Showing posts with label Shahesta Shaitly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shahesta Shaitly. Show all posts

Saturday, June 11, 2016

John Cooper Clarke / This much I know / ‘Impotent rage is my default setting. Specifically when it comes to politics’

John Cooper Clarke
Photograph by Ki Price
John Cooper Clarke: ‘Impotent rage is my default setting. Specifically when it comes to politics’

The poet, 67, on late fatherhood, not liking crowds, and being a control freak
‘A dry martini and the odd flutter on the nags are my lasting vices’ John Cooper Clarke

Portrait of the artist / John Cooper Clarke / At heart, I'm just a frustrated playboy


Shahesta Shaitly
Saturday 11 June 2016 14.00 BST
It only takes one person to change a lot of minds. I went to what can only be described as a slum school in Salford – rough and full of trainee punks – but I was very lucky in that I had one inspiring teacher, John Malone, who gave the whole class an interest in romantic poetry. Somehow he created a hothouse, competitive atmosphere. Poetry, because of him, became a macho thing at our school, and we discovered very quickly that it was a great way to impress chicks.
I’m not fond of crowds. I’m no jittery neurotic, but I don’t really want to be surrounded by a lot of people if I have a choice. A big audience though… now that I love.
By the 80s, anything to do with punk was perceived as rancid. Me being known as the “punk poet” meant my work and I plummeted. I spent a decade living a feral existence on very little, and heroin became a big part of that. Slowly, with help, I managed to get myself out.
Impotent rage is my default setting. Specifically when it comes to politics. I can’t believe the ideas people walk around with. I try not to get too upset but it’s got to the point where I’d like to stop reading the news, as I’m infuriated on a daily basis.
I worry about other people’s kids. I watched a guy in the street yesterday pushing his daughter in a pram while he had his phone wedged between his ear and shoulder. The thought of him crossing the road without looking horrified me.
A dry martini and the odd flutter on the nags are my lasting vices. I don’t drink until after 6pm – I’m no lush – but a few glasses of wine with dinner and chat is a nice way to spend an evening, isn’t it?

The last time I cried was today, when I heard an old friend had died. I’ve said goodbye to a lot of my pals in recent years. I guess it’s an occupational hazard at this point in my life.
If I’d have known how much fun fatherhood would be, I would have started way earlier than 45. I know that men can still father children into their late years, but we decided not to. My daughter is a great kid.
Films are one of my greatest loves. Old films, with proper film stars like John Wayne and Dean Martin. You don’t get screen stars of that magnitude any more. Most of them couldn’t chew gum and fart at the same time.

I’m writing more poetry now than everbecause the world is infuriating. My poetry can come from anger at something on the telly or the radio, and then it just blurts out. It’s always about real stuff – I don’t have time for fiction or fantasy.
I’m a total control freak. If I wasn’t a poet, I’d probably be some tin-pot dictator of a banana republic. Whatever I do, I’ve got to be in charge.
I’ve turned into my dad. He was always a bit of a comedian. My aunts used to say that I was a miniature version of him and encouraged me to be entertaining, but it’s only now when I bet on a horse or have a drink that I see that I’m actually morphing into him.
I look like a ruined matinée idol. I fucking hate getting old, but it’s too late to complain – I’m already there.

THE GUARDIAN



THIS MUCH I KNOW

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Saturday, February 15, 2014

David Bailey / This much I know / Cockneys don´t cry



This much I know

 David Bailey: 'Cockneys don't cry. It's not for me, all that whingeing and moaning'


The photographer, 76, on class snobbery, the importance of body language, and being an outsider

Shahesta Shaitly
Saturday 15 February 2014 15.00 GMT
My two biggest influences are Walt Disney and Picasso. I was six years old when the local cinema in Upton Park was bombed by a V2. I was so pissed off with Hitler. I thought he'd killed Bambi and Mickey Mouse.
I spent my childhood in a state of embarrassment because I couldn't spell. I was severely dyslexic and didn't learn to read until I joined the Air Force.
You always get stuck with where you began. People think of my days in the swinging 60s, regardless of what I've done in the following 50 years.
The 50s was the worst decade I've lived through. It was grim. The soundtrack was cracking glass – everywhere you went, there was broken glass. At least people had fun during the war in the 40s – there was a general attitude of: "Why not do it tonight? We could all be dead tomorrow."
I don't know why they let me in at Vogue [in 1960]. Back then they didn't even use models who were working class. The number of times I heard: "Oh no, we can't shoot her, have you heard her speak?" It was class snobbery of the highest order. I think I got in because the art director [John French] was gay. We were both outsiders and that's why he kept me.
The thought of eating flesh makes my stomach turn. My dad thought I was queer when I stopped eating meat at 12 and refused to play football.
I'm not sure what art is. I couldn't describe it. It's like love – sort of ethereal.
Waking up makes me happy. I'm still here! I rise with the larks. I like the light the morning brings and feel I've lost the day if I miss it.
Cockneys don't cry. It's not for me, all that whingeing and moaning. And it annoys me when others do it. Get over it! Things could always be worse.
We live, we grow old, we die. I don't want to go, but I am curious to see what happens.
Political correctness is a form of mind control. We all have the right to think, and say, what we want.
My wife has never lost her mystery. I'm sure that's why we've been married for so long. I'm still crazy about her. I loved my other wives – Penelope Tree, Catherine Deneuve, Marie Helvin – but not in the same way as Catherine [Dyer].
I wish I had more empathy. I tend to see things as they are. If a friend says, "My girlfriend's left me," my first reaction is, "Find another one". I don't understand why people make a fuss over something they can't control.
You can tell a lot about a person by the way they move. Body language says more than what someone can verbalise. Some people are more erudite and articulate than others, but that doesn't mean they're more interesting or valid.
My greatest fear is that my dick will drop off. It's every man's worst nightmare if they're honest.



THIS MUCH I KNOW

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