John Cooper Clarke
It was the first time I'd been to
anything like it. Performance poetry, any sort of talk or reading, in
fact. Luckily, AD is brilliant at recognising uselessness in others,
shrugging his shoulders, and sorting out the tickets for the gigs.
Luckier still, we secured a ticket for MM at a very nearly sold out
show.
This was John Cooper Clarke and
friends. He's got some pretty good mates. First on was Luke Wright.
About a 75 / 25 split, stand-up and introductions / poems, he started
with something like Fat Dandy, celebrating the larger man with
a love of fine clothes. I liked The Bastard Of Bungay, every
town and village has (at least) one of these whiskery old curmudgeons
bemoaning the demise of everything they (and the Daily Mail) hold
dear:
You’ve
never seen such mobile jowls
or
smelt such ripe productive bowels
and
what the old boy does with vowels ….
The
Glarston-berry Fustivowel?
Pow-pow
with The Bastard of Bungay
Geoffrey
Howe? Yes, very pleasant
I
say, that’s truly corking pheasant
Ant
and Dec? Contemptible peasants!
The
present Bastard of Bungay
Then Mike Garry, more intense, not
lacking humour, but happier with more obscure references, he referred
to the balance of the evening, and he worked well between Wright and
Cooper Clarke. Soldier Boy:
Boots scrape on Crumpsall cobbled
streets
Inside the boots are fifteen year
old feet
Khaki pants tight at the ankle
Grip and hold like a white slave
manacled...
A caravan in the shopping centre
A man handing out leaflets showing
boys on adventure
Smiling faces and glowing cheeks
But the leaflets are lies and the
caravan man's a cheat...
And he'll send them off to some
sun-drenched front
To fight a war that no one wants
A roadside bomb ends it all
Then home in a box to Lower
Crumpsall
Then JohnCooper Clarke, much less
harsh, much more whimsical than I'd anticipated. I suppose it's
difficult to maintain an angry persona when you're the voice of
McCain's Oven Chips. About 85% (white stage lights)
stand-up / raconteur / old fashioned comedian (as in telling the
audience jokes):
D'you know what? Any woman from this
town who is faithful to her husband, boyfriend, or partner for five
years actually gets a telegram from the Queen...does anyone know what
it says?
[Pause]...
No, I didn't think so.
And 15% poems (dramatic change to
coloured lights) he was simply great entertainment. Another
arse-breather, he didn't stop for a moment, nothing apart from the
occasional giggle interrupted the flow.
Frequently referring to the recently
received honorary doctorate: “now I'm medical and everything”,
and pleased with The Sopranos featuring Evidently
Chickentown, like Madness, like HMHB, like Ladysmith Black
Mambazo, the audience gets the benefit of all those years experience,
knowing how to send people home happy.
Respecting the no (or not very much)
bad language rule, here's a link to Evidently Chickentown:
Us used in the Sporanos:
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