A great contributor to popular culture, Clarke’s influence has been cited by many of the great lyricists, including Alex Turner and Plan B, with the latter inviting John personally to appear in his directorial film debut, ‘Ill Manors’. His biting, satirical and political verse delivered with punch resonated with the punk movement. The 1970s and early 80s saw him share stages withgroundbreaking bands of the time including Sex Pistols, The Clash, Buzzcocks, The Fall and Elvis Costello, whilst Joy Division opened for Clarke on numerous occasions. A major record deal ensued in 1978 as well as releasing an extensive collection of his poetry and words, ‘Ten Years In An Open Necked Shirt’, which became one of the bestselling poetry books of the 1980s and has recently been reprinted due to its popularity.

The revival of the punk ethos in more recent years has seen a whole new generation of fans drawn to his work. This year during the BBC’s Punk Britannia season, John was called upon foron-air duties at 6 Music and BBC4 screened the documentary ‘Evidently … John Cooper Clarke’ as part of the proceedings.

Bill Bailey put it best when he said; “You’ve either never heard of him or you love him”, but guaranteed any newcomers to his live shows will be hanging off every one of his ferociously funny words and will be a Cooper Clarke convert after spending any amount of time in his company.