For lovers of literature, the name Clive Barker is well-known. He’s an English writer who rose to fame in the 1980s, a period when he wrote the iconic short story series, “Books of Blood.” Clive Barker was born in Liverpool, and today, we’re going to take a closer look at the life of this local legend. Read more on the liverpool1.one website.
Youth and a Career in Theatre
The future writer was born in Liverpool in 1952. His mother was a painter and school social worker, and his father was the director of a personnel company.
Clive’s education began at Dovedale Primary School and Quarry Bank Secondary School. For his higher education, he attended the University of Liverpool, where he studied English and philosophy.
Our fellow Liverpudlian was involved in live theatre from his school days. He started his theatrical career with productions like “Voodoo” and “Inferno,” and went on to work on six plays with the Theatre of the Imagination.
In the 1970s, Clive Barker was the sole scriptwriter for The Mute Pantomime Theatre. In 1978, Clive founded the avant-garde theatre company “The Dog Company.” His partners were his school friends and aspiring actors. In the years that followed, he wrote nine more plays, and sometimes took on the role of director.
He also wrote plays for the Cockpit Youth Theatre.
Author of Horror and Fantasy
Barker paused his theatre career to focus on writing short stories. At the beginning, our local legend mostly wrote horror. His most famous works include the “Books of Blood,” “The Damnation Game,” “Weaveworld,” “The Great and Secret Show,” “Imajica,” and “Sacrament.”
In the 1980s, the writer also began to write screenplays for films such as “Underworld” and “Rawhead Rex.” In 1987, he directed the film “Hellraiser,” based on his novella “The Hellbound Heart.” “The Forbidden,” from Barker’s “Books of Blood,” also became the basis for the film “Candyman.” Notably, Barker also worked on the film adaptation of his books “The Abarat Quintet,” which was produced by Walt Disney.
Clive Barker also tried his hand as a producer. In 1998, he was the executive producer of the film “Gods and Monsters.” Seven years later, he produced the horror films of Jorge Saralegui.
Television and Visual Art
Our fellow Liverpudlian also made his mark on television. In 2015, Barker developed a TV adaptation of various creepypastas in partnership with Warner Brothers. Five years later, he was involved in the film adaptation of the “Books of Blood” for a streaming service.
The writer also often illustrates his own books. Barker’s artwork was first seen in the 1990s on the covers of his official fan club magazine “Dread,” as well as on the covers of his own books. It’s worth noting that his works have been exhibited at Bert Green Fine Art in Los Angeles and Chicago, the Bess Cutler Gallery in New York, and La Luz De Jesus in Los Angeles. In 1990, the publisher Arcane/Eclipse Books published a collection of his artwork in “Clive Barker.”
Barker even created designs for Halloween costumes for Disguise Costumes.
As for his personal life, the writer is openly gay. He has admitted that as a teenager, he had intimate relationships with older women, but he later realised his attraction to men.
From 1975 to 1986, our fellow Liverpudlian was in a relationship with John Gregson. This was followed by a 13-year relationship with photographer David Armstrong, which ended in 2009.
The writer is also a critic of religion but has said that the Bible and spirituality have influenced his work.
We hope our article was informative and that you learned more about this famous person who was born in Liverpool.