It started with a rushed photo-shoot under Blackfriars Bridge. The master of the gritty sonnet, edgy poet, John Cooper Clarke, generously posed for student Harry Yeates.
The location was important - just inside Salford, and next to the performer's life-sized stencil embossed on a wall by artist Stewy. JCC had performed at the Albert Hall in Manchester and the morning after the show, he agreed to meet Harry.
Harry's portrait won praise at Manchester College's end of year show in 2016. It also sowed the seeds for an inspired, long term quest, to find more suitable subjects, who would help hone the talents of students. Over the next two years a list of "Greater Mancunians" grew and included Johnny Marr, Andy Burnham, and famed Factory Records graphic designer, Peter Saville.
