Jake Thackray, 1938 - 2002

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Seconded - makes me feel incredibly stupid for not even having heard of him before. Sounds like he was invented in a test-tube just for me. Any tips how to find Thackray stuff in this day and age, er, in Australia?

Charlie (Charlie), Sunday, 29 December 2002 22:58 (twenty-one years ago) link

I think his stuff is more likely to be found at a charity shop than HMV, but you never know. I heard of him from a friend (via a charity shop purchased LP). There's some stuff of his on Kazaa at the moment though.

stephen. s (yaye), Monday, 30 December 2002 18:46 (twenty-one years ago) link

one year passes...
Jakefest a tribute to Jake Thackray is on radio 2 tonight at 9.00pm.

Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Friday, 24 December 2004 13:57 (nineteen years ago) link

one year passes...
There's something of a Thackray night on BBC4 tonight, including this documentary:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cgi-perl/whatson/prog_parse.cgi?FILENAME=20061006/20061006_2100_4544_8110_60

Daniel Giraffe (Daniel Giraffe), Friday, 6 October 2006 14:59 (eighteen years ago) link

One of my heroes

Mike Giggler (Dada), Friday, 6 October 2006 15:04 (eighteen years ago) link

My Dad's a fan, but his taste sometimes runs to the cheesy so I've never checked out Jake before. Having just watched that documentary I'm in awe. So much talent and charisma.

Doctor Jaggernathy (noodle vague), Friday, 6 October 2006 20:04 (eighteen years ago) link

It's on again tonight (Saturday 7th Oct) @ 11.35pm for those interested

sos (yaye), Saturday, 7 October 2006 11:45 (eighteen years ago) link

Quite splendid programme, it didn't skimp on the archive footage, which was the main reason for watching it. Sadly no Momus on it though, probably couldn't have afforded his per diem.

What a magnificent, odd creature he was. Seemed totally out of time with what was happening around him, probably why he sounds so fresh today.

Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Saturday, 7 October 2006 12:05 (eighteen years ago) link

I don't know about totally out of time, but he was clearly totally outside of yoof/pop culture in its post-mid 60s rockcentrism. The connections with Brassen and Brel were clear, and I could see affinities with Ivor Cutler, Peter Tinniswood, Tony Newley, Scott Walker - a lot of people whose only common niche is perhaps that they don't have a niche. I'm going to enjoy finding as much of Thackray's stuff as possible.

Doctor Jaggernathy (noodle vague), Saturday, 7 October 2006 12:11 (eighteen years ago) link

Rather wonderfully this afternoon, I saw a gentleman preparing to buy both "Jake's Progress" and the EMI best-of, in Sunderland's HMV. Presumably not unrelated to BBC4's

It is a shame that the "Jake in a Box" set wasn't there though, as I may very well have buyed that myself.

Tom May (Tom May), Saturday, 7 October 2006 13:19 (eighteen years ago) link

Blimey, The Very Best of Jake Thackray is currently #12 in the Amazon best sellers.

Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Saturday, 7 October 2006 14:20 (eighteen years ago) link

Actually he's got 4 cd's in the Amazon top 100 at the moment, including the 4CD 'Jake in a Box' set at #42.

Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Saturday, 7 October 2006 14:28 (eighteen years ago) link

My Dad's a fan, but his taste sometimes runs to the cheesy so I've never checked out Jake before. Having just watched that documentary I'm in awe. So much talent and charisma.

my thoughts exactly.

mister the guanoman (mister the guanoman), Saturday, 7 October 2006 16:22 (eighteen years ago) link

I saw a little of the doc and shall be taping it tonight. It's great that so many are buying his albums because of this. I heard the track 'The Last Will And Testament' about 2 years ago and loved it. Glad to say I got Jake In A Box for my birthday a couple of months ago and it's wonderful. I can't listen to too much of it in one sitting though.

mms (mms), Saturday, 7 October 2006 20:36 (eighteen years ago) link

I myself have - verily overdue - ordered "Jake in a Box" from Play.com, for merely £17.99. It's going to be something of a treat, as all I've heard (but long loved) are the 23 or so tracks on that EMI best-of; I haven't even yet had time to watch the BBC4 documentaries.

Tom May (Tom May), Sunday, 8 October 2006 09:32 (eighteen years ago) link

I'm surprised no-one mentioned Noel Coward in the course of the programme, don't try to tell me JT hadn't listened to him a fair bit! The documentary was great, I wish the clip show afterwards had been twice as long (or three or four etc etc etc)

Dadaismus (Dada), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 11:07 (eighteen years ago) link

My Ma used to drag me to see Jake Thackeray a lot when I was knee-high (and Les Barker). I always found his avuncular style quite creepy. I strongly remember one song about how 'Horlicks' and 'Bollocks' sound quite similar, and took comfort in my Tom Lehrer LPs instead. Now of course, I'm older and wiser.

Huey in Melbourne (Huey in Melbourne), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 12:34 (eighteen years ago) link

two years pass...

The documentary was shown on BBC2 last night.

Excellent and absorbing stuff.

Reminded me of Scott Walker in a lot of ways - not so much because of the common French chansonnaise influences as his not really wanting to play the celebrity game and being perfectly happy to live in the world he created for himself, seemingly from the point of childhood (and no wonder given his pretty horrendous upbringing).

Danny Baker also surprisingly perceptive, particularly in spotting the Nick Drake crossover in terms of guitar tunings etc.

In addition JT made me think of Ted Hughes quite a bit but I can't quite pinpoint why.

The answer is NOT Volkswagen (Marcello Carlin), Tuesday, 4 November 2008 09:09 (fifteen years ago) link

Pity we didn't have any input from Gilbert O'Sullivan, someone else who I'm sure learned more than a little from Jake's work.

The answer is NOT Volkswagen (Marcello Carlin), Tuesday, 4 November 2008 09:11 (fifteen years ago) link

Hughes and Thackray = both bleak existentialist Yorkshiremen with a dry sense of humour. The orchestrations on the first album remind me of Nick Drake, too.

Nothing has transpired (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 4 November 2008 09:13 (fifteen years ago) link

They do as well! Arranger on (most of) the first album: Brian Fahey, the man who brought us "At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbal" a.k.a. the Pick Of The Pops theme tune.

The answer is NOT Volkswagen (Marcello Carlin), Tuesday, 4 November 2008 09:17 (fifteen years ago) link

Having said that, I like unorchestrated Jake a sight more than I do unorchestrated Drake. Also I am now gonna see how many Youtube clips I can find.

Nothing has transpired (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 4 November 2008 09:19 (fifteen years ago) link

This song is offensive.

Nothing has transpired (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 4 November 2008 09:20 (fifteen years ago) link

Best lyric ever written by a human being, that.

Nothing has transpired (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 4 November 2008 09:21 (fifteen years ago) link

I'm just waiting for the nearly 30,000 complaints to start flooding in...

The answer is NOT Volkswagen (Marcello Carlin), Tuesday, 4 November 2008 09:24 (fifteen years ago) link

"And I honour them every bit as much as the next/Misogynist" on its own is worth more than most people's careers.

Nothing has transpired (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 4 November 2008 09:26 (fifteen years ago) link

It's brilliant!

The answer is NOT Volkswagen (Marcello Carlin), Tuesday, 4 November 2008 09:28 (fifteen years ago) link

I (for once) was right along with Danny Baker's appreciation and his mentions of Drake, etc. I was exposed to Thack's stuff early on via the TV, as I was learning the Classical Guitar at the time.

I was going to revive a thackray thread, but couldn't find it, guess I wasn't spelling it right or something.

Oh, and I did see Vic Lewis-smith's name on the credits. So, I figure, forgive him his past sins for this prog alone...

Mark G, Tuesday, 4 November 2008 09:39 (fifteen years ago) link

Victor Lewis-Smith gets a permanent free pass from me for "Gay Daleks" alone.

Nothing has transpired (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 4 November 2008 09:41 (fifteen years ago) link

My Dad was a fan too, and he and I went to see him, at Barrow-in-Furness Civic Hall of all places, when I was about 14. He bought his 'Live Performance' album after that, so when the expanded CD was released a few years ago, I bought it for him, and immediately borrowed it back to stick in iTunes.

As I recall, he was quite popular back in the day thru' his appearances on those Rantzen programmes.

Phil Will, Tuesday, 4 November 2008 11:13 (fifteen years ago) link

I think it's fair to say he divided opinion! They just go ahead show some of the programmes he made and be done with it - if they still exist, they were made for the BBC after all. Watching this again, I found myself thinking... clothes... accent... physical appearance... general demeanour... Gareth!

Ich Ber ein Binliner (Tom D.), Tuesday, 4 November 2008 11:17 (fifteen years ago) link

yeah me too

Cittaslow Mazza (blueski), Tuesday, 4 November 2008 11:52 (fifteen years ago) link

Oh man, can't believe I missed this. Love the Thackray!

emil.y, Tuesday, 4 November 2008 13:21 (fifteen years ago) link

two months pass...

I just shelled out for the downloads of Jake in a Box and it was worth every penny x 1 million.

This is ILXOR, we do what we like (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 1 February 2009 12:03 (fifteen years ago) link

It's kinda like the Ted Hughes Collected Poems set in my head.

This is ILXOR, we do what we like (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 1 February 2009 12:08 (fifteen years ago) link

Who would the present day equivalent of JT be? Other than Momus that is.

Shallow Gravy (Billy Dods), Sunday, 1 February 2009 14:57 (fifteen years ago) link

nine months pass...

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8r2vp_lahdidah-1971_music

dog latin, Saturday, 14 November 2009 15:02 (fourteen years ago) link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geDSL19TXDI

Absolutely brilliant performance this one.

This board has gotten so sissified and sterilized (Noodle Vague), Saturday, 14 November 2009 15:12 (fourteen years ago) link

five years pass...

That's reminded me to get the DVD that came out earlier this year. It's wonderful that he's starting to more attention from younger listeners, although he's still a long way from being fully recognised as the English Brel, which is what he really deserves.

Wristy Hurlington (ShariVari), Thursday, 20 November 2014 22:00 (nine years ago) link

seven years pass...

A new biography of Jake Thackray is coming out and there's a Guardian article about him today.

Portsmouth Bubblejet, Wednesday, 10 August 2022 15:06 (two years ago) link

Most excited I've been about a biography in quite some time tbh

you can see me from westbury white horse, Wednesday, 10 August 2022 15:19 (two years ago) link


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