Data Department
by David Fisher
Des O'Connor and Melanie Sykes
I was sorry to hear recently
of the death of one of my personal "heroes" - that of singer/songwriter
Jake Thackeray. He was originally a folk singer but became a household
name in the 1960's with his witty songs, sung with a deadpan expression
on his face, on The Braden Beat. He graduated from Durham University
and then taught English for a while. But he also spent four years in France
and was influenced by the French singer-poets Georges Brassens and Jacques
Brel. His attitude to his songs was, "I think it's best to take the
p*** out of things and then when they're laughing, lob in a grenade. Sadly,
his last years were fraught with financial problems and a few years ago
he was declared bankrupt. He was also separated from his wife Sheila -
they had three sons - and he was found dead last Christmas Eve at his
home in Monmouth.
Jake Thackeray 27 February 1938; Leeds, Yorkshire (53N50, 1W35); 11:30 pm (23:30 GMT). Jon Taylor quotes him personally.
There's an exciting new partnership whose lunchtime chat show on ITV every weekday is certainly pulling in the viewing audiences. The show is called Today with Des and Mel and is fronted by Des O'Connor and Melanie Sykes. The "chemistry" between these two is amazing. The show only started in September 2002 and already some guests have appeared more than once.
Des O'Connor 12 January 1932; London; time not known
Melanie Sykes 7 August 1970; Manchester; time not known.
Both data taken from TV Times Who's Who in Television (Boxtree, 2000)
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