Punk poet plays City Hall

ICONIC punk poet John Cooper Clarke is heading to Sheffield later this month for an intimate gig.

Manchester’s sharp-dressed, sharp-delivering punk poet promises a mix of hilarious anecdotes of life in a northern town interspersed with machine-gun fast delivery of some of his best poems.

Head along to see why Clarke is loved by everyone from top comedians to the Sex Pistols and Joy Division.

John grew up in Salford, Lancashire, spending his teenage years as a Mod, and working as an apprentice engineer, a tailors assistant, a lab technician at Salford Tech, and a lead type compositor.

After a stint living in Dorset, John returned to Manchester and started properly on the path for which he would become most famous - his poetry.

His biting, satirical, political and very funny verse delivered in his rapid-fire performance style resonated with the punk movement that had begun to pick up speed in the late 1970s.

After touring with most of punk’s seminal and ground breaking bands including the Sex Pistols, The Clash, Buzzcocks, The Fall, and Elvis Costello, to name but a few, he began to draw large crowds in his own right.

In 1978 John signed a major a album deal with CBS Records. His records with the Invisible Girls and produced by Martin Hannett have become acknowledged as masterpieces.

Cooper Clarke performs at Sheffield City Hall ballroom on Sunday 24th February at 7.30pm.

Tickets are priced £17.50 and are available from.sheffieldcityhall.co.uk, on 0114 2789 789 or in person at the City Hall box office.