Jeremy Clarke, Spectator magazine’s much-loved, funny and unsparing Low Life columnist – obituary
Telegraph
23-05-21 15:47
Jeremy Clarke, long-serving columnist for The Spectator, has died at the age of 66. He is known for his Low Life column, which chronicled the struggles of human life, including his own terminal cancer. Although reluctant to take on the mantle of the legendary Soho flaneur Jeffrey Bernard, he took over the Low Life column in 2001 and excelled in storytelling about issues ranging from alcohol and drug abuse, broken relationships, domestic violence, petty crime, and football hooliganism, many of which featured in Clarke's own life experiences. He brought empathy for all those whose lives struggled to follow untroubled paths, including his father, a heavy drinker who ended up as the uniformed car park attendant of a nudist beach. Clarke also had a fascination with the literature and battlefield geography of the First World War, in which four of his great uncles died. His last column, on “the pros and cons of kissing” appeared on 6 May 2023. He is survived by his wife Catriona, his son Mark, and three stepdaughters from Catriona’s first marriage.