Beware of the Bull - The Enigmatic Genius of Jake Thackray is the critically-acclaimed first biography of the late, great singer-songwriter. Admired by Neil Gaiman, Jarvis Cocker, Alex Turner and Thea Gilmore, among others, Jake was one of the greatest and most original artists of the twentieth century; a unique talent and master storyteller whose songs are full of wit, poetry, irreverence and humanity. The book reveals a life as extraordinary as his writing: difficult upbringing in the terraces of Leeds; strict Catholic education; transformative experiences in France and Algeria; time as an inspirational, unorthodox and highly creative teacher; meteoric development as a writer and performer; subsequent discovery by the BBC; Abbey Road recordings and influence on The Beatles; fame, fortune and remarkable television career... and Jake's rejection of it all. It is a story of a complex, charismatic and self-effacing man whom many loved, but few understood. Beware of the Bull was written with the full support of the Thackray family. Exclusive access to personal papers has allowed for the inclusion of a wealth of rare poems, photographs and 'lost' lyrics. This paperback edition comes with a new foreword by the comedian Jon Richardson, an afterword by the authors, and further appendices with author Neil Gaiman and the distinguished conductor and composer Sir William Southgate.

'I loved Jon's book. It's even better than the real thing because you can't hear his voice.' Michael McIntyre A control freak looks for love (women who leave wet teaspoons in sugar bowls need not apply). 'I haven't woken up with a cup of tea by the bed for seven years. It seems such a small thing but it's one of a thousand things I miss about having someone around to take care of me. I have spent my entire adult life getting things the way I want them and all I want now is someone to give it all up for.' Is your filing faultless? Your CDs, apostrophes, cutlery all in the right places? Can you eat a biscuit in the correct way? Then Jon Richardson (single for seven years and counting) could be your ideal man... Living alone in a one bedroom flat in Swindon, Jon has had far too much time on his hands to think. In fact to obsess. About almost everything. Jon's obssessive compulsive personality disorder has seen him arrange the coins in his pockets in ascending size and colour code his bookshelves. It takes him less than 90 seconds to locate a receipt for a pair of shoes he bought in 1997. Over to the filing cabinet and R for receipts, S for shoes. But Jon doesn't want to be like this, in fact he would quite like to share his life with someone. But who could that someone be? Someone like himself, a quarrelsome perfectionist only with breasts and less body hair? Absolutely not. But who exactly is Jon looking for and where will he find her? Faced with a loveless future filled with his own peculiar quirks and perfectionism, Jon sets about his search for The One. The question is, will he mind her keeping the knives to the left of the forks in the cutlery drawer or organising the CDs by genre and not alphabetically?

'Warning: so funny, even the strongest pelvic floors will be tested' - Net Mums 'A very funny, honest look at the ups and downs of parenting. I absolutely loved it.' - Emily Dean, host of Walking the Dog 'Lucy, a favourite comic of mine, manages to shed new light on something so universal. Her reaction to parenting is ridiculously refreshing and loaded with guilty laugh out loud honesty. After the school run, I implore you to pick a page, any page, then realise you're not alone. A gentle funny stroke of parenting genius' - Johnny Vegas 'As a mum of two girls, I was nodding, laughing and emotional. I recognised so much of Lucy's journey in my own... I really loved it.' YolanDa Brown, BBC Loose Ends From TV's award-winning comedy mum and the writer of Hullraisers, Lucy Beaumont, comes her hilarious debut on the trials and tribulations of motherhood. Known for her sharp, witty and surreal view on everyday life, Lucy shares the unpredictable craziness of being a mum in this brilliant and laugh-out-loud 'mumoir'. Mums everywhere will recognise the madness of it all. Like when Lucy was hospitalised during her third trimester with chest pains but it turned out to be a burrito. Or when she was so tired at the park she forgot her own child's name. Heart-warming and laugh-out-loud funny, Drinking Custard also captures Lucy's marriage to comedian Jon Richardson, as they navigate Lucy's raging pregnancy hormones and balk at pram prices together. Get ready to make room on mum's bookshelf for Drinking Custard to sit alongside other mum classics such as Why Mummy Drinks, Hurrah For Gin! and The Unmumsy Mum.

'Warning: so funny, even the strongest pelvic floors will be tested' - Net Mums 'A very funny, honest look at the ups and downs of parenting. I absolutely loved it.' - Emily Dean, host of Walking the Dog 'Lucy, a favourite comic of mine, manages to shed new light on something so universal. Her reaction to parenting is ridiculously refreshing and loaded with guilty laugh out loud honesty. After the school run, I implore you to pick a page, any page, then realise you're not alone. A gentle funny stroke of parenting genius' - Johnny Vegas 'As a mum of two girls, I was nodding, laughing and emotional. I recognised so much of Lucy's journey in my own... I really loved it.' YolanDa Brown, BBC Loose Ends From TV's award-winning comedy mum and the writer of Hullraisers, Lucy Beaumont, comes her hilarious debut on the trials and tribulations of motherhood. Known for her sharp, witty and surreal view on everyday life, Lucy shares the unpredictable craziness of being a mum in this brilliant and laugh-out-loud 'mumoir'. Mums everywhere will recognise the madness of it all. Like when Lucy was hospitalised during her third trimester with chest pains but it turned out to be a burrito. Or when she was so tired at the park she forgot her own child's name. Heart-warming and laugh-out-loud funny, Drinking Custard also captures Lucy's marriage to comedian Jon Richardson, as they navigate Lucy's raging pregnancy hormones and balk at pram prices together. Get ready to make room on mum's bookshelf for Drinking Custard to sit alongside other mum classics such as Why Mummy Drinks, Hurrah For Gin! and The Unmumsy Mum.