Artist of the Month: Dr John Cooper Clarke & Hugh Cornwell

October 3, 2016

Affectionately known as ‘The Bard of Salford’, performance poet John Cooper Clarke’s career has spanned some 40 years. Emerging in the nascent punk scene, John Cooper Clarke released a number of albums and singles in the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a performer, he has appeared on bills with the Sex Pistols, Buzzcocks, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Fall, Joy Division and New Order among many others. He’s also appeared in TV adverts, most notably with the Honey Monster for Sugar Puffs. More recently, John Cooper Clarke was awarded an honourary doctorate of arts from the University of Salford and his work has proved influential on a number of contemporary artists, including Arctic Monkeys.

October 14 sees the release of ‘This Time It’s Personal’, a collaboration with former Stranglers frontman, Hugh Cornwell that reveals another side to John Cooper Clarke. A collection of classic songs that the pair grew up with, the project came about after Cornwell played a version of ‘MacArthur Park’ and decided that he’d prefer to hear John Cooper Clarke’s voice on the song rather than actor Richard Harris’. To Cornwell’s surprise, Cooper Clarke elected to sing the lyrics and from that point the pair chose songs from their youth. The album finds John Cooper Clarke on fine voice throughout.

Preorder here.

#artist-of-the-month #john-cooper-clarke

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