Les Barker is a funny little man from Manchester.
By funny, I mean amusing. As in, hysterical. As in, when I recently saw him at the Turk's Head folk club, he recited Guide Cats for the Blind, and a guy in the second row looked like he was about to fall off his chair and ROTFLMFAO.
He's a small, timid-looking, middle-aged man who looks like he loves his mum. And then he reads Detritus, and the audience cracks up at the line: "Never hit a man with glasses. Use something bigger and heavier".
Have I not made myself clear? He writes funny poetry. And the occasional song spoof, such as Bognor (a spoof of Fever, made popular by Peggy Lee).
His work can be found in the form of CDs and books:
His work can be got from Mrs Ackroyd Enterprises, contactable at PO Box 19, South District Office, Manchester, M20 4LB, or http://www.mrsackroyd.com.
The programme for the Sidmouth International Festival of Folk Arts described Les Barker as a national treasure, and I'm inclined to agree. | 
