John Cooper Clarke pops up on the Ian Curtis biopic 'Control' movie soundtrack doing 'Evidently Chickentown' - not sure where in the movie it is as I haven't got off my arse to see it yet but it's a brilliant and witty poem and it took me back to the time when he seemed almost everywhere. I had kind of completely forgotton about this Manchester, or more correctly Salfordian punk poet but he was great live supporting various punk acts and his rapid fire poems often bitingly funny or seriously depressing but always fascinating. Where was he now? Alive and well and living in Colchester according to the piece on him in The Independent - he's actually touring at the moment so maybe he'll get some acclaim as I think as in inspirer of others he has to be lauded for doing what he did so well. Before JCC there wasn't really any culture for spoken word stuff but now with hip hop and it's commercial success people have woken to the spoken. This poem 'Health Fanatic' deals with the kind of health nut who seems to have proliferated these days. Check out youtube for other clips including 'Chickentown' from Neil Innes' show and his bizarre Sugar Puffs ad.
Ralphadeus. Music movies comics feature in this look at life from Somerset.
