Dr John Cooper Clarke, will perform at Birmingham Town Hall on Saturday 24th October as part of a major new UK tour, following the publication of his raucous new poetry collection, HAVE IT, on 1st October.
From the Poet Laureate of Punk, Clarke’s gaze has only become more piercing since his last collection WHAT. At once icon and iconoclast, his new collection guides readers through the absurdities of modern life in his signature ‘high heel Chelseas’, their rapid-fire click- clack reverberating across the lines of his verse and off the walls of those institutions unlucky enough to find themselves deserving of an ode. Pre sales copies available
In Have It, more than in any other collection, Clarke confronts his mortality head-on. The result, while quintessential John Cooper Clarke, is simultaneously more comic and more tragic than ever before.
2025 saw Dr John Cooper Clarke achieve historical feats as he became the first poet to headline a UK arena – the biggest indoor arena in Europe, Manchester’s Co-op Live. The celebrated poet also received the prestigious 2025 Northern Music Award in recognition of his phenomenal influence in the music world. In 2026, Dr John Cooper Clarke is bringing his latest and greatest work to the stage and the page with this major UK tour and book release.
John’s anarchic punk poetry has thrilled people for decades and his no-nonsense approach to his work has seen his career spanning cultures, audiences, art forms and continents. His critically acclaimed 2020 memoir ‘I Wanna Be Yours’ explored his extraordinary life, filled with remarkable personalities.
The tour will see Clarke introducing this new body of work alongside his beloved, hilarious and classic fan-favourites.
2026 UK HEADLINE TOUR
Tue 06 Oct Tring Dembe Theatre
Wed 07 Oct Southend Palace Theatre
Sat 10 Oct Poole Lighthouse
Sun 11 Oct Bristol Beacon
Wed 14 Oct Brighton Theatre Royal
Thu 15 Oct London Palladium
Sat 17 Oct Sheffield City Hall
Tue 20 Oct Glasgow Pavilion
Wed 21 Oct Carlisle Old Fire Station
Fri 23 Oct Stoke-On-Trent Victoria Hall
Sat 24 Oct Birmingham Town Hall
Wed 28 Oct Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
Fri 30 Oct Leeds City Varieties Music Hall
Sat 31 Oct Leeds City Varieties Music Hall
Wed 04 Nov Whitley Bay The Playhouse
Fri 06 Nov York Grand Opera House
Thu 12 Nov Dublin 3 Olympia
Sat 14 Nov Portrush Town Hall
Sun 15 Nov Belfast Mandela Hall
Wed 18 Nov Blackpool Opera House
Sat 21 Nov Manchester O2 Apollo
Wed 25 Nov Leicester De Montfort Hall
Fri 27 Nov Edinburgh Queens Hall
‘Have It’ and all of John Cooper Clarke’s books will be available at all of the shows.