jonb
User

Fresh Boarder
 
 Early stuff - 2008/01/20 22:43 Hello. I'm new to this excellent site.

I first saw Jake on BBC TV in the sixties, when he had a regular slot on "Braden's Week". I believe that some of those early songs were written hurriedly to deadlines and that Jake later disowned them, which is a pity. I was glad to see from this site that "Freda" and "Vicar's Missus" have been "rescued", but there must be others languishing in the BBC's vaults. I remember one song in which Jake reflected that if he were a millionaire and presented his lady love with an elephant, she'd be bound to complain that "you never know where the trunk has been" and another that began "Fifi Golightly / I'm ever so slightly / In love with you ..."

I saw Jake a couple of times at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London (including the gig recorded for the "Live Performance" LP) and again at the Fairfields Hall, Croydon. However, I wasn't surprised to learn from one of the newspaper obituaries of Jake that he wasn't fond of playing in large theatres. He seemed much more at ease in the more intimate setting of the Battersea Arts Centre, the last time I saw him perform. I wish I'd seen him perform in a pub.

Incidentally, the obituary I referred to gives the date of Jake's death as 27th rather than 24th December.

Congratulations on the site, worthy of its vastly talented and sadly underrated subject.

Jonathan
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Paul
User

Platinum Boarder
 
 Re:Early stuff - 2008/01/21 19:53 Welcome aboard, Jonb! The EMI vaults are apparently completely clear of unreleased material now, but, as you suggest, the BBC must certainly have some material. I don't recognise either of the songs to which you refer (I'm too young to have seen Jake on TV in the sixties), but I know of the following:
- the BBC4 documentary 'Jake on the Box' featured a clip of Jake singing (on Nationwide?) a song about a municipal workers' strike;
- we know that the 1974 programme 'The Camera and the Song' featured alternate versions of a number of songs, as well as the unreleased (on vinyl or CD) The Cenotaph, which you can find in the audio clips on this site;
doubtless there are other songs, but how good they will be is doubtful: Jake seems to have known the quality of his own writing and most of the previously unreleased tracks on Jake in a Box are not front rank songs (IMHO). Whether we can ever persuade the BBC to open its vaults is doubtful, although a number of the members of this site have been trying.

I can vouch for the fact that seeing Jake in the setting of a very small club was truly magical.

Post edited by: Paul, at: 2008/01/24 19:34
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aliasmacalias
User

Platinum Boarder
 
 Re:Early stuff - 2008/01/23 23:46 Hello Jon, welcome along

As Paul says, the Camera and the Song remains in the BBC archives. The Nationwide stuff might remain but is not certain to beyond the snippet of the Municipal Workers Song.

I saw Jake three times, once in the George Square Theatre in Edinburgh which is largish, Once at the 16th Cambridge Folk Festival when he was on the main stage in front of a big crowd in a field, and again at the same Cambridge Festival in the smaller tent I think. He was great each time.

Ian I got boogie, boogie, in my socks
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Hugh Williams
User

Platinum Boarder
 
 Re:Early stuff - 2008/01/26 12:22 johnb; just for your reference,a couple of us have posted reminiscences regarding gigs under the heading "Venues".Welcome to the forum.
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Pam
User

Platinum Boarder
 
 Re:Early stuff - 2008/01/26 18:19 Hello Jonathan ;o)

Jake died on 24th December, but as far as I am aware, it wasn't announced until 27th, which might be where the obituary that you've got got it from.

I can remember it now, on the 10am news on Radio 4, and for some reason not feeling surprised, but very sad even so.

You're so lucky to have been at the QEH - have you got the Live Performance CD of that yet? WELL worth it! I saw him quite a few times, once or twice in small theatres but mostly in folk clubs, many of which were in pubs; you're right, that's where he was best ;o)
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