Craig Charles
Early life
Craig Joseph Charles was born in Liverpool on 11 July 1964, the son of a Guyanese father and Irish mother. He grew up on the Cantril Farm housing estate with his older brother, Dean (died 2014), and two other brothers, Jimmy and Emile. He attended West Derby Comprehensive School followed by Childwall Hall College of Further Education, studying A-levels in History, Government & Politics, English Literature and General Studies. He won a national competition run by The Guardian newspaper for a poem he wrote when he was 12 years old. Upon leaving school, Charles spent time working in a studio at Central Hall on Renshaw Street in Liverpool.
Early career
Charles began his career as a contemporary and urban performance poet on the British cabaret circuit. His performances were considered original, with Charles described as having a natural ironic wit which appealed to talent scouts. In 1981, Charles climbed on stage at a Teardrop Explodes concert and recited a humorous, but derogatory, poem about the band's singer, Julian Cope. Charles was invited to open subsequent gigs for the group, and went on to perform as a support act in pubs and clubs for the following three years, and at events such as the Larks in the Park music festival at Sefton Park (1982). He performed poetry reading poems by Vladimir Mayakovsky, W. H. Auden and E. E. Cummings, at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre (1983), with such poets as Roger McGough and Adrian Henri.
Early career
Charles was involved in the Liverpool music scene, writing and singing lyrics for a number of local rock bands. In 1980, he played keyboards, bass and provided voice in the rock band Watt 4. He performed his political rap lyrics as a 'Wordsmith'. In 1983, Charles was invited to record a session on the John Peel BBC Radio show, performing his poems backed by a band. This was his first professional engagement. He recorded a further Peel Session in 1984.
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