At 5 feet 11 inches (116lb, 32in chest, 27in waist), in trademark suit jacket, skin-tight drainpipes and dark glasses, with jet-black back-combed hair and mouth full of gold teeth, he is instantly recognisable. He toured with Bill Nelson's band Be-Bop Deluxe in 1978 and was signed by Epic Records, who issued the studio album Disguise In Love, produced by Hannett, in 1978. His poem " I Wanna Be Yours" was adapted by Arctic Monkeys and frontman Alex Turner for the band's fifth album, AM, released on 9 September 2013. I've seen Clarke several times as the Dictionary Corner guest on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, and I always really enjoy him. Without spoiling any of the stories, the yarn of the dope dealer Nico sorts out in Amsterdam, and how JCC worked out who this was two decades later after recognising his fresh-faced ghost on the screen, is retold hauntingly.

I'm not usually one for autobiographies and thinking about it now, I think maybe the only proper autobiographical writing I've read is Simone de Beauvoir's Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter. My cat was not as impressed with my renditions--I will admit that my attempts at Clarke's accent were a massive failure--but I found speaking the words out loud really enhanced my experience. After several false starts, he eventually cleaned up, but by this time his career had taken a nosedive.There's the story behind the fashion, the stories behind the music, and the hard living, sex and drugs and rock'n'roll lifestyle, although to be honest the sex seemed somewhat less than the other two in this case.

There's not much wisdom to be gleaned here, but it is entertaining on the most part and for those not really into reading introspective or too involving poetry with an edge this is great, and I would encourage those that can to see him on stage if you like his stuff and you will find, if you have not already, why this 'punk poet' inspired generations of poet and set performances ablaze with new audiences. In a book of many surprises, one of the earliest is that John's first regular residency as a performer in Manchester's clubs was at Bernard Manning's Embassy Club. The poems speak for themselves, Salford laconic,best delivered in his early persona , rapid-fire, and those rhythms that lodge in your head. Unusually, I was more interested in reading this biography for the company the man kept, rather than the man himself. Bonus observation: One thing that *really* shocked me was seeing photos of John without his trademark sunglasses: he's the spitting image of Paul O'Grady.A five star no-brainer for me, but I really wonder how others not having a similar background might feel about it.