Actor and presenter Craig Charles is reflecting on the city that shaped him, releasing a new spoken word piece to mark National Poetry Day. The performance arrives on the 50th anniversary of a formative moment in his youth: winning a poetry competition at the age of 12, an achievement he credits with transforming his entire life. Charles, pictured in Liverpool in 1985, became known for his performance poetry.
Reflecting on his upbringing, Charles described his early work as a direct response to the socio-political climate of the time. He recalled, “I was just reacting to what was going on. Reacting to the riots, reacting to Thatcher, reacting to police harassment, reacting to poverty.” He emphasized that Liverpool was facing immense pressure during that era, leaving the city feeling as though it was being “kicked to pieces.” There was so much stuff going on in Liverpool when I was a lad,” he said.
By age 16, Charles was a fixture at Liverpool’s Everyman Bistro, honing his skills at the venue’s basement open-mic nights. His trajectory accelerated rapidly, and within a year, he was performing on 2 program Riverside. He noted that while he was an “angry young man,” his unfiltered opinions resonated with audiences, allowing him to “shout from the rooftops.” I just got stuck into that and started shouting from the rooftops my opinion on things,” he said. I was quite an angry young man, I suppose, but for some reason it resonated with people.
The 62-year-old performer believes that poetry is woven into the DNA of Merseyside. According to Charles, the city’s vibrant creative scene is a direct manifestation of its inhabitants’ resilience. “Liverpool has always had a different kind of attitude, especially to adversity,” he said, explaining that locals have a talent for turning hardship into songs, poems, or football chants, consistently demonstrating a unique “gift of the gab.” We make a song, make a poem, make a football chant, we make something out of it.
Filmed at various locations throughout the city, his latest work, titled Liverpool Rocks, documents the cultural history of the region in the years following the split of The Beatles. The poem weaves together references to the local punk movement, various bands, underground clubs, and the city’s celebrated lineage of poets. He characterized his home as a “melting pot of ideas, warmth and wit,” insisting that the creative energy he tapped into as a child remains a defining feature of the city’s character. So full of ideas, so full of warmth, and so full of wit, it was all part of the same argument… it all came from this city of ours that is just such a melting pot.
The debut of his new poem serves as a centerpiece for Radio 6 Music’s Way With Words event, a day of specialized programming dedicated to National Poetry Day.
