes – Ten Years in an Open Necked Shirt, The Luckiest Guy Alive and WHAT – whilst his 2021 memoir I Wanna Be Yours (named after one of his most popular poems) drew rave reviews for its humour and erudition.