Jasper Carrott

Born Robert Davies on 14 March 1945 in Birmingham, England, the comedian known as Carrott established himself as a regular presence on British television through programmes such as Canned Carrott on the BBC. His earliest work in performance, however, took shape on the folk scene across the Midlands, where an acoustic guitar served as a recurring prop in many of his routines. A short-lived venture into pop came in August 1975, when he secured an unexpected UK number 5 hit with ‘Funky Moped’, a tribute to an earlier mode of transport. The BBC was among those surprised by the record’s performance; its real draw lay on the b-side, ‘Magic Roundabout’, a blunt yet sharply amusing lampoon of a well-known children’s series then on air. That track accounted for most of the single’s unexpected commercial traction. ‘Funky Moped’ remains his sole chart entry to date, although the comedy albums he issued across the 1970s and 1980s—issued before video overtook records as the main outlet for stand-up material—also enjoyed healthy sales.