Les Barker (born 30 January 1947) is an English poet. He is best known for his comedic poetry and parodies of popular songs, however he has also produced some very serious thought-provoking written work.
Originally from Manchester he trained in accountancy before his talent for the written word was discovered. Initially he toured around folk music venues as a solo performer, and later with The Mrs Ackroyd Band (named after his mongrel dog Mrs Ackroyd.) Les is not a singer and the Mrs Ackroyd Band with classically trained vocalists Hilary Spencer and Alison Younger, with keyboard player Chris Harvey have enabled Les's parodies to be performed live to enthusiastic response.
As well as touring Britain he has also performed in Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, the United States of America and Canada.
Poems, Parodies and Monologues
He has published 75 books to date and has released (either as a solo performer or with his band) 20 albums. His books typically feature a mixture of monologues and comic songs, with a few serious songs. The monologues tip the hat to Marriott Edgar, who wrote many of the monologues performed by Stanley Holloway. Like Edgar, Barker has created several recurring characters and themes, including Jason and the Arguments, Cosmo the Fairly Accurate Knife Thrower, Captain Indecisive, The Far off Land of Dyslexia and Spot of the Antarctic. All of these have become trademarks of Barker's work. Both his funny and more serious songs have become standards for other singers such as Waterson:Carthy and June Tabor.
He is also remarkable as being one of the few writers to get the Welsh place named Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantisiliogogogoch into a song successfully (it forms the main chorus of a song of the same name, and is sung four times). Les has now taken up residence in Wales and is fully proficient in that language, producing poetry written in the Welsh tongue.
He has remained firmly rooted in the circuit of folk clubs and festivals where he has a devoted following. Many other folk-poets and comedy writers like Mike Harding, Jasper Carrott, Billy Connolly and Max Boyce have moved into a mass media market, but Les Barker remains one among a few remaining comedy acts that still continue to work the folk circuit. Bernard Wrigley and Keith Donnelly[1] are other examples and Les has recently performed as part of a double act with the latter under the name "Idiot and Friend".
Guide Cats for the Blind
He also wrote a poem called "Guide Cats for the Blind" which led to an unexpected development. The poem was heard by Clive Lever, a keyboard player and comedy songwriter from Maidstone, who is involved in an organisation called the "British Computer Association of the Blind" (BCAB)[2]. The Association runs a program called EyeT4all[3], which aims to make computers accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired. Clive got in touch with Les, who agreed to the poem being used as the title track of a double fundraising CD . Les also agreed to the recording of a series of albums , in which his poems and songs would be recorded by artists from the folk world, but also by well known celebrities from the entertainment and theatrical world. Presenters from all five BBC Radio stations featured on the albums and so far between £40,000 and £50,000 has been raised.
So far three "Guide Cats" albums have been produced, "Guide Cats for the Blind"[4], "Missing Persians File"[5] and "Top Cat, White Tie and Tails"[6]. A fourth album "Catnav" is being prepared at the moment. The CDs contain performances of Les's poems by members of the folk world like June Tabor, Martin Carthy, Steve Tilston, Mike Harding and Tom Paxton but also well known figures like Jimmy Young, Nicholas Parsons, Terry Wogan, Nicky Campbell, Robert Lindsay, Prunella Scales and Andrew Sachs. This has been a new development and has brought Les's work to a wider audience outside the folk club and festival circuit which has taken him very much to their hearts over the years.
Recent Developments and Poet Laureate Campaign
Les Barker recently had a heart problem which involved undergoing surgery, and he has had to disband The Mrs Ackroyd Band for the foreseeable future , but he has started solo gigging again, and is well on the way to full recovery.
He has also, since taking up residence in Wales, become fluent in the native tongue. In 2008 he was awarded the NIACE Inspire Award as Welsh Learner of the Year, and recited his poem "Have you Got Any News of the Iceberg?" in Welsh at the presentation in Swansea.
There is also a growing campaign by his folk fanbase to get him chosen as the Poet Laureate for 2009, and even if this is not successful it may bring his work to the attention of a wider public.
Books
- Airedale
- Alexander Greyhound Bell
- Alsatians to Crewe
- Bark Odes
- Bark to Front
- The Beagle has Landed
- Beagles, Bangles and Beads
- Beyond Our Cairn
- The Boogie Woogie Beagle Boy from Company B
- Borzoi Ballet
- The Borzoi's Back in Town
- The Boxer Rebellion
- Break the Mole
- Collieflowers
- Corgasm
- Corgi and Bess
- Dachshunds With Erections Can't Climb Stairs
- Dog Byte
- Dog Ends
- Dog Gone
- Dog Only Nose
- Doggerel
- The English Book of Penguin Folk Songs
- Extra Terrierestrial
- Fetlar
- Fidofax
- Get a Dog and Barker Yourself
- The Green Eye of the Little Yellow Dog
- Her Master's Book
- The Hound of Music
- The Hound of the Basketballs
- I Camel, I Saw, I Conker
- I Hear the Sound of Distant Plums
- Illegal Annual
- Irritable Bow-Wow Syndrome
- Jack Spaniel's
- King Charles Spaniel
- Labrador Rigby
- Lady & the Trampoline
- Llandrindod and One Dalmatians
- The Mabidogion
- Man and Doberman
- Mastiff Central
- Medlock Delta Blues
- Morocco and Things
- Mrs. Ack Royd's Again
- Mrs. Ackroyd's Diary
- O Camel Ye Faithful
- The Official Retriever
- Paws for Thought
- Pekinese Up Mother Brown
- Pup Yours
- A Quite Short Goat and a Pink Dalmatian
- Red Setters in the Sunset
- Reign of Terrier
- Rover the Hills and Far Away
- Rover the Rainbow
- Roverdance: The Poems
- Royders of the Lost Ack
- Sitting With My Dog on Display
- Something to Sniff At
- Songs for Swingin' Tails
- Spaniel in the Lion's Den
- Spencer's Dog Rover
- The First Mutt is the Cheapest
- The Stones of Callanish
- The Collar Purple
- THE MRS ACKROYD OCCASIONAL TABLE BOOK
- THE MRS ACKROYD PERIODIC TABLE BOOK
- A Tail of Two Setters
- Upper Cruft
- Vincent Van Dogh
- Viva a Spaniel
- Vodabone
- Waiting for Dogot
- Werneth Willie Ackroyd
- Wolfhound Amadeus Mozart
- 101 Damnatians
Albums
- A Cardi and Bloke
- Airs of the Dog
- An Infinite Number of Occasional Tables
- Arovertherapy
- Dark Side of the Mongrel
- Dog 017 Yelp!
- Dogologues
- Earwigo
- Gnus & Roses
- Guide Cats for the Blind
- The Mrs. Ackroyd Rock'n'Roll Show
- Oranges & Lemmings
- Some Love
- The Missing Persians File
- The Stones of Callanish
- The War on Terrier
- Top Cat, White Tie and Tails
- Tubular Dogs
- Twilight of the Dogs
- Up the Creek without a Poodle
- The Wings of Butterflies
- Yelp!
External links
