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.

[6] 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[7] and he was also influenced by Jacques Brel and Charles Trenet.

[7] He was admired by, and has influenced, many performers including Jarvis Cocker,[9] Alex Turner,[10] Benjamin Clementine,[11] Mike Harding,[12] Momus,[13] Ralph McTell,[14] Morrissey,[15] and Jasper Carrott.

[18] After graduation he spent three years abroad teaching English, mainly in France – in Lille, in Brittany and in the Pyrenees – but also including six months in Algeria at the height of the war for independence in 1961–1962.

This and performing in folk clubs led to appearances on local BBC radio programmes, which brought him to the attention of producer Norman Newell.

Other songs included "Isabel Makes Love upon National Monuments", "Sister Josephine", and "Brother Gorilla", an English adaptation of Georges Brassens' "Le Gorille".

Its title track, a comedic, long-winded tirade about women who talk too much, would see Thackray accused of misogyny,[1] but the album also included "The Hair of the Widow of Bridlington", a song of female self-determination in the face of social disapproval.

He is recorded as saying "I'd never liked the stage much and I was turning into a performing man, a real Archie Rice [the hack music hall comic in John Osborne's The Entertainer], so I cancelled gigs and pulled out".

[14] His style of work was also falling out of fashion: his literate, witty lyrics and tales of rural Yorkshire had little resonance in the punk and Thatcher years, folk audiences had lost interest in contemporary song and, in the days of alternative comedy, his bawdy humour was deemed sexist and outdated.

[5] He had always been an observant Roman Catholic[35] and became increasingly religious in his later years, limiting his musical activities to performing the Angelus at his local church.

[37] He died of heart failure[17] on 24 December 2002, at the age of 64, leaving his widow, Sheila, from whom he was separated, and three sons: Bill, Sam and Tom.

A musical written by Barnsley-born poet Ian McMillan based on Thackray's songs and their characters, Sister Josephine Kicks the Habit, premiered in 2005 and toured the north of England.

A rewrite by Alan Plater was due to tour the UK in 2007, but was put on hold following the death of executive producer Ian Watson.