Britain’s best loved and most important performance poet, JOHN COOPER CLARKE, is as vital now as he was in the '70s when his biting satirical political verse, delivered in a unique rapid-fire performance style, resonated with the punk movement. He supported and toured with all the seminal artists (Sex Pistols, The Clash, Buzzcocks, The Fall, Elvis Costello, Joy Division, New Order etc) but drew large crowds in his own right.  He found himself as one of the leading voices of punk and youth culture and became known as the “Punk Poet” or “The Bard of Salford”. He's performed worldwide in front of thousands transfixed to his distinctive, and now iconic, visual appearance and his influential catalogue. John Cooper Clarke may be a poet not a musician, but he is still an absolute rock star. Swaggering on stage, a mouth-full of gold teeth, pencil-thin legs in skin-tight trousers and sporting sunglasses and a floppy tweed cap large enough to contain his trademark ‘big’ hair, he oozes charisma and cool. To describe John Cooper Clarke as a poet doesn’t come close to what he does. Yes this is poetry, but it’s also story-telling, confession and stand-up comedy, delivered with the poise, rhythm and vocal dexterity of a rapper. His performances are a masterclass in how spoken word can out-rock rock music.