JOHN Cooper Clarke is coming to Bristol this weekend, performing the poetry that has got the country talking for generations.

Now in his 60s, JCC has been at the forefront of his art since the 1970s, when he performed with the likes of The Sex Pistols and The Buzzcocks.

He has recently become even more well-known, largely thanks to the inclusion of several of his works on the GCSE syllabus, as well as having the words to the poem ‘I Wanna be Yours’ adopted by the Arctic Monkeys.

Although he is known as ‘The Bard of Salford’, JCC has lived in Essex for more than 20 years, and he laughs when I refer to ‘home’.

“This is ‘home’ - I’ve lived here longer than I’ve lived anywhere else in the country! There’s always a warm welcome for me in Manchester, and I love playing there, but then I love doing gigs in Bristol, too. The crowd there is always fantastic.”

John’s fanbase stretches from those who remember him performing back in the 70s through to those who have seen him perform at recent summer festivals, revelling in his biting satirical wit and rapid-fire delivery, both elements being equally vital to his success.

“I’m not a revival act but I’m much more successful now than I ever have been. There’s no typical age for a JCC ‘afficionado’, so I can honestly say I’ve got fans from age 16 to 65.”

Unlike many in the fickle entertainment industry, John seems comfortable with his place in popular culture.

“It’s all peaks for me at the moment. I love doing the festivals. It wasn’t so long ago that the summer was an enforced holiday because all the colleges broke up and there was no one around to come to your gigs. Now I get to go to all these festivals and I’ve got a whole new load of fans, especially now I’ve done the collaboration with the Arctic Monkeys. I loved what they did with ‘I Wanna be Yours’.

“I did try the music thing but I really was a lot more successful as a poet; back then I was trying to fit in. It was a young man’s world but of course I was a young man! I don’t miss it. I was probably higher profile then but I’m definitely more widely known now.”

So, has JCC ever tried to answer the GCSE questions set about his texts?

“No, I’ve never done that,” laughs John. “Everybody in the world has written a poem of some kind. It’s probably one of the most widely practised of the arts. So to have your work rammed down the throats of unsuspecting school children, well it’s every poet’s dream, isn’t it?”

So what can you expect from a John Cooper Clarke gig?

“Up until 5 years ago there was much more stand-up in my act but people keep on at me to keep writing the poetry, so that’s what I’m doing. They seem to think I’m pretty good at it! The more you write the better it is, really.”

John is the man who says his default setting is ‘laughter through the tears’ and he still stands by that, but you can certainly expect more than a few laughs on Saturday night.

Cooper Clarke live should be on everyone’s ‘must do’ list, because no one brings the stark reality of life quite like the ‘Bard of Salford’.

John Cooper Clarke is coming to Bristol’s Anson Rooms on Saturday, October 18. Doors open 7pm (unreserved seating).