Film Band: John Cooper Clarke - Urgh! A Music War Fan Site

John Cooper Clarke (born January 25, 1949) is a performance poet from Salford, Greater Manchester , England. He is a from a Roman Catholic background and is affectionately known as the Bard of Salford. He is often referred to as a punk poet, having initially achieved recognition in the late 1970s amidst the flourishing punk movement. He performed as an opening act for such bands as The Sex Pistols, The Buzzcocks and Elvis Costello. His set was characterized by his lively, rapid-fire renditions of his poems, which were usually performed a capella.

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 a UK commercial for Sugar Puffs in 1988, taking second billing to the Honey Monster). He notably had a "domestic partnership" with singer Nico.

More recently, Clarke has turned his stage act away from an emphasis on performance poetry and towards more of a stand-up oriented affair. He can often be seen supporting The Fall on British tours or performing as a headlining act in his own right
attempts to reunite, the band quietly disbanded in 1986.

JOHN COOPER CLARKE