Dr John Cooper Clarke & Hugh Cornwell: This Time It's Personal Tour at O2 Academy Bristol on Wednesday 30 November 2016

Dr John Cooper Clarke & Hugh Cornwell: This Time It's Personal Tour at O2 Academy Bristol on Wednesday 30 November 2016

Posted on: 17 Nov 2016

Titan of contemporary poetry Dr John Cooper Clarke has teamed up with rock music icon Hugh Cornwell to release their first album 'This Time It's Personal' - and they'll be performing selections from it at O2 Bristol Academy on Wednesday 30 November 2016.

 

It's their first collaboration (which might be surprising enough in itself), and the album consists of 10 songs that made an impact and influenced both of them growing up, in particular reflecting their love of classic American and British pop.

 

There's not, however, a single poetic spoken word penned by the black shock-haired, sharp-suited, pipe cleaner-legged Bard of Salford, whose satirical, acerbic, adroitly observed, hysterical poems (including classics such as Twat, Evidently Chickentown, You Never See a Nipple in the Daily Express and  (I Married a) Monster From Outer Space) have entered the pantheon of immortal contemporary prose.

Dr John Cooper Clarke & Hugh Cornwell: This Time It's Personal Tour - O2 Academy

Instead, Cooper Clarke is acting as lead vocalist for the first time (at the not-so tender age of 67), while Cornwell - guitarist for the punk rock/new wave band the Stranglers from 1974 to 1990 - plays all the guitars as well as acting as producer of the album. 

 

Tracks will include songs by the likes of Jimmy Webb, Ricky Nelson, Conway Twitty, Richie Valens and Lieber & Stoller, each of them being treated with the respect they deserve to reflect Cooper Clarke and Cornwell's total, committed reverence for the material. 

 

A persona musical voyage and a sonic trip down memory lane for both of them, the This Time It's Personal tour has been going great guns at venues all across the UK and performing to enthusiastic, sell-out crowds.

 

The pairing might have been ultimately inevitable, the results gleefully surprising, but this musical coming of age by two of the most influential monuments in their respective fields will be one of the most refreshing, unexpected and entertaining gigs you'll see all year.

 

You can get yours mitts on tickets here. O2 Academy Bristol is located at 1-2, Frogmore St, Bristol, BS1 5NA


Article by:

Jamie Caddick

Jamie is a writer, blogger, journalist, critic, film fan, soundtrack nerd and all-round Bristolian good egg.  He loves the music of Philip Glass, the art of Salvador Dali, the writings of Charles Bukowksi and Hunter S Thompson, the irreverence of Harry Hill, and the timeless, straw-chomping exuberance of The Wurzels.  You can sometimes find him railing against a surging tide of passing cyclists, or gorging himself senseless on the Oriental delights of a Cosmos all-you-can-eat buffet.