John Cooper Clarke announces Irish tour

The bard of Salford who's influenced the Arctic Monkeys but hopefully no hairdos is set to hit Black Box, Belfast (November 9); Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny (10); Button Factory, Dublin (11); The Pavilion, Cork (12); and Roisin Dubh, Galway (13).

Clarke rose to punk prominence in the 1970s after touring with Elvis Costello, Sex Pistols, and Buzzcocks. But his influence is still felt today as modern bands draw inspiration from his sound, music students study his poems, and the rest of us try to resist his commands to order pizza on the telly (Yep, that's his voice in the Domino's ad below).