Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Known as the Bard of Salford, performance poet John Cooper Clarke has led a very full and interesting life. Here, for the first time, he lays it all out including his days touring with some of the biggest names in punk, his struggles with drug addiction and how he finally got clean, all in his own, inimitable style.
My Dad is the one who introduced me to the work of John Cooper Clarke, I actually owe a lot of my literary and musical tastes to my Dad.
Clarke is such a talented writer with an absolutely exquisite way with words. This book is equal parts his life story and a social commentary of society in general throughout his life. Whilst reading this I could hear his distinctive voice in my head. He has such a strong style that I think even a casual fan would recognise his words anywhere.
I found it really interesting to read his childhood, growing up in Salford and felt like there were some similarities between his experiences and things my Dad has told me about his childhood as it would have been at a similar time.
Clarke is such an interesting man and it was clear he was never going to be a 9-5 job kind of guy, some of the stories of how he managed to find jobs that required the least amount of work possible were hilarious.
He makes a lot of excellent points about drug addiction and touches on how much harder it must be to be an alcoholic considering how much society views drinking alcohol as part of the social fabric of life. I never felt like he was glamourising his addiction and it’s clear his life is much richer, in many ways, since he managed to stop the drug use.
As you would expect from such a legendary poet, his prose is simply stunning and kept me engrossed from beginning to end. If you’re not a fan of Clarke then I wouldn’t say this book would be for you but as a fan I have loved getting to know more about the man behind the poems I grew up hearing.
John Cooper Clarke is one of those people, who is such a cultural phenomenon, yet I did not know that much about him. When I heard that he was publishing this book I was very excited to read it. I am glad I did. It was a joy to listen to him tell his story. He has such a recognisable voice and way of speaking.
This is a pretty straightforward autobiography, but it is well-told and has a sense of humour that is very on point, but not too overdone. This is a man who has been there done that, but always seems to have been unapologetically himself. I love that. He talks us through his years trying to make a career for himself and gaining some success and recognition. He also talks us through his time as a heroine addict and recovery. Life has clearly not always been sunshine and roses, but though he talks about the low points, he does not linger on the negative.
The title of the book is the title of perhaps now his most famous poem, thanks in part to the Arctic Monkeys, who turned its words into a song, which is on their AM album. But there is so much more to this man than that poem. He is a fascinating individual, but at the end of the book he actually like someone you would enjoy having a drink with, who has stories to tell, but who knows life and happiness cannot be taken for granted, who can laugh at himself and root for others.
The book itself never becomes oversentimental, but always stays focussed on telling a life story worth telling and on the positive side of life. This and his wonderful turn of phrase is this autobiography’s strength in my opinion.
I would highly recommend the audio book. It gives you such a sense of who this man is. I am looking forward to (re)exploring some of his work.
This is a pretty straightforward autobiography, but it is well-told and has a sense of humour that is very on point, but not too overdone. This is a man who has been there done that, but always seems to have been unapologetically himself. I love that. He talks us through his years trying to make a career for himself and gaining some success and recognition. He also talks us through his time as a heroine addict and recovery. Life has clearly not always been sunshine and roses, but though he talks about the low points, he does not linger on the negative.
The title of the book is the title of perhaps now his most famous poem, thanks in part to the Arctic Monkeys, who turned its words into a song, which is on their AM album. But there is so much more to this man than that poem. He is a fascinating individual, but at the end of the book he actually like someone you would enjoy having a drink with, who has stories to tell, but who knows life and happiness cannot be taken for granted, who can laugh at himself and root for others.
The book itself never becomes oversentimental, but always stays focussed on telling a life story worth telling and on the positive side of life. This and his wonderful turn of phrase is this autobiography’s strength in my opinion.
I would highly recommend the audio book. It gives you such a sense of who this man is. I am looking forward to (re)exploring some of his work.
I knew his name alright, and have heard him speaking on TV a few times, just didn’t know a lot about the man - but I thought the book seemed interesting enough to take a chance on. Looking back, I probably wish I had have went with the audiobook to hear John reading it himself in his distinctive tones, but all the same I enjoyed this.
The life of the punk poet, from his early days in Manchester, is always entertaining – I did enjoy the post-war years of his childhood in Manchester (Though I would have sacrificed some of it for his later years) and the pop culture references in the 50’s and 60’s but it’s when his career
kicks off that the book really moved up a gear for me. He’s got a great turn of phrase, as you’d expect, and gets himself into some scrapes.
I enjoyed his accounts of the punk years and there are a lot of names mentioned , Nico and Martin Hannett, Chuck Berry, Mark E smith and Alex Turner to name but a few. There’s a lot about his heroin addiction in there, and maybe his later years were a bit rushed, but I did enjoy this. Going to check out more of his poetry.
The life of the punk poet, from his early days in Manchester, is always entertaining – I did enjoy the post-war years of his childhood in Manchester (Though I would have sacrificed some of it for his later years) and the pop culture references in the 50’s and 60’s but it’s when his career
kicks off that the book really moved up a gear for me. He’s got a great turn of phrase, as you’d expect, and gets himself into some scrapes.
I enjoyed his accounts of the punk years and there are a lot of names mentioned , Nico and Martin Hannett, Chuck Berry, Mark E smith and Alex Turner to name but a few. There’s a lot about his heroin addiction in there, and maybe his later years were a bit rushed, but I did enjoy this. Going to check out more of his poetry.
Poetry and I have a difficult relationship. I like learning about poetry, the nuances and the cleverly picked phrases. I love playing Where’s Wally with poems – find the metaphor, spot the simile detour relationship never really went beyond that which is strange because I love music and essentially lyrics are just poems to music. I digress.
However, every so often I find a poem that I just love. For me, one of those poems was I Wanna Be Yours by John Cooper Clarke. It made me curious, I started reading other poems by him and I kind of fell for his clever use of rhyme and unusual emphasis on syllables. Yep. I really liked it.
I was really excited when I found out that he was going to be releasing an autobiography. His crazy and random tales from his crazy and random life. I couldn’t wait. I listened to I Wanna Be Yours on Audiobook. I wanted to hear how John Cooper Clarke told his stories. Would they be like his poems? Would I be totally mesmerised and engaged. The answer to both of those questions is yes. His lyric style does not end at his poetic outputs. I genuinely feel that his lyricism and enunciation would be like having an every day conversation with John Cooper Clarke.
Some of the stories John Cooper Clarke tells are enough to make any punk fan toe-curlingly envious. I know I was as I read it. I wanted to have the experiences that he had. I wanted to be living that roguish lifestyle and see the things that he had seen, the performers that he got to see. I didn’t live through that time period but I did get to experience it somewhat vicariously through I Wanna Be Yours. This is definitely a book that needs a reread.
I Wanna Be Yours by John Cooper Clarke.
However, every so often I find a poem that I just love. For me, one of those poems was I Wanna Be Yours by John Cooper Clarke. It made me curious, I started reading other poems by him and I kind of fell for his clever use of rhyme and unusual emphasis on syllables. Yep. I really liked it.
I was really excited when I found out that he was going to be releasing an autobiography. His crazy and random tales from his crazy and random life. I couldn’t wait. I listened to I Wanna Be Yours on Audiobook. I wanted to hear how John Cooper Clarke told his stories. Would they be like his poems? Would I be totally mesmerised and engaged. The answer to both of those questions is yes. His lyric style does not end at his poetic outputs. I genuinely feel that his lyricism and enunciation would be like having an every day conversation with John Cooper Clarke.
Some of the stories John Cooper Clarke tells are enough to make any punk fan toe-curlingly envious. I know I was as I read it. I wanted to have the experiences that he had. I wanted to be living that roguish lifestyle and see the things that he had seen, the performers that he got to see. I didn’t live through that time period but I did get to experience it somewhat vicariously through I Wanna Be Yours. This is definitely a book that needs a reread.
I Wanna Be Yours by John Cooper Clarke.
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
funny
informative
medium-paced
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
In-depth memoir from a leading light of post-war British poetry. It has very short chapters which gives it a fast-paced feel, and I listened to JCC read it via audiobook, which really brings it to life. His is a life which spans multiple key artistic events and movements, and to hear the man retell stories, drop names, give behind the scenes looks at what his life was really like at the time, was remarkable. Great fun and provides insight into all manner of pop culture - spanning from his influences in the music halls of early 1900s UK and early Hollywood, to his later career, family and kids etc. Could do with less of the racial slurs.