Beware of the Bull – The Enigmatic Genius of Jake Thackray: Concert & Book Launch
Jake Thackray by John Watterson & Paul Thompson + Ralph McTell *reading*
Entry Requirements: 18+ after 7pm
Fresh from publishing their much-anticipated biography of the late, great Jake Thackray, John Watterson (‘Fake Thackray’) and Paul Thompson combine their talents as performers and authors to present an evening like no other, featuring Jake’s brilliant, hilarious songs and stories from his remarkable life. Ralph McTell will also be joining them for a reading or two...
Admired by Neil Gaiman, Jarvis Cocker, Jon Richardson and Arctic Monkeys, among many others, Jake is increasingly recognised as one of the greatest and most original British songwriters of the twentieth century; a unique talent, whose songs are full of wit, poetry, irreverence and humanity.
His story is as extraordinary as his songs. It takes in his childhood in the terraces of Leeds; years spent in France and war-torn Algeria; a career as an inspirational, idiosyncratic, highly creative teacher; his meteoric development as a songwriter and performer, and recording sessions at Abbey Road, rubbing shoulders with The Beatles and influencing their music. Television brought him great fame and fortune...and he turned his back on it all. It is the story of a complex, immensely private man who remained a mystery even to his friends.
Drawing on their research, undertaken with the full support of the Thackray family, John and Paul will share with the audience entertaining insights into Jake’s life and personality, and his unique writing. Alongside classic material they will perform some of the long lost songs they have unearthed, which are published for the first time in their book, Beware of the Bull – The Enigmatic Genius of Jake Thackray, which can be bought at a discounted price on the night.