Lancaster first came to prominence as a second prizewinner in the National Poetry Competition, 1979. In 1980 he moved to Huddersfield, West Yorkshire where for thirteen years he became part of a flourishing local poetry scene, largely centred around the critically constructive workshops of The Poetry Business and The Albert Poets in which many fine writers participated including
Simon Armitage,
David Morley,
Peter Sansom, Janet Fisher,
Milner Place, John Duffy, John Bosley and Stephanie Bowgett. It was his time in Huddersfield that saw the publication of his first three collections. In 1993 he moved to rural Aberdeenshire where he lived for eight years, this being the inspiration for his fourth collection Here In Scotland (with Czech artist and writer Milan Knizak). He was Writer-in-Residence at Huddersfield University (1986–87) and subsequently has held numerous positions as a creative writing tutor including: WEA, Huddersfield (1987–89); Poet In Schools, Kirklees (1989);
Arvon Foundation at Lumb Bank (1989);
University of Huddersfield (1989–93);
Open College of the Arts (1989–2001); Gray's School of Art, The Robert Gordon University (1993–96). His work is used on educational syllabuses and has appeared in many poetry and literary journals including Poetry Review, Times Literary Supplement, London Magazine, Ambit, The Rialto, Iron, The North. He has performed his work at many venues and literature festivals in the UK, most recently at the Stoke Literary Festival 2017, and Europe and in the broadcast media including BBC2, BBC Radio4, Radio Prague and YTV's ‘Readabout’ series. ==Personal life==