Fame came to this shy retiring artist soon after we booked him - not a lot of people can say that! When I say soon I mean two years later. We booked him in 1973 at the King's Head in Ongar for the princely sum of £12.50! ('Is that your brain or are you running it in for an idiot?' he rashly enquired of a local resident). I saw him most regularly at the Three Horseshoes in Hampstead I seem to recall. By 1975 he had hit the charts and Top of the Pops with 'Funky Moped/Magic Roundabout' - produced by Jeff Lynne of E.L.O. fame. By 1978 he had a TV series 'An Audience With Jasper Carrott' on LWT and the rest is well-documented history.
In 1945 when Mrs Carrott produced him she rather strangely called him Bob Davies, confusion has reigned ever since. For me he was never funnier than when performing in a club - a skill he learned as resident and organiser of the Boggery Folk Club in Solihull.
For me he's a bit like John Cleese in that he makes me laugh even before he speaks. I still smile at the news that he wanted to call his daughter Henrietta. In fact his daughter has a leading role in the 'Archers'.
I'm surprised looking at his list of recorded works that there is no mention of an album called 'Jasper Carrott in the Club' on Criminal Records - notable for its suitably tasteful cover. Does this mean it is rare and my copy is now worth vast sums I wonder?
Given his rather outrageous stage persona I was always surprised at what a laid- back quiet spoken chap he was. We liked him!
TK©2001