Poet, movie star, rock star, TV & radio presenter, comedian, and social & cultural commentator, John Cooper Clarke his to be Wilko Johnson’s special guest when the former Dr Feelgood guitarist celebrates his 30th anniversary concert and 70th birthday at the Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday 26th September, as previously reported at Ramzine.
As relevant and vibrant as when he first shot to prominence back in the late 70s as the original people’s poet, there’s no mistaking either the honorary Dr John Cooper Clarke’s trademark look or his effect on music via the keen social observations of younger bands like The Arctic Monkeys and Plan B.
In 2014, Clarke recorded a duet with The Inspiral Carpets, last year he released an album of cover songs with former Stranglers’ guitarist Hugh Cornwell and The Arctic Monkeys put one of his best known poems, ‘I Wanna Be Yours’ to music on their critically acclaimed A:M album. His career has spanned cultures, audiences, art forms and continents and his poetry is included on the national curriculum syllabus.
Frankly, the combination of Wilko Johnson and John Cooper Clarke playing the Royal Albert Hall together was something you’d have dismissed when they first hit the headlines back in the 70s, and now it sound like pure magic!
