Jake Thackray and Songs

Last updated

Jake Thackray and Songs
Jake Thackray and Songs (Jake Thackray album - cover art).jpg
Live album by
Released1981
Recorded1981
Venue The Stables, Milton Keynes, UK
Genre Folk
Length51:13
Label Dingle’s, BBC
Jake Thackray chronology
On Again! On Again!
(1977)
Jake Thackray and Songs
(1981)
Lah-Di-Dah
(1991)

Jake Thackray and Songs was a six-part television series recorded in 1980 and broadcast on BBC2 in 1981, in which Jake Thackray and guests performed songs live in a variety of venues. A live album of the same name, recorded at the Stables Theatre, Wavendon, Milton Keynes, as part of the sessions for the TV series, was released on LP by Dingle’s Records in 1981. All six episodes of the TV series still exist in the BBC archives with Thackray's performances and some of those of his guests released as a DVD in October 2014. The album remained out of print and circulation for some time, until it was released on Spotify in 2022.

Contents

The programme and subsequent album featured three new songs: "The Remembrance", "One of Them”, a sombre ballad that condemns racism and bigotry, and "The Bull", a comedic critique of those in power.

TV series

LP

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jake Thackray, except where noted.

Side 1
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."One of Them"  
2."Brother Gorilla (Le Gorille)" Georges Brassens/Thackray 
3."The Little Black Foal"  
4."The Blacksmith and the Toffee Maker"Adapted by Thackray from a story by Laurie Lee  
5."Country Bus"  
6."The Bull"  
Side 2
No.TitleLength
1."Sister Josephine" 
2."To Do With You" 
3."The Last Will and Testament of Jake Thackray" 
4."The Poor Sod" 
5."On Again! On Again!" 
6."The Remembrance" 

Personnel

DVD

In November 2013 it was announced that agreement had been secured from the BBC, Thackray's estate and other artists for a DVD to be professionally produced from the BBC's original recordings. [1] The DVD went on sale in October 2014. [2] Thackray's anecdotes, introductions and songs from each episode are presented in their original order however the episodes are presented in the order of 6, 4, 5, 3, 1 and 2.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jake Thackray, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Lodger"  
2."Scallywag"  
3."The Bull"  
4."Leopold Alcocks"  
5."The Statues"  
6."Worried Brown Eyes"  
7."The Jolly Captain"  
8."The Castleford Ladies Magical Circle"  
9."One of Them"  
10."Little Black Foal"  
11."It Was Only a Gypsy"  
12."The Ballad of Billy Kershaw"  
13."Bantam Cock"  
14."Joseph"  
15."Lah Di Dah"  
16."The Remembrance"  
17."Personal Column"  
18."Fine Bay Pony"  
19."Ulysses"  
20."Old Molly Metcalfe"  
21."Family Tree"  
22."The Hair of the Widow of Bridlington"  
23."The Brigadier"  
24."On Again! On Again!"  
25."Country Bus"  
26."Sister Josephine"  
27."To Do With You"  
28."The Blacksmith and the Toffeemaker"Adapted by Thackray from a story by Laurie Lee  
29."The Last Will and Testament of Jake Thackray"  
30."The Poor Sod"  

A Guest section of the DVD presents songs from other artists who appeared in the series.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Goodies</span> Trio of British comedians known for the TV series of the same name

The Goodies were a trio of British comedians: Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie. The trio created, wrote for and performed in their eponymous television comedy show from 1970 until 1982, combining sketches and situation comedy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lulu (singer)</span> Scottish singer

Lulu Kennedy-Cairns is a Scottish singer, actress, and television personality.

<i>Top of the Pops</i> British music chart television series

Top of the Pops (TOTP) is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1 January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its history, it was broadcast on Thursday evenings on BBC One. Each show consisted of performances of some of the week's best-selling popular music records, usually excluding any tracks moving down the chart, including a rundown of that week's singles chart. This was originally the Top 20, though this varied throughout the show's history. The Top 30 was used from 1969, and the Top 40 from 1984.

<i>Never Mind the Buzzcocks</i> British comedy panel game television show

Never Mind the Buzzcocks is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first hosted by Mark Lamarr, then by Simon Amstell, and later by a number of guest presenters, with Rhod Gilbert hosting the final series. It first starred Phill Jupitus and Sean Hughes as team captains, with Hughes being replaced by Bill Bailey from the eleventh series, and Bailey replaced by Noel Fielding for some of series 21 and from series 23 onward. The show returned six years later, now hosted by Greg Davies, with Daisy May Cooper as the new captain and Fielding returning as a captain. The show is produced by Talkback. The title plays on the names of the Sex Pistols album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols and the band Buzzcocks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheena Easton</span> British singer (born 1959)

Sheena Shirley Easton is a Scottish singer and actress. She came into the public eye in an episode of the first British musical reality television series The Big Time: Pop Singer, which recorded her attempts to gain a record deal and her eventual signing with the EMI label. Easton's first two singles, "Modern Girl" and "9 to 5", both entered the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart simultaneously. She became one of the most successful British female recording artists of the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Ball</span> English singer, presenter and actor (born 1962)

Michael Ashley Ball is an English singer, presenter and actor. He made his West End debut in 1985 playing Marius Pontmercy in the original London production of Les Misérables, and went on to star in 1987 as Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera. In 1989, he reached number two in the UK Singles Chart with "Love Changes Everything", a song taken from the musical Aspects of Love, where he played Alex. He played the role in London and on Broadway. His album Coming Home To You reached number one in the UK making it his 4th number one album to date. On 24 April 2020, Ball and Captain Tom Moore entered the UK Singles Chart at number one with a cover of "You'll Never Walk Alone", with combined chart sales of 82,000 making it the fastest-selling single of 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jake Thackray</span> English singer-songwriter, poet and journalist

John Philip "Jake" Thackray was an English singer-songwriter, poet, humourist 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 categorise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michelle McManus</span> Scottish singer-songwriter, columnist, and actress

Michelle McManus is a Scottish singer, columnist, and television presenter who won the second and final series of the UK talent show Pop Idol in 2003.

Isla St Clair is a Scottish singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jez Lowe</span> Musical artist

John Gerard "Jez" Lowe is an English folk singer-songwriter. Lowe was born and raised in County Durham, in a family with Irish roots. He is known primarily for his compositions dealing with daily life in North-East England, particularly in his hometown of Easington Colliery. He attended St Francis RC Grammar School in nearby Hartlepool and later studied languages at Sunderland Polytechnic. He performs both as a solo artist and with his backing band, The Bad Pennies. In addition to singing his songs, Lowe accompanies himself and The Bad Pennies on guitar, harmonica, cittern, and piano.

Brian Alexander Robertson is a Scottish musician, composer and songwriter. He had a string of hits in the late 1970s and early 1980s characterised by catchy pop tunes and jaunty humorous lyrics, including "Knocked It Off", "To Be or Not to Be" and "Bang Bang", a tongue-in-cheek commentary on famous historical and fictional couples. He wrote with Mike Rutherford of Genesis the Grammy-nominated and Ivor Novello Award-winning "The Living Years". It was a number one hit in the US, Canada, Australia and Ireland and reached number 2 in his native UK. He has also written music for films and been a television presenter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maggie Bell</span> Scottish rock vocalist

Margaret Bell is a Scottish rock vocalist. She came to fame as co-lead vocalist of the blues-rock group Stone the Crows, and was described as the UK's closest counterpart to American singer Janis Joplin. Bell was also prominently featured as a guest vocalist on the song "Every Picture Tells a Story" (1971) by Rod Stewart.

<i>RocKwiz</i> Australian television music show

RocKwiz is an Australian television live music trivia quiz show, focused on rock music and featuring different guest artist musicians who perform live in each episode. The show was co-created by Brian Nankervis, Peter Bain-Hogg, and Ken Connor. It is broadcast on SBS and premiered in 2005 also on Foxtel's Max. The 14th and final season premiered on 7 May 2016. Season 14 consisted of 7 episodes, recorded between February and April 2016, with the theme "RocKwiz Salutes The Legends". The final episode aired on 25 June 2016. The series won the 2007 AACTA Award for Best Light Entertainment Television Series and was nominated in the same category three times, it was also nominated for a Helpmann Award. On February 3, 2019 it was announced that SBS would no longer be commissioning any more TV episodes although the live touring shows would continue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julie Fowlis</span> Scottish Gaelic singer

Julie Fowlis is a Scottish folk singer and multi-instrumentalist who sings primarily in Scottish Gaelic.

<i>Outnumbered</i> (British TV series) British TV sitcom

Outnumbered is a British sitcom about the Brockman family, starring Hugh Dennis as the father, Claire Skinner as the mother and their three children played by Tyger Drew-Honey, Daniel Roche and Ramona Marquez.

<i>The Camera & the Song</i> 1975 compilation album by Various Artists

The Camera & the Song is a compilation album composed of songs by various folk bands and artists like Fivepenny Piece or Tír na nÓg from the BBC Two television series The Camera & the Song. The songs were broadcast in the early 1970s and this LP released in 1975.

Up Sunday was a British late night comedy satire TV show shown on BBC2 that ran for 55 editions over four series from January 1972 to December 1973, featuring many comedy stars of its era.

John Paterson Sinclair, better known as Jake D'Arcy, was a Scottish actor. He appeared in a number of television series, including as "Pete the Jakey" in the comedy programme Still Game from 2002 until 2007, and as 'Fud' O'Donnell in the 1987 Tutti Frutti. In films he played Coach Phil Menzies in Gregory's Girl (1981).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jake Bugg</span> English singer-songwriter

Jake Bugg is an English singer-songwriter. His self-titled debut album, Jake Bugg, some of which was co-written with songwriter Iain Archer, was released in October 2012 and reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. His second album, Shangri La, was released in November 2013 and his third, largely self-produced album On My One, in June 2016. His fourth album Hearts That Strain, a largely acoustic effort, produced by Dan Auerbach, was released in September 2017. After a gap of four years, in August 2021, Bugg released the more pop-influenced fifth album Saturday Night, Sunday Morning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Horne Section</span> British musical comedy band

The Horne Section is a British musical comedy band, appearing sporadically on radio, television, podcast, and stage. Led by frontman and comedian Alex Horne, the band mix music with comedy and specialise in comedy/spoof songs as well as performing a wide variety of genres including jazz. The band is made up of professional musicians, including two childhood friends of Horne, and first performed together in May 2010, with the current line-up finalised during 2012. The Horne Section have performed at the Edinburgh Festival, as well as touring the UK, and celebrity guests at their shows have included Harry Hill, Simon Amstell, Jimmy Carr, Tim Minchin, Josie Long, Al Murray and John Oliver as well as musicians including Suggs and Neil Hannon. Their BBC Radio 4 series – Alex Horne presents The Horne Section – ran for three series from 2012 to 2014. The band have also released five albums of songs which are available via the group's Bandcamp page.

References

  1. "Fantastic DVD news for Jake Thackray fans". JakeThackray.co.uk. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  2. Richman, Simmy. "The Bonus Track: Cale Tyson, Rae Morris, Jake Thackray, Taylor Swift". The Independent. London. Retrieved 21 December 2014.