Jake Thackray

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Biography

John Philip "Jake" Thackray (27 February 1938 & ndash; 24 December 2002), was an England|English singer-songwriter , poet and journalist . Best known in the late 1960s and early 1970s for his topical comedy songs performed on British television, his work ranged from satirical to bawdy to sentimental to pastoral, with a strong emphasis on storytelling, making him difficult to pigeonhole.Andrew Hickey, , The High Hat , accessed 14 March 2009Martin Newell, , The Independent , 8 May 2005, accessed 4 April 2009Alan Franks, , The Times , 19 August 2006, accessed 4 April 2009Lance Bosman, , Guitar Magazine , April 1979, accessed 8 April 2009

Jake Thackray sang in a lugubrious baritone voice,, The Guardian , 28 December 2002 accompanying himself on a classical guitar|nylon-strung guitar in a style that was part classical, part jazz., The Daily Telegraph , 29 December 2002 His witty lyrics and clipped delivery, combined with his strong Yorkshire accent and the northern setting of many of his songs, led to him being described as the "North Country Noël Coward ", a comparison Thackray resisted, although he acknowledged his lyrics were in the English tradition of Coward and Flanders and Swann "who are wordy, funny writers". However, his tunes derived from the French chansonnier tradition: he claimed Georges Brassens as his greatest inspiration,Spencer Leigh, , The Independent , 28 December 2002, accessed 14 March 2009 and he was also influenced by Jacques Brel and Charles Trenet .Martin Newell, , June 2006, accessed 8 April 2009 He also admired Randy Newman . He was admired by, and influenced, many performers including Jarvis Cocker , AA Gill , , The Sunday Times , 12 November 2006, accessed 19 March 2009 Mike Harding ,, Yorkshire Post , 19 April 2008, accessed 19 March 2009 Momus (artist)|Momus , Momus (artist)|Momus , , 27 December 2002, accessed 19 March 2009 Ralph McTell , Ralph McTell , , accessed 19 March 2009 Morrissey ,David Bret, Morrissey: Scandal & Passion , Franz Steiner Verlag, 2004, p. 73 Alex Turner (musician)|Alex Turner , http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php? id=16553 Jasper Carrott Jasper Carrott , , accessed 7 September 2011 and Nick Drake .

Biography

Early life

John Philip Thackray was born in Leeds , the son of Ernest Thackray, a policeman, and Ivy May Thackray, née Armitage.Robb Johnson, "Thackray, John Philip (1938–2002)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , online edn, Oxford University Press, Jan 2006; online edn, Jan 2009, He was educated at the Jesuit -run St. Michael's College in Leeds and a Jesuit boarding school in Dolgellau , north-west Wales, and considered joining the priesthood, but instead chose to study Modern Languages at Durham University . After graduation he spent four years teaching English language|English , mainly in France & ndash; in Lille , Brittany and the Pyrenees & ndash; but also including six months in Algeria at the height of the Algerian War of Independence|war for independence in 1961–1962. During his time in France he had some of his poetry published,John Carlsen, , 1967, reproduced at jakethackray.com, accessed 14 March 2009 and discovered the chansonnier tradition and in particular the work of Georges Brassens. "I missed out on rock and all my influences were French," he would later say.

Musical career

In 1964 Thackray returned to his native Yorkshire, teaching at Intake School in Bramley, Leeds|Bramley , Leeds. Teaching himself to play the guitar, he found that one way to get unruly pupils to take an interest in their studies was through his songs. This and performing in folk clubs led to appearances on local BBC radio programmes, which brought him to the attention of producer Norman Newell . Thackray recorded 30 songs with Newell, eleven of which were released as his debut album, The Last Will and Testament of Jake Thackray , in 1967. Its title track exhorted his friends to mark his death with a party, and then forget him. The album also included "Lah-Di-Dah", in which a prospective bridegroom assures his bride he loves her so much he'll try to be nice to her dreadful family.

This in turn led to a BBC television slot, composing a weekly topical song for Bernard Braden 's consumer magazine programme ''Braden's Week ., allmusic.com, accessed 14 March 2009 He was not immediately popular & ndash; his first appearance in late 1968 provoked letters demanding his dismissal & ndash; but he eventually won over the audience. Bernard Braden , , 1968, reproduced on jakethackray.com, accessed 14 March 2009 After Braden's Week was cancelled in 1972, Thackray took up the same role on its successor show, That's Life! . In nearly thirty years of performing he would make over a thousand radio and TV appearances, including slots on The David Frost Show and Frost Over America ,, The Times , 28 December 2002, accessed 14 March 2009 and his own show, Jake's Scene , on ITV ., jakethackray.com, 26 November 2005, accessed 8 April 2009

In 1968 he married Sheila Marian Clarke-Irons, a 21-year-old student. His second album, '' Jake's Progress (album)|Jake's Progress , was recorded at Abbey Road Studios while the Beatles put the finishing touches to their Abbey Road album next door. on allmusic.com, accessed 14 March 2009 Released in 1969, it abandoned the orchestral arrangements of its predecessor for a small acoustic band. It included the song "The Blacksmith and the Toffee Maker", which Thackray adapted from a story in Laurie Lee 's Cider with Rosie .Jake Thackray, , 1977, reproduced on jakethackray.com, accessed 14 March 2009 He began recording a new album in 1970, but these recordings were scrapped. on allmusic.com, accessed 14 March 2009 In 1971 he released Live Performance (album)|Live Performance , a live recording of 14 songs from his 1970 performance at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London (an expanded, 29-song double CD of the same performance would be released in 2006).

A third studio album, Bantam Cock , followed in 1972. Its title track became a folk standard and was covered by folk singer Fred Wedlock , folk group The Corries and comedian Jasper Carrott among others. Other songs included "Isabel Makes Love upon National Monuments", "Sister Josephine", and "Brother Gorilla", an English adaptation of Georges Brassens' " Le gorille "., 1972, reproduced on jakethackray.com, accessed 14 March 2009 In 1973 he opened for Brassens when he performed at the inauguration of the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff , which he would describe as the high spot of his career.Colin Evans & Didier Aigid, , 19 January 2006, retrieved 4 April 2009

After Bantam Cock Thackray's television appearances continued, but his recording career stalled. A compilation album, The Very Best of Jake Thackray , was released in 1975. His final studio album, On Again& #33; On Again! , appeared in 1977. Its title track, a long-winded tirade about women who talk too much, would see Thackray accused of misogyny, but the album also included "The Hair of the Widow of Bridlington", a song of female self-determination in the face of social disapproval. It also featured two more Brassens adaptations, "Isabella" (based on Brassens' " Marinette ") and "Over to Isobel" (based on " Je rejoindrai ma belle "). The same year he published a book of lyrics, ''Jake's Progress , illustrated by Bill Tidy .

From the late 1970s he had made most of his living on the live circuit, touring in Europe, North America and the Far East, but in 1982 he returned to television with Jake Thackray and Songs , a six-part series on BBC2 featuring Thackray and guests, including Richard Thompson (musician)|Richard and Linda Thompson (singer)|Linda Thompson and Ralph McTell , performing in a variety of venues., jakethackray.com, accessed 14 March 2009 An album of the same name, recorded live at the Stables Theatre, Wavendon, Milton Keynes , as part of the recordings for the TV show, followed in 1983.Jake Thackray, , 1983, reproduced on jakethackray.com, accessed 14 March 2009 Thackray's last release during his life was a compilation, Lah-Di-Dah , released in 1991. on allmusic.com, accessed 14 March 2009

Although he gave up teaching for show business , Thackray did not really like being what he called "a performing dick". He was uncomfortable with big audiences, and would settle for a pub or community hall in preference to the grandeur of the London Palladium (although he appeared there in a Royal Variety Performance ). He became disillusioned with stage life & ndash; he is recorded as saying "I'd never liked the stage much and I was turning into a performing man, a real Archie Rice , so I cancelled gigs and pulled out" & ndash; and he was plagued by a self-doubt and a breakdown in confidence that Ralph McTell describes as "catastrophic". His style of work was also falling out of fashion: his literate, witty lyrics and tales of rural Yorkshire had little resonance in the punk rock|punk and Margaret Thatcher|Thatcher years, folk audiences had lost interest in contemporary song, and in the days of alternative comedy his bawdy humour was deemed sexist and outdated. He ultimately gave up performing in the early 1990s, and turned to journalism & ndash; for four years he wrote a weekly column for the Yorkshire Post .Isabel Taylor, , Albion Music, 2005, retrieved 4 April 2009

Retirement and death

In the 1990s Thackray withdrew to his home in Monmouth , South Wales & ndash; where he had settled with his family in the late 1960s, South Wales Argus , 27 December 2002, accessed 4 April 2009 & ndash; beset by health and financial problems: he had developed a serious drink problem, and was declared bankrupt in 2000. He had always been an observant Roman Catholic, and became increasingly religious in his later years, limiting his musical activities to performing the Angelus at his local church. He died of heart failure on 24 December 2002 at the age of 64, leaving his widow, Sheila, from whom he was separated, and three sons, Bill, Sam and Tom.

Revival in interest

In May 2002 a group of fans formed the Jake Thackray Project with the intention of making more of Thackray's work available to the public. With Thackray's cooperation, the project team, led by record producer David Harris, received permission from EMI to produce a double CD of 42 songs not on any then-available release, limited to 200 copies, which was released in November 2002 with cover art by Bill Tidy. After Thackray's death the following month EMI consented to a further edition of 100 copies. at jakethackray.com, retrieved 24 April 2009, retrieved 4 April 2009 This revival of interest led to the release of two mass market CDs the following year: The Very Best of Jake Thackray on EMI, on allmusic.com and The Jake Thackray Collection on HMV., retrieved 4 April 2009 The Jake Thackray Project went on to release a series of remastered live recordings. A musical written by Barnsley -born poet Ian McMillan (poet)|Ian McMillan based on Thackray's songs and their characters, Sister Josephine Kicks the Habit , premiered in 2005 and toured the north of England. A rewrite by Alan Plater was due to tour the UK in 2007, but is on hold following the death of executive producer Ian Watson., retrieved 4 April 2009

2006 saw a major retrospective. EMI released an expanded, 29-song double CD edition of Live Performance (album)|Live Performance , on allmusic.com and Jake in a Box , a 4-CD box set containing Thackray's four studio albums and six singles in their entirety, plus 25 unused tracks recorded in the Last Will and Testament sessions in 1967, eleven songs recorded for the abandoned album in 1970, and a handful of other rarities. on allmusic.com Comedian and writer Victor Lewis-Smith produced a television documentary, Jake on the Box , for the BBC.

In an interview on the BBC's The Culture Show| Culture Show (broadcast 8 August 2009), Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys cited Thackray as an influence, and in another 2009 interview with XM Radio Turner cited Thackray when specifically discussing their song entitled "Cornerstone." Similarly the Courteeners' songwriter Liam Fray cites Thackray as influence on the group's MySpace page.

Discography

Studio albums

The Last Will and Testament of Jake Thackray — EMI — 1967

'' Jake's Progress (album)|Jake's Progress — EMI Records — 1969

Bantam Cock — EMI Records — 1972

On Again& #33; On Again! — EMI Records — 1977

Live albums

Live Performance (album)|Live Performance — EMI Records — 1971; reissued 1976; reissued in 2006 as an expanded double CD

Jake Thackray and Songs — Dingles Records — 1983

Live at the Lobster Pot — 2005

Live at the Lobster Pot volume 2 — 2005

Jake Thackray - Live in Germany — JTP - 2005

Compilations

The Very Best of Jake Thackray — EMI Records — 1975 in music|1975 re-released 2003

Lah-Di-Dah — EMI Records — 1991

The Jake Thackray Project — JTP — 2002 (Limited edition of 300)

The Jake Thackray Collection — HMV — 2003

Jake in a Box (4 CD Box set) — EMI Records — 2006

Copyright Citations

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1. Georges Brassens 2. Jake

Undetermined Music Artists

Jake Thackray

Biography

Biography

Early life

Musical career

Retirement and death

Revival in interest

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilations

References

External links

Copyright Citations