Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Sample

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Beware of the Bull

By: Paul Thompson, John Watterson
Narrated by: Paul Thompson
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £18.99

Buy Now for £18.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

Beware of the Bull: The Enigmatic Genius of Jake Thackray is the critically-acclaimed first biography of the late, great singer-songwriter. It was included in the Daily Telegraph's pick of the best music books of 2022.

Admired by Neil Gaiman, Jarvis Cocker, Alex Turner, and Thea Gilmore, among others, Jake was one of the greatest and most original artists of the 20th century: a unique talent and master storyteller whose songs are full of wit, poetry, irreverence, and humanity.

The book reveals a life as extraordinary as his writing: difficult upbringing in the terraces of Leeds; strict Catholic education; transformative experiences in France and Algeria; time as an inspirational, unorthodox and highly creative teacher; meteoric development as a writer and performer; subsequent discovery by the BBC; Abbey Road recordings and influence on The Beatles; fame, fortune, and remarkable television career...and Jake's rejection of it all.

It is a story of a complex, charismatic, and self-effacing man whom many loved, but few understood. Beware of the Bull was written with the full support of the Thackray family, who granted exclusive access to Jake's personal archive.

This audiobook is abridged. It contains the full text of all the main chapters of the book, but omits the foreword, afterword, and appendices. It is narrated by Paul Thompson, one of the book's authors.

©2022 Paul Thompson, John Watterson (P)2023 Paul Thompson
activate_samplebutton_t1

Listeners also enjoyed...

God Only Knows cover art
Indian Sun cover art
John Farnham cover art
Some New Kind of Kick cover art
A Shirt Box Full of Songs cover art
Bruised, Never Broken cover art
Looking to Get Lost cover art
Tough Crowd cover art
The Sound of Being Human cover art
The McCartney Legacy cover art
Barry Cryer: Same Time Tomorrow? cover art
Electronically Yours cover art
Sunshine and Laughter cover art
Walking Back Home cover art
The Clue Bible cover art
Colonialism cover art

What listeners say about Beware of the Bull

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Great Man's Story Superbly Told

A wonderful book covering both the genius and the flaws of Jake. I was lucky enough to see him perform three times and almost felt I knew him from the tales he told between songs. But this taught me so much more about his life and influences from George Brassens to The Catholic Church. Brilliantly researched from many sources.
Obviously written and told by fans but à very critical story of a life well lived if much too short and despite much adversity. To paraphrase one of Jake's tales, the listener will worship the ground Jake fell on.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great path to learning more about Jake

Having come late to Jake’s musical output, indeed he’d died before I became a fan, this was a great way to find out more about a discreet national treasure (who by all accounts would hate me for describing him as such).
Great research and very well read. I’d recommend it to anyone with an interest in Jake’s work.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!