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

About this episode

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.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices