John Cooper Clarke on touring with the Buzzcocks, meeting Chuck Berry, and inspiring the Arctic Monkeys

In this episode, Louis speaks with the Poet Laureate of Punk, the Bard of Salford, the Doctor: performance poet John Cooper Clarke. The pair discuss John’s time touring with the Buzzcocks, meeting Chuck Berry backstage, and how his poetry inspired Alex Turner to form Arctic Monkeys.  

 

Warnings: Strong language and adult themes.  

 

Links/Attachments: 

 

Book: Have It, John Cooper Clarke (2026) 

https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/john-cooper-clarke/have-it/9781037404191 

 

Book: I Wanna Be Yours, John Cooper Clarke (2020) 

https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/john-cooper-clarke/i-wanna-be-yours/9781509896127  

 

Advert: Honey Monster & John Cooper Clarke (1988) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ced-0BwY9E  

 

Poem: A Subaltern’s Love Song, John Betjeman (1940) 

https://allpoetry.com/A-Subaltern's-Love-Song  

 

Poem: Slough, John Betjeman (1937) 

https://allpoetry.com/poem/8493391-Slough-by-Sir-John-Betjeman  

 

Song: That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore, The Smiths (1985) 

https://open.spotify.com/track/48veRDsAEBOJJnVnnabV99  

 

Poem: Evidently Chickentown, John Cooper Clarke (1980) 

https://open.spotify.com/track/3bJxvUhRN4nJgab71HkIjc  

 

TV Show: The Sopranos (1999-2007) 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0141842/  

 

Poem: TWAT, John Cooper Clarke (1979) 

https://open.spotify.com/track/0yEZiblovbuepAogvzSe2w  

 

Poem: I Wanna Be Yours, John Cooper Clarke (1982) 

https://open.spotify.com/album/2etRijq79Wz2U9TIy9ZpdM  

 

Song: I Wanna Be Yours, Arctic Monkeys (2013) 

https://open.spotify.com/track/5XeFesFbtLpXzIVDNQP22n  

 

Film: House of Usher (1960) 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053925/  

 

Book: Tales of Mystery & Imagination, Edgar Allen Poe (1839) 

https://wordsworth-editions.com/product/tales-of-mystery-and-imagination/  

 

Book: Les Fleurs du Mal, Charles Baudelaire (1857) 

https://dauntbooks.co.uk/shop/books/the-flowers-of-evil-les-fleurs-du-mal/  

 

Poem: The Man Who Didn’t Love Elvis, John Cooper Clarke (2018) 

https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/john-cooper-clarke/the-luckiest-guy-alive/9781509896066 

 

Poem: Salome Malone, John Cooper Clarke (1978) 

https://open.spotify.com/track/597ALlSF9Zz08DmYaTrKAr 

 

Song: I’m A Lazy Sod, Sex Pistols (1977) 

https://open.spotify.com/track/760CNZQRrfO7Dse1mkYVn6  

 

Poem: A Cheap Agnostic Funeral, John Cooper Clarke (2026) 

https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/john-cooper-clarke/have-it/9781037404191  

 

Producer: Millie Chu  

Senior Assistant Producer: Maisie Ellen Williams  

Junior Production Manager: Rosie Pender 

Production Executive: Francesca Bassett 

Original Music: Miguel D’Oliveira 

Video Editor: Scott Edwards 

Audio Editor: Tom Guest 

Executive Producer: Arron Fellows 

 

A Mindhouse Studios Production for Spotify. 
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