John Cooper Clarke - Publications

John Cooper Clarke - Publications [updated - April 30th, '99]

In no particular order, here's a list of confirmed publications to date that either feature the poems of JCC or mention him someplace in the book... Click on any link for more info.

Directory '79 (Omnibus Press)
Ten Years in an Open Necked Shirt (early version???)
Ten Years in an Open Necked Shirt - and other poems (Arrow/Arena edition)
New Departures #14 - 1982 (New Departures)
New Departures #13 (New Departures)
New Departures #12 (New Departures)
The Pow Anthology #21-22 (New Departures)
Songs They Never Play on the Radio - James Young
Grandchildren of Albion (New Departures)
England is Mine
90° in My Shades

Rock Talk

Please note this information is the best I have to date and I always appreciate any corrections and updates from people who actually know or have copies of stuff. ...[e-mail here]

Directory 79: One of the first publications (that we know of) to feature the poems of JCC. Styled like a Telephone Directory with all the lyrics overlaid on pages listing the names Cooper or Clarke.

All the addresses and phone numbers of these London '01' listings were blacked-out with a pen. It was published by Omnibus Press (in 1979) - according to Iain who has a copy.

The actual poems featured, were:

Readers Wives

Post War Glamour Girl

Psycle Sluts

Tracksuit

Teenage Werewolf

Valley of the Lost Women

I Don't Wanna be Nice

Health Fanatic

Ten Years in an Open-Necked Shirt

Salome Malony

(I Married a) Monster from Outer Space

Strange Bedfellows

Credit acknowledgments in the book read...

Copyright 1979 by Omnibus Press
ISBN 0.86001.630.7
UK Order No OP 40526
Photography: Kevin Cummings Tom Sheehan, Paul Slattery

To see some more photos from this book, look in the Photo Section.

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Ten Years in an Open Necked Shirt: We're guessing a lot about this particular book because we don't have much information on it. Here's what we do know though:

It's styled much like Directory 79, with all the poems set on pages of a Telephone Directory. I have a photocopy of this book and the pages all are full letterhead size.

One main differences to Directory 79 book is the fact that all of these directory pages show business listings, and in most cases, the poem is overlaid on an appropriate kind of page... for example: 'Bronze Adonis' is overlaid on a Health Clubs page, and '...Nipple in the Daily Express' is overlaid on a Newsagents page, etc. They are also all Manchester listings with the phone numbers being an '061' areas code.

The poems featured in this book suggest it was a follow up to Directory 79, and perhaps an early version of the 1983 Arrow/Arena publication. There are only a couple of differences (poem wise) between the two, and it has one Steve Maguire illustration which was presumably used for the front cover. I can't find any credit on it anywhere but there may be some. No photographs are used and I can't see any page numbers listed either.

The actual poems featured, are:

The Bronze Adonis

Majorca

I Mustn't Go Down to the Sea Again

Valley of the Lost Women

You Never See A Nipple in the Daily Express

Evidently Chickentown

This Heart Disease Called Love

A Love Story in Reverse (Twat)

I Wanna Be Yours

I Married a Monster from Outer Space

Belladonna

The Pest

Gaberdine Angus

I Don't Wanna Be Nice

Full-Time Loser

The It Man

The House on Nowhere Street

23rd

36 Hours

90 Degrees In My Shades

Conditional Discharge

Post War Glamour Girl

The Day The World Stood Still

Limbo

Euro Communist/Gucci Socialist

The Day My Pad Went MAD

Salomey Maloney

The Ghost of Al Capone

Pscyle Sluts: Parts 1 & 2

The Face Behind the Scream

I Was a Teenage Werewolf

Midnight Shift

Kung Fu International

That's about all I can say until we have more info.

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Ten Years in an Open Necked Shirt - and other poems:

The book most people are familiar with...

First published by Arrow/Arena Books in 1983, this book features 49 poems by JCC.

Illustrated throughout with detailed artworks by Steve Maguire, it's long out of print and rare to find a copy for sale anywhere these days... if at all

It must have sold pretty well while it was around though because it was reprinted in '84, '85, '86, and '87, but then it disappeared without trace. It seems Arrow/Arena were taken over by someone called 'Vintage Publishing' several years back, and subsequently, they in turn were themselves taken over by 'Random House Publishing.'

E-Mail contact with Random House confirms they are very unlikely to ever reprint it, so it's up to someone to make Johnny an offer he can't refuse (if we ever want to see another copy in print again).

More E-Mail contact with Steve Maguire also informs me that his 'original' illustrations for the book might 'possibly' be for sale... (See 'For Sale' in the misc/trivia section).

Miracles do happen though: I was fortunate enough to get a copy for myself from Howard in Australia who discovered 3 mint copies sitting in a second-hand store in his home town of Roma. The owner of the store didn't think he'd ever sell them until Howard walked in and bought all three for a dollar a piece.

Poems covered in the book are...

Ten Years in an Open Necked Shirt
Euro Communist/Gucci Socialist
The Ghost of Al Capone
I Mustn't Go Down to the Sea Again
The Face Behind the Scream
90 Degrees in My Shades
Psycle Sluts: part 1
Psycle Sluts: part 2
The Day My Pad Went Mad
I Married a Monster From Outer Space
Belladonna
I Wanna be Yours
Readers' Wives
I Was a Teenage Werewolf - or Was I
A Love Story in Reverse
This Heart Disease Called Love
Post War Glamour Girl
Full Time Loser
The New Assassin
The It Man
Evidently Chickentown
The Day the World Stood Still
I Travel in Biscuits
Salomey Maloney
Midnight Shift

Kung Fu International
36 Hours
The Pest
Drive She Said
Valley of the Lost Women
Gaberdine Angus
I Don't Wanna Be Nice
Health Fanatic
(I Got a Brand New) Tracksuit
Sleepwalk
Beasley Street
Suspended Sentence
Limbo
A Distant Relation
The House on Nowhere Street
Spilt Beans
Majorca
Conditional Discharge
Nothing
23rd
The Bronze Adonis
You Never See a Nipple in the Daily Express
The Isle of Man
Night People

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New Departures #14 for 1982 / Second International Poetry Olympics:

I assume this was a program for the event. It features the work of numerous poets including: Samuel Becket, R.D. Lang, Andrei Voznessensky, John Cooper Clarke, Brian Patten, Paul Weller, David Gasgoyne, Roger McGouch, Heathcote Williams, Alan Ginsberg, Elizabeth Smart, Yevgeny Yevtushenko.

It's illustrated by Barry Fantoni (of Private Eye fame), John Furnival, David Hockney, R.B. Kitaj, Ron Sanford, et al ---- It has an ISBN # of: 0 902689 10 X.

I have a few photocopies of some pages, but it appears from the page numbers to contain at least 60 - 70 pages.

It features 3 poems by JCC...

I Travel in Biscuits
I Married a Monster From Outer Space
National Dried and All Bran

New Departures are listed as being at: Piedmont, Bisley, Stroud, Glos GL6 7BU, England.

I assume they are still in existance if anyone wants to write to them, and please feel free to update us with any news

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New Departures #13:

This one is listed as being 'Lucky Dip at the Crack of Doom issue.' It features the work of numerous poets: John Arden, Peter Blake, John Cooper Clarke, Fran Landesman, Adrian Mitchell, Frank Norman, and many others, including... Richard Adams, Pete Brown, Lol Coxhill, Ivor Cutler, Mal Dean, Lynn Foote, Lee Harwood, Spike Hawkins, the cartoonist Heath, Adrian Henri, Adam, Frances & Michael Horovitz, Mark Hyatt, Bert Kitchen, Jackie Klemes, Christopher Logue, Roger McGough, Tom McGrath, Jeff Nuttall, Brian Patten, Tom Raworth, Stan Tracey, Patrick Waites, Ronnie Wathen, Heathcote Williams, Robin Williamson, and few choice selected words from George Harrison and the late lamented immortal John Lennon (ex-MBE).

It has an ISBN number of: 0 902689 09 6 and is priced at one pound.

This edition contained a new poem by JCC, unreleased to date, called...

Apart from the Revolution

New Departures are listed as being at: Piedmont, Bisley, Stroud, Glos GL6 7BU, England. If anyone writes to them, please let have some updates.

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New Departures #12:

This issue is listed as being a special anthology issue on the occasion of the celebration of the conception of the first - Poetry Olympics.

Launched from Poet's Corner, Westminster Abbey, London on Friday 26th September, 1980.

Readings to be performed by... John Cooper Clarke, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Edward Limonov, Anne Stevenson, Gregory Corso, Dennis Lee, Stephen Spender, and Derek Walcott.

This particular issue credits JCC as being born in 1950 in Salford, and contains the poem...

Ten Years in an Open Necked Shirt.

It has an ISBN number on it: 0 902689 08 8, and a list price of 0.75 pence. New Departures are listed as being at: Piedmont, Bisley, Stroud, Glos GL6 7BU, England. If anyone writes to them, please let have some updates - thanks

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The Pow Anthology 21-22 / New Departures:

A red paperback with 108 pages and an introduction that states... “An illustrated anthology of poets, singer-songwriters, musicians, and performance artists of the world - to celebrate, commemorate, and consolidate the first Poetry Olympics Weekend Festival.”

Edited by Michael Horovitz and Inge Elsa Laird, published by New Departures 1996
ISBN Number: 0 902689 177 7

Apart from JCC, it includes works by: Damon Albarn, Simon Armitage, Sujata Bhatt, Nick Cave, Ray Davies, Carol Ann Duffy, Paul Durcan, James Fenton, John Hegley, Miroslav Holub, Nerys Hughes, Brendan Kennelly, Hanif Kureishi, Christopher Logue, Roger McGough, Adrian Mitchell, Moondog, Grace Nichols, Patti Smith, EJ Thribb, Stan Tracey, Andrei Voznesensky, Heathcote Williams, Jah Wobble... and a message from Ted Hughes...

The featured poems of John's are:

Hire Car
Tom Jones
Haiku

The last two poems being written in John's own hand as an added extra to Hire Car... (see in his own hand).

You can try writing to New Departures at: PO Box 9819, London, W11 2GQ, England. Price is listed as being six pounds and ninety-nine pence.

Songs They Never Play on the Radio:

This book by James Young is essentially a biography about Nico (of Velvet Underground fame). There was a period when she and JCC were a unit together, and consequently there are a couple of chapters where John is mentioned extensively.

I was told in 1997 that this book had been optioned and there was a possible movie deal in the wings. Feel free to speculate as to who might play JCC in the movie version.

Al in England recently sent me a copy, and having read it, I can honestly say that it's a very entertaining read and I highly recommend it. You can get online at amazon.com where it goes under the American title of 'The End.'

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Grandchildren of Albion

Published by New Departures in 1992: ISBN 0 902689 14 2

Featuring the work of numerous poets, including; JCC, Lynton Kwesi Johnson, Okri, Zephaniah, Horovitz, McCabe, Billy Bragg, Paul Weller and others. The following JCC poems published in it:

Psycle Sluts
Beezley Street
Salome Maloney
Track Suit
Readers' Wives
Concussion
Nothing
The Pagan
The Pest

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England is Mine by Michael Bracewell

Published by ???? in 1998: ISBN# ????

Now out in paperback. This book contains a lengthy appreciation of Mr Cooper Clarke, and 'Beasley Street' in particular.

It's subtitled 'Pop life in Albion from Wilde to Goldie', and it's an attempt to trace the thread of 'Englishness' in pop through such as people as; Morrissey, Betjemen, the Fall, and assorted other suspects in a similar vein.

It even compares JCC to T.S. Eliot.

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90° in my Shades

I was completely unaware of this book until Derek wrote in saying he had a copy. Until we get more info on it, that's all I can say.

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Rock Talk

Features two published poems:

Tom Jones
Beezley Street

(their bad spelling, not ours)

The introduction to the book is as follows... “JOHN COOPER CLARKE was the original (and best) punk-poet, who has since had his poems featured in the GCSE syllabus, co-starred with the Honey Monster in Sugar Puff ads, and missed more deadlines than Bernard Matthews has had gobbles.”

The version of Beasley Street contained in this book is slighly different to the one on 'Snap, Crackle, & Bop,' with some alternative wordings and the last two verses switched around. There's a story that John apparantly missed the deadline by quite a bit and they were allowed to include Beasley Street as an additional poem.

The ever so short Tom Jones is identified as being the 'debut of a brand new poem.'

ps... for anyone interested in writing to them, the The Do-Not Press were listed as being at: PO Box 4215, London SE23 2QD, UK. (Thanks to John for sending the scan)

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