IT is hard to believe that it has been 27 years since Jasper Carrott’s last UK tour.

At last the man hailed as the godfather of comedy is back on the road with his best friend Bev Bevan and merry band of musicians.

Eighteen months ago Bev suggested the pair tour together locally. Before they knew it they had clocked up 70 shows and counting.

The Brummie comedian’s career began in 1969, when he launched the Boggery Folk Club and proceeded to act compere and play ‘silly songs’.

He owes his stage moniker (he was born Robert Norman Davis) to his puzzling childhood nickname of Jasper. He added Carrott but cannot for the life of him remember why.

He rose to fame in 1975 with novelty hit single, Funky Moped. The risqué B-side, Magic Roundabout, was the real reason for shifting so many copies. Banned by the BBC, the track gathered momentum when nightclub DJs began selling the record privately.

In 1978, his TV show An Audience With Jasper Carrott firmly established him as the frontrunner of the alternative comedy scene. Doing away with the hackneyed Irishman jokes and easy digs at mothers-in-law entirely, his gutsy material propelled him to stardom.

He went on to conquer America in the 1980s, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Seinfeld and Patricia Heaton, of Everybody Loves Raymond fame.

Now back on stage, but staying firmly away from large stadiums and arenas, Jasper is fusing his two passions in Stand Up And Rock.

Half comedy show, half concert, with a catalogue of pop hits performed by Bev Bevan and co, it is his most exciting project to date.

“We get standing ovations every time and we have earned them,” says the 70-year-old. “It’s so satisfying. We would get 100 per cent of standing ovations if 100 per cent of our audience could stand.”

Stand Up And Rock will take over the Wyvern Theatre on Tuesday, June 23 and Wednesday 24 at 7.30pm. Tickets are £26. To book call the box office on 01793 524481 or visit swindontheatres.co.uk.