It just occurred to me, that I’ve never seen a Jake Thrackray thread here, which is a shame, because he was a wonderful man. My father used to know him. I wish I had had the pleasure. I did have a couple of his LP’s around when I were a lad, and that was where I found out about him.

Here’s a couple of his songs just, well, because.

One silly, one uterly beautiful and both the work of a genius.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc16oUVxH08[/video]

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDkQQRNcT3c[/video]

Any Jake-related things should go on this thread! Share the love, post anything about him, and please post your favorites and stories if you knew him.

Here’s to you Jake, I raise one for you tonight.

I love a good bum on a woman,
it makes my day!

Used to see him on tv regularly, on That’s Life, IIRC. Very funny, very droll humour.
His song about Sister Josphine always made me laugh.

well remembered

He was a favourite at my Poly SU; we had him two or three times.

Some great links. I remember sometime in the 70’s on TV there was a dramatisation of The Canterbury Tales & Jake was playing some kind of troubadour & his wit captivated me, even as a 10/11 year old kid. I remember my dad roaring with laughter- I’m sure there was plenty in there that went straight over my head. This thread has brought back great memories, thanks.

Nice one gofaster, I seems to have missed this genius somehow until now. My wife often talks about the Innes book of records but that seemed to pass me by as well.

I will check both out !

My mum took my brother and me to see him play in Farnham, when I was young. She’s a yorkshire lass, and she felt it was important for us to see him. I must have been 10 or 11? I enjoyed it then, but rediscovered him a few years ago with “Lah di Dah” then plundered the catalogue and listened to as much as I could find.

Love the rhythms, the ideas, the sentiments, the wordplay.. the lot, really. A couple of favourites that come to mind other than the most famous ones are the “The Brigadeer” and Personal column.

If you like Jake Thackray, you might (but might not) like Richard Dawson. I think they both are coming from a similar place, off beat, sometimes humourous, sometimes dark, often both, with big influences from traditional northern english folk tales and ballads.

They take it in rather different directions, though.

This is a whole gig. Give it a go. They’re not all like the first song. Be careful round 23m if you’re feeling sensitive. I think “Poor Old Horse” is just about the saddest song I’ve ever heard.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af7Gk2jY3pQ[/video]

A genius. That’s all. Favourites – hard to choose but for team meetings I would pick “The Bull”.

There was a good radio programme about him in the Great Lives series
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b042jhlm

Sitting at work with a massive smile on my face. First heard that one covered by Bernard Wrigley with the introduction “this is one written y Jake Thackray. Now I don’t do many of his, ‘cos he don’t do any of mine the bugger…”

Can’t find his version of that online (It’s on the “Bolton Bullfrog” LP) though 🙁

Thackray was a genius whose lyrics stand comparison with any poetry and I bitterly regret not having seen him play live, albeit in his later days not many did as he apparently had dreadful stage fright. Allegedly, he rang up his agent a few days after a no show and explained that the snow and ice had just made travel impossible. All very plausible until you know the gig was in Norfolk in August.

As a teenager, I remember seeing him on telly and both Sister Josephine and The Bantam Cock stick in the memory. Years later, after he died, there was an excellent TV documentary and while researching it they found a pile of unreleased tapes and demos at his record company. The result was 4CDs of great stuff. I now have a particular fondness for “Isobel makes love on National Monuments”, “The Kirkstall Lane Girl”, “Castleford Ladies Magic Circle” and “Caroline Digby-Pratte” but frankly there is something for everyone.

Miss Caroline Diggeby-Pratte was at Roedean;
Her daddy is a Brigadier (a big wig).
Miss Caroline Diggeby-Pratte is seventeen
And she likes men who are sincere (jig-jig).
Caroline likes marzipan and pussycats.
Caroline’s the latest in a very long line of aristocratic Prattes.

Thacray website here for those that want to find out more.

Bantam Cock
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hQhi4oyH6k[/video]

Funnily enough, Mrs. SOM emailed me this link today.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b042jhlm