Top nostalgia

Beats

Don’t MISS... John Cooper Clarke

When? Friday and Saturday.

WHERE? Dancehouse Theatre, Oxford Road, Manchester.

The Bard of Salford is back. John made his name as a punk poet, opening for acts such as The Sex Pistols, Joy Division, Buzzcocks and New Order.

Last year, one of his poems made a B-side for Reverend and The Makers hit “Heavyweight Champion of The World”. Poem “Out of Control Fairground” was printed on Arctic Monkeys single “Fluorescent Adolescent” and frontman Alex Turner has often cited John’s work as lyrically inspiring.

When you see JCC live you can expect a mix of hilarious anecdotes of life in a northern town interspersed with machine-gun fast delivery of some of his best poems.