Jasper Carrott

Born Robert Norman Davis on 14 March 1945, in Birmingham, England, Carrott was educated at Acocks Green Primary School, and Moseley Grammar School. He worked as a trainee buyer at a city centre department store the Beehive, He acquired the nickname Jasper aged nine, and added the surname Carrott when he was 17. ==Career==

In February 1969, Carrott started his own folk club, "The Boggery", in nearby Solihull with his friend Les Ward. Carrott performed folk songs and as an MC. His banter overtook the songs and he became more a comedian than a singer. as Fingimigig, managing among others Harvey Andrews. By the late 1970s, Carrott had developed anecdotal sketches which he still performs. Often they purport to be autobiographical; 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. Carrott was the compere for the Birmingham Heart Beat Charity Concert 1986, which featured local bands such as Electric Light Orchestra and the Moody Blues, with a finale that included George Harrison. This partnership with LWT continued with The Unrecorded Jasper Carrott (1979), In 1982, Carrott moved to the BBC for ''Carrott's Lib'' (1982-1983), Carrott played Heinrich in the 1987 British comedy film Jane and the Lost City. Canned Carrott also featured a spoof police drama called The Detectives, He performed in several of ''The Secret Policeman's Balls charity concerts for Amnesty International, and returned to the stage in 2004 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham featuring classic routines from his career. He returned to singing for the musical Go Play Up Your Own End'' (written by Malcolm Stent, songs by Harvey Andrews) in 2005. In 2005, he staged and appeared in the first ''Jasper Carrott's Rock With Laughter Christmas'' concert at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) Birmingham, supported live by Jimmy Carr, Jethro, Roy Wood, and Lenny Henry. In summer 2007, Carrott hosted the Endemol-produced game show Golden Balls for ITV1. On 15 September 2007, he was inducted into the Birmingham Walk of Stars at the Arts Fest 2007 celebrations. The award was presented by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham. In August 2017, Carrott underwent an operation to clear a blocked artery, followed by a quadruple heart bypass. 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. ==Literary work==

Carrott has written the humorous paperbacks A Little Zit on the Side (1979), 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 commonly credited to John Lennon until Mark Lewisohn identified, in 1983, that it was Carrott who said it. However, Lewisohn has since confirmed that the line originally came from a 1981 episode of the BBC Radio 4 comedy series Radio Active, written by Geoffrey Perkins, Angus Deayton and Richard Curtis. ==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. ==Personal life==

Carrott married journalist Hazel Jackson in 1972. Their daughter is the actress Lucy Davis. He is a supporter, and was a director, of Birmingham City Football Club; a hospitality suite at their St Andrew's ground is named after him. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2003 New Year Honours "for charitable services". The University of Birmingham awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2004, following a similar award from Aston University in 1995. ==Filmography==

Albums • 1973 – In the Club (Criminal Records) • 1975 – Rabbitts On and On and On... (DJM Records) UK No. 10 • 1976 – Carrott in Notts (DJM Records) UK No. 56 • 1977 – A Pain in the Arm (DJM Records) • 1978 – The Best of Jasper Carrott (DJM Records) UK No. 38 • 1979 – The Un-Recorded Jasper Carrott (DJM Records) UK No. 19 • 1980 – Made in Australia (DJM/Festival (Australia)) • 1981 – Beat the Carrott (DJM Records) UK No. 13 • 1982 – ''Carrott's Lib'' (DJM Records) UK No. 80 • 1983 – The Stun (Carrott Tells All) (DJM Records) UK No. 57 • 1985 – In America (Rhino Records) • 1986 – Cosmic Carrott (Portrait Records) UK No. 66 • 1991 – Condensed Classics (Chrysalis/Dover Records) • 1991 – 24 Carrott Gold (EMI Records) • 1994 – Canned Carrott for the Record (EMI Records) • 2000 – Back to the Front volume 1 (Sound Entertainment) • 2000 – Back to the Front volume 2 (Sound Entertainment • 2004 – 24 Carrott Gold – The Best of Jasper Carrott (Sound Entertainment) • 1976 – "Bickenhill Rovers Skin'ead Supporters Song" (DJM Records) • 1977 – "12 Days of Christmas" (DJM Records) ==References==