Legendary punk poet John Cooper Clarke given Freedom of Salford

Punk poet John Cooper Clarke, who rose to fame in the 1970s, has been given the freedom of the city where he was born and raised.

‘Johnny Clarke’, 74, known for his witty Salfordian humour, thanked Salford Council for the honour saying he was ‘totally knocked out’ and jokingly added: “I don’t know what it entitles me to.”

Known as the Bard of Salford, Cooper Clarke rose to fame in the 1970s when he would perform his poetry at gigs before punk bands would come on stage, such as The Clash, Joy Division and The Sex Pistols.

Later, he would perform his works on British TV programmes including The Old Grey Whistle Test and After Dark.

Speaking to councillors, Cooper Clarke said: “I’ve circumnavigated the globe ten times and coming back is always a treat but this one. Wow. Thank you everyone.

“With me it was never a social experiment, it was just a way of making a living and the social consequences went out of my control.” His famous works include Evidently Chicken Town, Beasley Street and I wanna Be Yours, among many others.

Cooper Clarke also received an honorary doctorate from the University of Salford in 2013 and is sometimes referred to as ‘The Doctor’. It recognised ‘a career which has spanned five decades, bringing poetry to non-traditional audiences and influencing musicians and comedians’.

The star paid tribute to an English teacher, John Malone, who ignited his interest in poetry at St Andrew’s RC Secondary Modern, in Salford.

“I hated school apart from him but it wasn’t the social scrapheap people make it out to be. Mr Malone had a profound effect on the whole class,” he said.

Pendleton Councillor John Warmisham said he first came across Cooper Clarke at a Rock Against Racism gig in Hulme Labour Club, in Manchester.

He recalled how the poet went from performing at folk and cabaret clubs to supporting punk bands, saying: “The crowd were like teddy bears compared to what he played to.” 

“He brought poetry back to the working classes, the obvious one is Beasley Street which is like a Lowry painting in words.”

Cooper Clarke’s poems were accompanied by backing music produced by Martin Annett, who worked on both Joy Division albums.

He now lives in Essex, his home for more than 25 years, with his wife, Evie. They have one daughter, Stella.