John Cooper Clarke opened Arctic Monkeys‘ gig in New York last night with a special performance of ‘I Wanna Be Yours’ to mark the 10th anniversary of ‘AM’.
- READ MORE: The full story of Arctic Monkeys’ album ‘AM’
Clarke’s poem is covered by the band as the last track of their lauded 2013 album, which celebrated its birthday on Saturday (September 9).
At the second of two shows from the band at the venue in Queens, Clarke came on stage before the band’s performance to share a rendition of the iconic poem.
See footage of the performance below.
This is how the Arctic Monkeys’ show began on the 10th anniversary of “AM”, with John Cooper Clarke reciting “I Wanna Be Yours”.pic.twitter.com/C6VWLmusnz
— The Information Action Ratio (@RatioMonkeys) September 10, 2023
Dr John Cooper Clarke reciting I Wanna Be Yours on AM’s 10th anniversary 🤍
🎥 savingchasehttps://t.co/pOZnBU6gRq pic.twitter.com/g7EtGmNHVG
— Arctic Monkeys Japan (@ArcticMonkeysJP) September 10, 2023
Dr. John Cooper Clarke – I Wanna Be Yours
🎥: brooklynvegan / Forest Hills Stadium, New York Night 2 pic.twitter.com/Fhxc0Wui1A
— Arctic Monkeys Türkiye 🪩 (@amupdatestr) September 10, 2023
John Cooper Clarke opening Arctic Monkeys night two at Forest Hills night two!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/EmSg3xX2G0
— S (@sudhetto) September 10, 2023
Earlier this year, Clarke spoke about ‘I Wanna Be Yours’ hitting a billion streams and becoming a global hit.
He told The Guardian in response to news of its billionth stream: “Is that a lot? An American billion is different to a British billion – and I don’t know what either of them is. But it’s a fuck of a lot of listens.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Clarke said that he was in love with Artic Monkeys’ version. Besides the cover making him “a lot of PRS” (in reference to royalties), he credits it with boosting his profile, as he tours sizeable UK venues this month.
“I was never actually on the sausage,” he added, using the rhyming slang for the dole. “This is what I do, this is my job, and sometimes I’m doing better business than others. But thanks to a great extent to the lads sticking me into the pop world again, everything has gone from strength to strength.”
Arctic Monkeys’ US tour with Fontaines D.C. continues this month, ending in Los Angeles. See the dates below.
The band will then end the world tour for ‘The Car’ with finale shows in Ireland next month.
SEPTEMBER 2023
11 – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre, Alpharetta, Georgia, US
12 – Ascend Amphitheater, Nashville, Tennessee, US
15 – Moody Center, Austin, Texas, US
16 – Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Texas, US
18 – Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, Colorado, US
20 – Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah, US
22 – Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington, US
23 – Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
24 – Moda Center, Portland, Oregon, US
26 – Chase Center, San Francisco, California, US
27 – Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California, US
20 – The Kia Forum, Los Angeles, California, US
