Jasper Carrott - Rise To Fame

Rise To Fame

In February 1969 he started his own folk club, "The Boggery", in nearby Solihull with his friend Les Ward. Here, Carrott performed folk songs and MC duties. Before long, his banter with the audience overtook the actual songs; he became known more as a comedian than a singer.

He also worked as a musical agent (in partnership with John Starkey, who became his manager in 1974 until 1992), as Fingimigig, managing (among other acts) Harvey Andrews. He toured the UK, appearing in rugby clubs. He independently recorded an album, financed by himself, called Jasper Carrot – In the Club, which he sold from the back of his van. It was this album that contained the original "Magic Roundabout". Released in 1973, the LP is quite rare, although it mainly consists of material later used in his first three official LPs (such as "Hare Krishna", "Car Insurance", "Bastity Chelt", and "Hava Nagila") plus the Fred Wedlock song "The Folker".

He had a surprise UK Top 5 chart hit in August 1975 with the novelty record "Funky Moped", written by Chris Rohmann and produced by Jeff Lynne. The B-side of this single was a risqué monologue parodying the animated children's TV series The Magic Roundabout. This track was banned by the BBC, which is widely believed to have contributed to the single's commercial success, which in turn, ironically, led to his appearance on the BBC's Top of the Pops.

By the late 1970s, Carrott had developed a number of anecdotal sketches which he still performs in similar form some thirty years on. Often these sketches purported to be auto-biographical; many of them celebrate Birmingham accent and culture, including his support of his beloved Birmingham City.

His sketches were captured on records such as Jasper Carrott Rabbitts on and on and on... and Carrott in Notts which were recordings of live performances. Notable hits were "Bastity Chelt" a complete song in Spoonerism, "The Football Match" describing a visit to Old Trafford, "The Nutter on the Bus" including the well known cry of "Has anybody seen my camel?"), "The Mole" ("There's only one way to get rid of a mole – blow its bloody head off!") and "Zits" – an explanation of an American slang word for spots that brought the word into use in England.

In 1979 he published A Little Zit on the Side, which purported to be a humorous autobiography. The follow-up, Sweet and Sour Labrador, mixed sections of his stand-up routines with similar autobiographical material, much of it related to his world travels.

Jasper also was one of the comperes for the Birmingham Heart Beat Charity Concert 1986, which featured many local bands such as Electric Light Orchestra and the Moody Blues, with a finale that included George Harrison from the Beatles.

On 15 September 2007 he was inducted into the Birmingham Walk of Stars at a presentation as part of the Arts Fest 2007 celebrations. The award was presented by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham. Carrott is the second inductee, following Ozzy Osbourne.

Jasper Carrott was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the British Comedy Awards on 6 December 2008.