Loose Canon

by Ian Shircore

‘The work Iâ€m known least for, but which is closest to my heart†– the 200 songs Clive James wrote with Pete Atkin are one of British musicâ€s best-kept secrets. With quotations of many of Jamesâ€s lyrics, Ian Shircore explores the meaning, impact and stories of the songs as he traces the duoâ€s 45-year partnership. Foreword by Stephen Fry.

216 pages, Paperback

Published October 4, 2018

About the author

Ian Shircore's mission is to rescue Clive James's poems from the "poetry ghetto" and bring them to people who would never normally read poetry (and would certainly not pick up a book about poetry).

Clive wrote some real duds - not surprising in the course of a 60-year career and more than 300 poems. But he also hit some wonderful highs. And like every other writer, musician or artist, he deserves to be remembered for his greatest work, rather than some dull, actuarial average. Would you choose to judge The Beatles by Run For Your Life, Octopus's Garden and Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey, or by their finest creations, like Strawberry Fields, Blackbird and Please, Please Me?

Some of Clive's best poems are already well known. The Book of My Enemy Has Been Remaindered is still going strong, 37 years on, and Japanese Maple is loved all over the world. But there are others, like Use of Space, At Ian Hamilton's Funeral and The Falcon Growing Old, that are just as moving. All I want is for more people to discover them and share the joy.

Reviews

[Duncan]

I've been a lover of the Pete Atkin & Clive James songs since pretty much their start in the mid 70s and I was delighted to find this book.
Their music never troubled the charts, they were the equivelent in the book world of literary works which never reach a chart dominated by genre fiction. Thus it's said Pete and Clive went straight from obscurity to cult status, missing out any of the intervening fame and fortune. They were successful elsewhere of course. Pete has had a distinguished career in radio production while Clive found fame by, well, by being Clive James.
I've listened to the albums countless times over the decades, but without gaining the insights that Ian Shircore brings in Loose Cannon. If you're already an admirer of the songs then this is a great read. If you're not then start here and find out what you've been missing.