The Judge
RAVES!
Date: 14/12/10
John Cooper Clarke - "Beasley Street" (1980)
John Cooper Clarke is a pioneering figure, in that he combines poetic sensibilties with the original beat/punk ethos. He first came to prominence in the late 1970s with poems which often addressed the seedy side of life at the time melded - once he had been lured into the studio to re-record them - with some of Manchester's best young musicians of that time, under the production of the legendary Martin Hannett.
Beasley Street is probably Clarke's masterpiece. Appearing on his 1980 LP Snap Crackle [&] Bop, it sums up what it was like to live in a depressed and depressing city at the beginning of the Thatcher era and, as such, could equally apply to those living in such circumstances and such times as we find around us today.
There is, in fact, a better video put to the track, but some bunch of corporate asshats referring to themselves as 'Sony Music Entertainment' have blocked it from some 'territories' (including, ironically, the one most interested in viewing it). If you want to see if you can view it wherever you are, click this link).
Update: It seems that something has changed and that I, at least, can see that one as well now. Just in case you can, here it is:
