JCC at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, London 9th May, 1998:

John put in an all too brief appearance at this Saturday night gay poetry / music club ( Am I gay? No I just help them out when they're busy).

He was billed to come on at half past ten but finally appeared about midnight as the club didn't fill up till the Eurovision song contest finished. There really is no accounting for taste. The set included the usual live favourites... 'Hire Car', 'Evidently Chickentown', 'Health Fanatic', 'Martin Newell', 'Are You The Business' and especially for Eurovision night 'I Wrote The Songs.' There were a few jokes lobbed in for good measure , but not enough for this reviewers liking.

The evening was being filmed for an 'educational video' which prompted a routine about dyslexia (“a word no fucker can spell!”) and some general philosophical observation on life: “they say 'never kick a man while he's down' and I say 'tell me a better time.” “Who wants everything? There'd be nowhere to put it” “Nothing really matters ... and anyway what if it did?”

I'd love to finish this review with something wonderfully witty , but anything I attempted would be a piss poor second after spending Saturday in the presence of Britain's funniest comedian (...who happens to knock out quite a lot of bloody good poems').

More gigs North of the Thames please.

Johnny Clarke You Are the Business

Review by David Benson... 13 may 1997