Jason Davis (born 15 September 1973 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), known professionally as Jabba, is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

media personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

video jockey A video jockey (abbreviated VJ or sometimes veejay) is an announcer or host who introduces music videos and live performances on commercial music television channels such as MTV, VH1, MuchMusic and Channel V. Origins The term "video jockey" co ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

and

radio host A radio personality (American English) or radio presenter (British English) is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host, and in India and Pakistan as a radi ...

, who first made a name for himself as part of the launch of subscription television in Australia in 1995. He was a host for music television station "Red" on the now-defunct

Galaxy A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar Sys ...

subscription television network, before the channel changed its name to

Channel V Channel '' ("V" standing for the letter, not the Roman numeral "5") is a Chinese and former Asian pay television musical network originally launched by Star TV Hong Kong (now Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific). It was part of the unit of Dis ...

. Jason the jabba was part of a famous Incubus live performance at a secret gig in Bondi 2002.

Early life

Born Jason Davis, Jabba attended Hunters Hill Primary School, where he gained his name, and

James Ruse Agricultural High School , motto_translation = Deeds not words , established = , type = Government-funded co-educational academically selective and specialist secondary day school , educational_authority = NSW Depart ...

. He also played with the All Saints Hunters Hill soccer team, and Parramatta Waterpolo Club.

Career

Jabba began presenting for Foxtel's Channel in 1994. He hosted a variety of shows including ''The Joint'' and ''Jabba's Morning Glory'', which featured performances and interviews with prominent musicians including

Pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

and Beastie Boys . During his time with he played the role of "Davo Dinkum" in the SBS television comedy show ''

Pizza Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, ...

'' and Swift and Shift couriers. In 2004, Jabba participated in the Band in a Bubble project with Australian

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band Regurgitator, which involved him being locked in a '' Big Brother''-style environment with the group and their engineers while they produced an album under 24-hour surveillance. During this time, it was revealed that he had separated from his long-term partner and mother of his children. Following the projects conclusion, Jacquie Riddell of XYZ Networks, announced that Jabba would be taking an extended break, stating that "(the bubble) was a pretty big deal". In 2005, he left and began presenting for Nova FM in Brisbane. Jabba later moved back home to Sydney, working at

Nova 96.9 Nova 96.9 (call sign: 2SYD) is a commercial radio station operating in Sydney, Australia. The station is owned by NOVA Entertainment along with sister station, smoothfm 95.3 Audience In 2014 Nova had a 4% share of the Sydney audience on ...

hosting ''The All New Nova Top 10 with Jabba and Mel'', while still also hosting the ''

Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorola ...

ARIA In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

Charts'' show on Sunday afternoons, which is Nova's only national show. Jabba also writes a column for the Australian edition of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

''. Although, in November 2008 Jabba and Mel left ''The All New Nova Top 10 with Jabba and Mel'' they were replaced by

James Kerley James (Kash Kab) Kerley is an Australian TV presenter and radio presenter. Career Kerley was a co-host on the Nickelodeon kids’ show '' Sarvo'' between 2004 and February 2007, alongside Tony Brockman and in his first year won the Sarvote ki ...

and Maz Compton. Jabba was also the host of '' Great BBQ Challenge'', a competition series on Foxtel's

LifeStyle Food Lifestyle Food (stylised as Lifestyle FOOD) is an Australian pay-TV food channel, solely dedicated to food, wine and restaurant society. The channel is a subsidiary of Lifestyle, which runs 24 hours a day on the Foxtel. On 19 September 2016, ...

channel. It was a contest to find Australia's best BBQer, who would win $25,000 and go on to host their own show on Lifestyle FOOD. He has been named by some (one actually) as a 'Social recalcitrant'. "It sort of slid when he left the international passport to smoking pleasure behind" Jabba's next career move in March 2010 was as host of a new Breakfast radio program with Mike Goldman called "Macarthur Breakfast" on the Win TV Network's C91.3 FM in Campbelltown, NSW. Jabba and Mike left the station in December 2010 as they have refused to move to Campbelltown, as it was important for the station to be as local as possible. In 2011, he appeared on two SBS sitcoms: '' Swift and Shift Couriers'' and ''

Housos '' Housos '' is a Logie Award-winning Australian comedy television series created by Paul Fenech for SBS, that screened on SBS One. The series is a satirical parody of low income Australian residents of fictional suburb Sunnyvale, New South Wal ...

''. In 2014 he was featured in the motion picture '' Fat Pizza vs. Housos''.

Collection of works

Filmography

Television

*''The Joint'' (as Himself-Host) (1999) *''

'' (as Middle Class Homeboy & as Davo Dinkum) (2000–2007) *''Jabba's Morning Glory'' (as Himself-Host) (2002) *'' Pizza Live'' (as Davo Dinkum) (2004) *'' World Record Pizza'' (as Davo Dinkum) (2006) *''Pull Up Selecta'' (as Himself-Host) (2006) *'' Great BBQ Challenge'' (as Himself-Host) (2006–2007) *'' 20 to 1'' (Himself) (2007–2010) *''2008 National Musicoz Awards'' (as Himself-Host) (2008) *'' Swift and Shift Couriers'' (as various recurring characters) (2008, 2011) *'' Dirtgirlworld'' (as Hayman) (2009) *''Jabba's Curious World'' (as Himself-Presenter) (2011) *''The Essential 20'' (as Himself-Presenter) (2011) *''

'' (as Dazza) (2011)

Awards

Jabba was nominated for and won the Best Music Personality at the 2007 Australian Commercial Radio Awards held at Crown Casino.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jabba 1973 births Australian music critics Australian music journalists Australian male television actors Australian television presenters People educated at James Ruse Agricultural High School Living people Australian VJs (media personalities)