Boothby Graffoe (born James Martyn Rogers on 20 October 1962), is an English comedian, singer, songwriter and playwright. He is particularly known for his surreal sense of humour and work with Canadian band Barenaked Ladies.
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Rogers was born in 1962 in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. For the latter part of his schooling, he attended the Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Horncastle. At the age of 18, he became a member of the redcoats at a Butlins on the south coast. He named his alter ego after an English village while driving back from a gig in the late 1980s. His family still live in the Tattershall area. He claims to be the only comedian in the world named after a Lincolnshire village.
Graffoe often incorporates guitar playing into his stage act, through his oddball (and usually slightly twisted) songs, including such titles as "Planet Dog", "Woof" and his album's title track, "Wot Italian" (sometimes referred to as "Umbrella Head Boy"). Some of his song titles are still more surreal, in that they do not reflect the subject matter, such as "Giraffes Don't Play Harmonicas, So It Can't Be a Giraffe" and "The Consequences of Living in a Container". He is currently accompanied by the violinist Nick Pynn, having previously toured with acoustic guitarist Antonio Forcione.
He explained his reasons for increasingly irrelevant song titles as — essentially — ways to avoid giving away the key phrases or punchlines in his songs. For instance, he renamed "Umbrella Head Boy" to "Wot Italian" after realising that audiences familiar with his work would ask him to "Play Umbrella Head Boy", thus rendering the surprise element of this line in the song redundant to others.
In 2005 he participated in the Danish stand-up tour "Stand-up DK|UK|OK" with Danish comedians Rune Klan, Carsten Eskelund and Geo, this went on tour around Denmark and was never released on DVD.
On a tour of Scotland in February–March 2007, Graffoe announced his intention to retire from stand-up comedy and concentrate on writing for Omid Djalili. He subsequently toured as a warm-up act for Djalili and Barenaked Ladies, but has recently announced a new tour[1] and album (Songs for Dogs' Funerals). He is a regular performer at the annual Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Graffoe has won several awards, including the 2002 Adelaide Fringe Award for Excellence, and the Time Out Comedy Award. He has been nominated for British comedy's prestigious Perrier Award.
Graffoe started his career in 1988 on BBC Radio Lincolnshire, when he presented a two-hour programme (Boothby Graffoe Live) on Friday evenings until late 1990.
He appeared regularly on Radio 4's Loose Ends with Ned Sherrin.
In 2003, Graffoe appeared on NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien and also caused a stir on Opportunity Knocks during the late 1980s when he wrapped sellotape around his head for comedy effect.
In 2004 he released his first album of songs with Antonio Forcione, Wot Italian?. A second disc followed in 2006, a live recording of a show in Brighton billed as Boothby Graffoe & the Following People, the backing band including Pynn.
Boothby has acted as support for Canadian band Barenaked Ladies on three of their UK tours: first in 2004 for the Barenaked for the Holidays tour, then in 2007 on the Barenaked Ladies Are Me tour and again in 2010 on the band's All In Good Time tour. Boothby mostly performs solo, with various members of the band joining him to play bass (Jim Creeggan), keyboard (Kevin Hearn) and drums (guitarist Ed Robertson) for some of the songs.
In January 2008, Graffoe joined the line-up for Barenaked Ladies' cruise Ships and Dip,[2] where he performed solo and with members from BNL and other bands on board. The cruise, with a capacity of 2500, provided some North American attendees with their first experiences with Graffoe and his comedy. He returned for two further Ships and Dip cruises in 2009 and 2011.
Boothby's third album, "Songs For Dogs, Funerals....." was released in February 2011, featuring studio recordings of three tracks from "Boothby Graffoe & The Following People" together with a selection of all-new tracks. Musicians appearing on the album included Nick Pynn, Theseus Gerard and Dean Friedman.
He has championed the work of surreal songwriter Syd Meats, often including Meats' songs, such as "Far Too Serious", in his set.
All three plays were subsequently adapted for BBC Radio.