Simon Thackray – biography

Simon Thackray with The Books: Photo Mary Thackray

Simon Thackray was born in Ryedale, North Yorkshire in 1960. He left school at seventeen to work in the family business of agricultural engineers and held his first one-man show of ink drawings at York University in 1978. He went into his shed in 1987 to make sculpture, paintings, drawings and prints. In 1992 he photographed his shed door and founded The Shed.

The Shed is a pint-sized arts venue on the edge of the North Yorkshire moors, presenting world-class music, poetry and comedy – from Stewart Lee to Carol Ann Duffy, Les Murray to Lau – and Simon Thackray’s own unique live-art events that are the ‘essence of Shedness‘: The Yorkshire Pudding Boat Race ®, The Fish and Chip van tour, Lol Coxhill in a skip, Mrs Boyes Bingo, Sebastian Rochford’s VAN GIG and Alan Tomlinson and the River Seven are just a few of his special art events entertaining audiences from across the UK.

“He’s a strange’un alright, but the art world could do with more of his kind of far-reaching woolly thinking.” Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph.

“His enthusiasm seems to light up the street. I muse on the idea of future cultural historians citing a shed door as the fulcrum of a rural arts renaissance.”
Ian McMillan, BBC Radio 3

Simon conjured the words, music and participatory knitting spectacular, ‘HAT‘, (written and performed by Ian McMillan and Billy Jenkins) and invented the knitted Elvis wig (now a world-wide accessory worn by artists in New York and bin men in Wakefield). Simon’s special projects have toured to the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Union Chapel and Victoria & Albert Museum, London, and venues in Halifax, Leeds, York, Newcastle, Gateshead, Sheffield, Belfast and Cork.

Simon co-founded the Pied Piper Project with Sarah Derbyshire MBE in 1997. Pied Piper is a registered charity that brings leading professional musicians and poets to North Yorkshire to work with young people in youth centres, village halls and schools. Annie Whitehead, Jan Kopinski, Gwyneth Herbert, Snake Davis, Jackie Kay, Ian McMIllan, Sebastian Rochford, Pete Wareham, Mark Lockheart and Billy Jenkins are all former Pied Piper workshop leaders. The Shed (with Pied Piper) is supported by Arts Council England and Ryedale District Council.

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The Shed Radio Party
(Fantastic archive recording from 2005).
Ian McMillan, Snake Davis, Billy Jenkins, Simon and Hank Wangford on the Jules and Julia Show..
Listen now..
(requires Real Player)

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Simon Thackray art events – ‘the essence of Shedness’:

Sebastian Rochford’s VAN GIG
Art event copyright Simon Thackray. Photo: Kippa Matthews

Sebastian Rochford drumming in the back of a white van in Leeds, York, Malton, Pickering, Kirkbymoorside and Helmsley. “Everywhere you look people have got smiles on their faces…”. Jules Bellerby, Jonathan Cowap Show, BBC Radio York. Read Charles Hutchinson’s review:

“He could, if he chose, make a bigger splash in the art world than he does here – which acts more as an extension to his shed.” Mary Sara, Yorkshire Post

Alan Tomlinson and the River Seven.
Art event copyright Simon Thackray. Photo: Tony Bartholomew

“HOW did you spend your Sunday? How about driving for an hour into ever hardier Yorkshire country; following intermittent improvised signs to the River Seven, down the narrowest of moorland lanes; then watching cars being pushed up a muddy incline to park in a field, before a cross-country trek to a babbling brook.” Read the review:

Yorkshire Pudding Boat Race ®
Photo © Tony Bartholomew
Event concept copyright Simon Thackray. All rights reserved.
The Yorkshire Pudding Boat Race is a registered trade mark of Simon Thackray.

“For the past 19 years, The Shed, near the market town of Malton, has been responsible for some of the smallest and most inspired art events in the country” Alfred Hickling, Guardian

Lol Coxhill in a skip
Event concept copyright Simon Thackray. All rights reserved.
Photo © Tony Bartholomew

Simon put the maverick saxophonist Lol Coxhill in a skip. Launch event of FuseLeeds06 and broadcast on Jazz on 3 and Pick Of The Week on Radio 4.

Mrs Boyes’ Bingo featuring Mark Sanders
Event concept copyright Simon Thackray. All rights reserved.
Photo © Simon Thackray (World Premiere 1999)

Mrs Boyes’ Bingo photo (World Premiere ’99)
Photo available from The Shed Online Shop.

Mrs Boyes’ Bingo featuring Mark Sanders was premiered at The Shed in 1999. It was performed at FUSELEEDS04 and at The Shed as part of The Shed’s Greatest Hits. Mrs Boyes’ Bingo and the Fish and Chip Van Tour (see below) entertained delegates at the International Art and Science conference ‘Rules Of Engagement’ at the National Centre For Early Music in 2005. Mrs Boyes’ Bingo was most recently performed in the famous Spiegeltent at Belfast Festival 2009.

Knitted Elvis Wigs
Originally created for the North Yorkshire Elvis Bus Tour
FREE knitting pattern here:
Event concept copyright Simon Thackray. All rights reserved.
Photo © Tony Bartholomew

Simon propagated the rare species of Yorkshire Pudding Flower and invented the knitted Elvis wig for the first North Yorkshire Elvis Bus Tour. Knitted Elvis wigs are appearing across the world – from Wakefield allotments to the ‘Day Of Dada’ parade in New York City!

Ian McMillan – HAT
The Award Winning words, music and knitting performance. More..
Event concept copyright Simon Thackray. All rights reserved.
Photo © Tony Bartholomew

“I muse on the idea of future cultural historians citing a shed door as the fulcrum of a rural arts renaissance” Ian McMillan

“Ssoon it’ll be like Woodstock: people will pretend they were there – people will want to say, ‘I was there when it all started’”
Independent on Sunday.

Fish and Chip van tour
Event concept copyright Simon Thackray. All rights reserved.
Photo © Tony Bartholomew

Photos by Simon Thackray available from The Shed Online Shop.

“Intrepid arts explorer… pioneer of improvised arts events”
Yorkshire Evening Press

GUARDIAN – TRAVEL 20.3.10
The insiders guide to the world’s best small music venues.
Musicians, DJs and authors reveal their favourite hangouts.
“The Shed was the inspiration for my tour of village halls around Britain, which I am currently writing up as a book. And, after 235 villages, The Shed is still the loony best.” Hank Wangford, Guardian. Read the whole article:

Hat – the original knitting performance

Knitted Elvis Wigs – Vogue Knitting and No.1 on Google!

The Fish & Chip Van Tour – on the Richard and Judy Show

The Yorkshire Pudding Boat Race – Big Breakfast to Sky News

North Yorkshire Elvis Bus Tour – Afternoon Play on Radio 4

Mrs Boyes’ Bingo – featuring Mark Sanders

The Shed Comes To Town – and Malton comes to life!