Born Robert Norman Davis on 14 March 1945, in Birmingham, England.[1] Carrott was educated at Acocks Green Primary School,[2] and Moseley Grammar School.[3] He worked as a trainee buyer at a city centre department store the Beehive,[4] with schoolmate and ELO member Bev Bevan, who would remain a lifelong friend.[4]
He acquired the nickname Jasper aged nine, and added the surname Carrott when he was 17.[5]
Career
In February 1969, he started his own folk club, "The Boggery", in nearby Solihull with his friend Les Ward.[6] Carrott performed folk songs and as an MC. His banter overtook the songs and he became more a comedian than a singer.[6] He also worked as a musical agent (with John Starkey, who was his manager from 1974 to 1992),[7] as Fingimigig, managing among others Harvey Andrews.[7] He toured UK rugby clubs.[7] He recorded an album in 1973 called Jasper Carrott – In the Club,[8] which he sold from his van. The album contained the original "Magic Roundabout", although mainly material used in his next three LPs (such as "Hare Krishna", "Car Insurance", "Bastity Chelt", and "Hava Nagila") plus the Fred Wedlock song "The Folker".[8]
By the late 1970s, Carrott had developed anecdotal sketches which he still performs. Often they purport to be autobiographical;[5] many celebrate the Birmingham accent and culture, including his support of Birmingham City.[5]
His live performances were recorded as Jasper Carrott Rabbitts on and on and on...[11] and Carrott in Notts.[11] Notable tracks were "Bastity Chelt",[11] a song in Spoonerism,[11] "The Football Match" describing a visit to Old Trafford, "The Nutter on the Bus" (including the cry "Has anybody seen my camel?"),[11] "The Mole" ("There's only one way to get rid of a mole – blow its bloody head off!")[5] and "Zits" – an explanation of American slang for spots that brought the word into use in Britain.[11]
In 1979, he published A Little Zit on the Side, a humorous autobiography.[12] The follow-up, Sweet and Sour Labrador, mixed sections of stand-up routines with similar autobiographical material, much of it related to his world travels.[13]
His first appearance on television was a half-hour show for BBC Midlands on 11 August 1975, in a programme about local football called "The Golden Game". In 1976, he appeared in A Half Hour Mislaid with Jasper Carrott.[15] He followed in 1978 with LWT'sAn Audience with Jasper Carrott,[15][16] This partnership with LWT continued with The Unrecorded Jasper Carrott (1979),[15] and Beat the Carrott (1981).[15]
In 1982, Carrott moved to the BBC for Carrott's Lib (1982-1983),[15]Carrott's Commercial Breakdown (1989-1996),[15] which broadcast weird adverts from around the world, and the sketch and stand-up shows Carrott Confidential (1987-1989),[15]24 Carrott Gold (1990),[15]The Jasper Carrott Trial (1996-1997),[15] and Canned Carrott (1990-1991).[15] One popular sketch involved Carrott reading out genuine, but bizarre motor insurance claim statements, such as "I drove out of my drive at 7am and drove straight into a bus. The bus was ten minutes early."[5][17]
In August 2017, Carrott underwent an operation to clear a blocked artery, followed by a quadruple heart bypass.[25] A 30-date tour was cancelled. He has since said the surgery gave him a new lease of life and he has no plans to retire, citing Ken Dodd's longevity as an example.[26]
Carrott has written the humorous paperbacks A Little Zit on the Side (1979),[12] and Sweet and Sour Labrador (1982).[13] He also wrote a novel called Shop! or a Store is Born.[28]
Carrott's former manager, John Starkey, has written a book entitled Jasper and Me (1993; Etsiketsi Books), which included the line, "He once said, 'Ringo isn't the best drummer in the world. He isn't even the best drummer in the Beatles'". This quote was credited to John Lennon until Mark Lewisohn discovered, in 1983, that it was Carrott who said it.[29]
Business interests
Carrott was part-owner of the production company Celador, makers of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? In 2006, he and wife Hazel sold their shares for £10m when Dutch interactive television company 2waytraffic bought the group of companies behind Millionaire.[30][31]
Personal life
Carrott married journalist Hazel Jackson in 1972.[26] Their daughter is the actress Lucy Davis.[32]
this includes an election special broadcast on BBC2, and a special trailer for the 2nd series, broadcast on Friday 15 January 1988, which took the form of a mini sketch with Carrott dressed as Anne Robinson on 'Pointless Views'
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