Ten Manc’s: Clint Boon

I first met Clint at the Versus Cancer Concerts at MEN Arena. I was the official photographer at these events and Clint was performing with Inspiral Carpets. On a sunny afternoon in October we met up to recreate the portrait we shot back in 2008.

Musician, DJ and Radio presenter Clint Boon is a true gent as well as a through and through Mancunian. His parents were mill workers from Oldham where Clint was born in 1959 and he has warm memories of a childhood that he describes as a normal working class upbringing. Clint is the oldest of three. His younger brother Craig and sister Lynda called each other ‘Booney!’ Looking back Clint explains that they did not have any luxuries but they did have everything they needed, including a warm house and loving parents.

The love of music has been there as far back as he can remember. As a child he was obsessed with Elvis and started to dream of being a pop star but he only realised he could actually have a go when the Punk explosion happened in 1976. After seeing the Sex Pistols, The Clash and the Buzzcocks, his life changed as music became his life.

Clint has just started a new Sunday night Radio Show for Radio X, after ten years with XFM. He has worked five days a week as a radio presenter for the last twelve years – which is around three thousand radio shows! Now he is enjoying a bit more space in his working week. He is still busy DJing in clubs including his weekly Saturday night at South Night Club in Manchester which is in its fifteenth year. The band Clint joined in 1986, Inspiral Carpets, are going on tour with Shed 7 in December and they plan to write a new album in 2016. Clint has also spent some time with a friend developing a cool film idea, based around one of Britain’s earliest Rock Festivals.

When not working Clint spends his time with his wife Charlie and their children Oscar, Hector and Cassius. ‘We do home schooling. That is a whole other world of exciting stuff.’ They enjoy introducing them to the Museums and Galleries in Manchester while, at the same time, encouraging them to be curious and free.

When asked about Manchester, Clint explains that he loves everything about it and cannot imagine living anywhere else. He feels the city has been kind to him.

My last question: How does a ‘Manc’ differ from the rest of the British population? “I think the warmth you feel from the Mancunians is similar to that of people from cities like Liverpool, Newcastle and Glasgow; it’s just that we walk differently and wear our coats indoors!”

Photos: Karin Albinsson