I am fascinated by language - it's one of the reasons I studied and taught Classics - and love creating and performing music: the witty, poetic songs of Jake Thackray and other literate songwriters, and my own material. I took up the guitar and songwriting in my early teens because of The Beatles. Soon, though, Jake Thackray's music became a new passion. I fell in love with the storytelling, poetry, poignancy and humour in his extraordinary songs. I was lucky enough to see him performing in small clubs, but kept my distance, other than on one occasion when I prompted him when he forgot the words to a song – early evidence of my Thackray nerdiness. ​Over the years I’ve also been drawn to the work of Randy Newman, Tom Lehrer, Flanders and Swann, Neil Hannon, Stephen Sondheim, Tim Minchin and Pete Scott. As a teenage songwriter I was terribly prolific and prolifically terrible. I peaked when I wrote a Thackrayesque piece about someone stuck in limbo in the after-life and performed it at a reception for the Speaker of the House of Commons. Then I developed some self-awareness, realised my limitations and got writer’s block, which lasted for quarter of a century... When the new millennium arrived, and with it the internet, I met other Thackray fans. This rekindled my love of his music and started me on a road which led me to live performance and lots of Thackray projects. As well as singing his songs, I've worked with other fans to get his material released on DVD and CD, including 'Jake Thackray at the BBC' and 'Jake Thackray and Songs'. Eventually my own songwriting underwent a reboot, inspired by Jake's work. ​In 2016, with fellow Thackray performer John Watterson and my son Will acting as producer, I recorded 'The Lost Will and Testament of Jake Thackray', an album of Jake’s long-lost songs, most of which had never been released before. For songs where only the lyrics survived, I wrote the tunes. We were delighted at the reception the album received. In 2018, with Will producing and John on vocals, I returned to the studio (i.e. the spare bedroom) to record 'The Resurrection of Frédéric Debreu', an album of satirical songs I co-wrote with comic novelist Alex Marsh. Inspired by our shared love of the work of Jake and his musical hero, Georges Brassens, we created a back catalogue for a legendary (and entirely fictional) French chansonnier. The project was a joyous experience, and we were delighted that people liked our 'love letter to Jake Thackray,' as lyricist Don Black called it. Then I found myself working with John on a dream project, researching and writing Jake’s biography. 'Beware of the Bull – The Enigmatic Genius of Jake Thackray' was published in August 2022, to great acclaim. We were delighted that the Daily Telegraph included it in its pick of the best music books of 2022. Most importantly, we are pleased that the book has been accompanied by a revival of interest in Jake's remarkable songs. The Thackray evangelism continues, through performance, recording and writing. Over the years I have unearthed more than twenty-five of Jake's long-lost songs. My versions of eight of them are included on my debut solo album, 'Playing with Nadine'. Nadine was the name Jake gave to one of his guitars, which I now own. I also have another Thackray book project in the pipeline. Watch this space.