John Cooper Clarke on touring with the Buzzcocks, meeting Chuck Berry, and inspiring the Arctic Monkeys 

The Louis Theroux Podcast

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Wednesday, 4 November 2026 - 1 hour 20 minutes

In this episode, Louis speaks with the Poet Laureate of Punk, the Bard of Salford, the Doctor: performance poet John Cooper Clarke. The pair discuss John’s time touring with the Buzzcocks, meeting Chuck Berry backstage, and how his poetry inspired Alex Turner to form Arctic Monkeys.  

Warnings: Strong language and adult themes.  

Links/Attachments: 

Book: Have It, John Cooper Clarke (2026) 

https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/john-cooper-clarke/have-it/9781037404191 

Book: I Wanna Be Yours, John Cooper Clarke (2020) 

https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/john-cooper-clarke/i-wanna-be-yours/9781509896127  

Advert: Honey Monster & John Cooper Clarke (1988) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ced-0BwY9E  

Poem: A Subaltern’s Love Song, John Betjeman (1940) 

https://allpoetry.com/A-Subaltern's-Love-Song  

Poem: Slough, John Betjeman (1937) 

https://allpoetry.com/poem/8493391-Slough-by-Sir-John-Betjeman  

Song: That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore, The Smiths (1985) 

https://open.spotify.com/track/48veRDsAEBOJJnVnnabV99  

Poem: Evidently Chickentown, John Cooper Clarke (1980) 

https://open.spotify.com/track/3bJxvUhRN4nJgab71HkIjc  

TV Show: The Sopranos (1999-2007) 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0141842/  

Poem: TWAT, John Cooper Clarke (1979) 

https://open.spotify.com/track/0yEZiblovbuepAogvzSe2w  

Poem: I Wanna Be Yours, John Cooper Clarke (1982) 

https://open.spotify.com/album/2etRijq79Wz2U9TIy9ZpdM  

Song: I Wanna Be Yours, Arctic Monkeys (2013) 

https://open.spotify.com/track/5XeFesFbtLpXzIVDNQP22n  

Film: House of Usher (1960) 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053925/  

Book: Tales of Mystery & Imagination, Edgar Allen Poe (1839) 

https://wordsworth-editions.com/product/tales-of-mystery-and-imagination/  

Book: Les Fleurs du Mal, Charles Baudelaire (1857) 

https://dauntbooks.co.uk/shop/books/the-flowers-of-evil-les-fleurs-du-mal/  

Poem: The Man Who Didn’t Love Elvis, John Cooper Clarke (2018) 

https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/john-cooper-clarke/the-luckiest-guy-alive/9781509896066 

Poem: Salome Malone, John Cooper Clarke (1978) 

https://open.spotify.com/track/597ALlSF9Zz08DmYaTrKAr 

Song: I’m A Lazy Sod, Sex Pistols (1977) 

https://open.spotify.com/track/760CNZQRrfO7Dse1mkYVn6  

Poem: A Cheap Agnostic Funeral, John Cooper Clarke (2026) 

https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/john-cooper-clarke/have-it/9781037404191  

Producer: Millie Chu  

Senior Assistant Producer: Maisie Ellen Williams  

Junior Production Manager: Rosie Pender 

Production Executive: Francesca Bassett 

Original Music: Miguel D’Oliveira 

Video Editor: Scott Edwards 

Audio Editor: Tom Guest 

Executive Producer: Arron Fellows 

A Mindhouse Studios Production for Spotify. 

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