Part poet, part punk, part old school Northern stand-up comedian, John Cooper
Clarke's rapid delivery, tales of working-class life and razor sharp wit made
him a cult hero and one of Britain's most unique poets. Growing up in Salford in
the north of England in the 1950s and 1960s, Clarke was inspired by the war
poetry of Henry Newbolt and started performing his own rhymes at tough working
men's clubs across Manchester in the mid-1970s. When punk broke in 1976, Clarke
was asked by Howard Devoto (then front man of The Buzzcocks) to compere and
perform at gigs for the Sex Pistols, J...