Cultural Exchanges - Jasper Carrott

When I walked into the lecture theatre to see 1989’s ITV personality of the year, Jasper Carrott, I panicked slightly because it seemed as if every seat was taken, no wonder the advertisement advised early booking. I found a seat at the back next to a friendly Indian man who enjoyed talking to me, as well as himself, and waited twenty long and awkward minutes for Jasper Carrott to appear.

At around twenty five minuets past seven we were graced with Mr Carrott’s presence, and after he had finished chit chatting to Geoff Rowe (Director of Dave’s Leicester Comedy Festival) and checking the microphones he addressed us directly and hoped that he’d tell us something useful in the time we had together. To which a woman at the front responded “you’re late!” and the audience chuckled or looked at each other in approval, as did Jasper and Geoff although rather awkwardly. The talkative man next to me however, tutted and shook his head. At that moment I thought he was tuting because he too was upset the host of the event was so late and unapologetic, but after hearing him clap and mutter “hurrah!” and “here here!” to every modest thing Jasper Carrott said later on in the talk (there wasn’t many) I realised that he must have tutted in disapproval. He must have thought the woman was being rude or out of order. Which of course she was, but most of us, even perhaps Jasper himself, saw that it might have been justified.

Once Jasper and Geoff were well into conversing over Jasper’s life; how he started off in America traveling around comedy clubs and bars (which is where he saw Jay Leno ride into a bar on a motorcycle, do some stand up and ride straight back out again), how he used other comedian’s lines to write his own comedy script (which we learnt is not copy write and in fact if he were to rip off any comedian’s act fully he wouldn’t be in any trouble for doing so, except maybe losing fans and gaining hate mail) and how he went from a no body Birmingham City supporter to a legend of comedy; I started to see his head get bigger and bigger. Jasper Carrott was never rude but he was forward, he would say things like “I introduced that comedian, if it wasn’t for me he would have struggled to be heard” and he would politely boast about his Magic Roundabout single being “the only ever single in the chart that had no music content what so ever” and “it seemed like it was played by almost every DJ in the UK”. I know success is something to be proud of and the talk was so people could hear about Jasper’s career but he seemed all too pleased to tell us how well he had done and would interrupt Geoff when he tried to move the conversation on because he wanted to tell another anecdote about something else he did that was great. 

Once they had finished talking about Jasper’s past there were questions of the future that still needed answering. Geoff asked “I invite you to perform at Dave’s Leicester Comedy Festival every year, why are you not interested?” Jasper’s reply was interesting, he said that he had already done everything he wanted to and was possible in comedy already and he thought that a younger fresher mind was needed to push the limits of comedy, or else it will be the same old jokes told over and over again. He said he was far too old to come up with such creativity and if he did he wouldn’t have the energy to perform it, it was the first modest thing I had heard him say all night. 

I would say that I didn't get much of out this talk, other than a new found patience, but that isn’t true. I learned about the troubles of writers and performers and I learned that even a nobody from Brum can be a somebody if they follow their passion. 

Rachael Byrne