Les Barker
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Les Barker (born January 30 1947) is an English poet. He is most well 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 with The Mrs Ackroyd Band (named after his mongrel dog Mrs Ackroyd), but later ventured out on his own as a solo performer.
As well as touring Britain he has also performed in Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, the United States of America and Canada.
He has published 71 books to date and has released (either as a solo performer or with his band) 15 albums. His books typically feature a mixture of monologues and comic songs, with a few serious songs. The monologues tip the hat to Stanley Holloway. Like Holloway, Barker has created several recurring characters, including Jason and the Arguments, Cosmo the Fairly Accurate Knife Thrower, Captain Indecisive 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 name Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantisiliogogogoch into a song successfully (it forms the main chorus of a song of the same name, and is sung four times).
Books
- Airedale
- 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
- I Camel, I Saw, I Conker
- I Hear the Sound of Distant Plums
- Illegal Annual
- Irritable Bow-Wow Syndrome
- King Charles Spaniel
- Labrador Rigby
- Lady & the Trampoline
- 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
- 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
- The Stones of Callanish
- A Tail of Two Setters
- Upper Cruft
- Viva a Spaniel
- Waiting for Dogot
- Werneth Willie Ackroyd
- Wolfhound Amadeus Mozart
Albums
- A Cardi and Bloke
- Airs of the Dog
- An Infinite Number of Occasional Tables
- Arovertherapy
- Dogologues
- Gnus & Roses
- Guide Cats for the Blind
- The Mrs. Ackroyd Rock'n'Roll Show
- Oranges & Lemmings
- Some Love
- The Stones of Callanish
- Tubular Dogs
- Up the creek without a poodle
- The Wings of Butterflies
- Yelp!
External links
- Mrs Ackroyd Home Page (http://www.mrsackroyd.com/)
- Biography (http://www.mrsackroyd.com/bioles.htm)