Jake Thackray
| Jake Thackray | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Philip Thackray |
| Born |
27 February 1938 Kirkstall, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 24 December 2002 (aged 64) Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales |
| Genres |
Singer-songwriter Chansonnier Folk Comedy |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments |
Vocals Guitar |
| Years active | 1967–1991 |
| Labels | EMI |
John Philip "Jake" Thackray (27 February 1938 – 24 December 2002) was an 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.
Thackray sang in a lugubrious baritone voice, accompanying himself on a nylon-strung guitar in a style that was part classical, part jazz. 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, and he was also influenced by Jacques Brel and Charles Trenet. He also admired Randy Newman. He was admired by, and influenced, many performers including Jarvis Cocker,Mike Harding,Momus,Ralph McTell,Morrissey,Alex Turner, and Jasper Carrott.
John Philip Thackray was born in Kirkstall, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, the son of Ernest Thackray, a policeman, and Ivy May Thackray, née Armitage. He was educated at the Jesuit 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, mainly in France – in Lille, Brittany and the Pyrenees – but also including six months in Algeria at the height of the war for independence in 1961–1962. During his time in France he had some of his poetry published, 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.
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