Damon Scott
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Damon Scott (born 18 October 1979) is a British entertainer known for his appearance in the first series of the
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variety talent show ''
Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global '' Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquial ...
''. Scott is best known for his performances with monkey puppets, earning him the nickname ''The Monkey Man'' which became the title of a
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
documentary about him.


Personal life

He was in a relationship with TV judge
Craig Revel Horwood Craig Revel Horwood (born 4 January 1965) is an Australian-British author, dancer, choreographer, conductor, theatre director, and former drag queen in the United Kingdom. He is also a patron of the Royal Osteoporosis Society. Horwood is a jud ...
, known for his role on ''
Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...
''; they split in early 2016. He has been in a relationship with Matt Eden since April 13, 2016.


En-Masse

Before becoming better known for his monkey routines Scott was part of a 40-strong group of singers from Southampton and Salisbury who come together to put on concerts twice a year under the name "En-Masse". The pop and soul collective covers a wide variety of music ranging from disco to Motown and rock to soul. As well as performing at the 900-capacity Salisbury City Hall twice a year, En-Masse toured many locations and released three albums and one single.


British Resorts Association Search for a Star

In 1999, Scott entered the nationwide British Resorts Association Search for a Star Contest, which was sponsored by the ''
Southern Daily Echo The ''Southern Daily Echo'', more commonly known as the ''Daily Echo'' or simply ''The Echo'', is a regional tabloid newspaper based in Southampton, covering the county of Hampshire in the United Kingdom. The newspaper is owned by Newsquest, on ...
''. is open to any kind of act from singers to dancers and musicians. When Scott appeared in the semi-final at the Bournemouth Pavilion he received best speciality award, the Stan Sowden Memorial Trophy, £500 cash, the judges' and the audience vote. The national final saw Scott take first prize, and collect a trophy, a cheque for £2,750, a voucher for a £400 costume, and entries in two stage publications, again winning the audience vote and best speciality act award. Following Scott's success he was spotted when the head cameraman from the BBC attended the ''Southern Daily Echo'' Star Trail semi-final and he suggested to fellow programme makers that Scott would be a perfect subject for a BBC2 real life series which profiles the lives and careers of people aged 18–25. When they started filming Scott they decided to make a special one-hour programme for BBC1 just about him and his puppets. In addition, they made a 20-minute pilot sitcom involving Damon playing a character called George, and his monkey puppet Bubbles. This was filmed over five days. For the documentary Scott was filmed around his home town of Salisbury with Bubbles.


Gene Pitney & Damon

Scott later landed a major UK tour with
Gene Pitney Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 h ...
. Scott was spotted by music promoter Derek Nicol after he won ''Southern Daily Echo'' Star Trail and went on to represent Bournemouth at the British Resorts Association national final in Leamington Spa. Nicol was one of the judges who awarded Scott not only first place but also the award for best speciality act. On the basis of an eight-minute performance, Nicol asked Scott to do the entire first half of each show on the 22-date tour. The tour started off at Southend's Cliffs Pavilion on 25 April 2000 and ended at the Bristol Hippodrome on 21 May 2000. A total audience of around 60,000 people saw him and many of the venues sold out. This was the third major British tour for the American singer in less than two years, and came as a result of the demand for the tickets on the two previous outings.


''Britain's Got Talent''

In the early summer of 2007, ITV broadcast the first series of ''Britain's Got Talent''.


Audition

Scott entered the auditions with his act with a monkey puppet named Bubbles, lipsynching to
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
songs. Scott and his monkey puppet, which mimed Jackson's "
Earth Song "Earth Song" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson. It was written and produced by Michael Jackson, David Foster and Bill Bottrell. It was released by Epic Records on November 13, 1995, as the third single from Jackson's n ...
", was the first to be given the thumbs up from the judges after receiving a standing ovation from the 2,000-strong audience and rave reviews from the judges.
Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...
said "Your timing is perfect and that's the difference between being talented and entertaining. That was super entertaining" then went on to joke that "It says a lot about the world today that I'm enjoying a monkey puppet more than Michael Jackson."


Semi-final

On 14 June 2007, the first of three semi-finals was broadcast live. Scott was among eight acts to perform for a place in the final. His act brought a different monkey puppet, named Stephen which he performed the song " No Matter What" by
Boyzone Boyzone were an Irish boy band created in 1993 by the talent manager Louis Walsh. Before even recording any material, Boyzone made an appearance on RTÉ's ''The Late Late Show (Ireland), The Late Late Show''. Its most successful line-up was co ...
, when Scott started singing as himself, Cowell hit his buzzer. Towards the end of the act, Scott sang with the puppet, getting the thumbs up from two of the three judges.


After the semi-final

After the semi-final in her ''Daily Mirror'' column Amanda Holden went on to say "In the auditions Monkey Boy was my top choice one of my personal favourites. I championed him from the start. He's got the talent and he'll give everyone a run for their money. He wasn't just another vent act, he injected new life into this art form. I've got no hint of what he'll do in the final but he'll pull out all the stops."


Final

The final was broadcast live on 17 June 2007. Scott returned with Bubbles to the delight of the judges, however he lost to opera singer
Paul Potts Paul Potts (born 13 October 1970) is a British tenor. In 2007, he won the first series of ITV's ''Britain's Got Talent'' with his performance of " Nessun dorma", an aria from Puccini's opera ''Turandot''. As a singer of operatic pop music, P ...
.


After the show

Scott was invited to the Grand Order of the Water Rats Annual ball 2007 as a guest in the Great Room of the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, and was delighted to not only be nominated for the 'Serge Ganjou Award' but to win it and collect the £4,000 prize. After the show, Damon performed at Amanda Holden's wedding to Chris Hughes held at Babington House, Somerset, on 10 December 2008.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Damon 1979 births Living people English male comedians English puppeteers English gay musicians English LGBTQ comedians English LGBTQ singers Gay comedians Gay singers LGBTQ puppeteers Britain's Got Talent contestants 21st-century English comedians 21st-century English male singers 21st-century English LGBTQ people People from Salisbury Comedians from Wiltshire Musicians from Wiltshire