John Philip "Jake" Thackray (27 February 1938 – 24 December 2002) 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. 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 his 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 has influenced, many performers including Jarvis Cocker, Alex Turner, Benjamin Clementine, Mike Harding, Momus, Ralph McTell, Morrissey, and Jasper Carrott. Early life John Philip Thackray was born in 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 St David's College, a Catholic boarding seminary in Dolgellau, north-west Wales, and considered joining the priesthood, but instead chose to study English Literature and Language at Durham University. After graduation he spent three years abroad 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. In 1966, he had two brief columns – What is a Prof? and What is a Student? published in the BBC's The Listener magazine. Musical career In 1963 Thackray returned to his native Yorkshire, teaching at Intake School in Rodley, Leeds. Teaching himself to play the guitar, he found that one way to get unruly pupils to take an interest in