Jonny Jakobsen (born 17 November 1963) is a Dano-Swedish former Bubblegum dance/
eurodance
Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. Thi ...
singer better known under his fictitious identity as Indian taxi driver Dr. Bombay. He began as a
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...
singer called Johnny Moonshine, but became famous only after developing the persona of Dr. Bombay. His debut was in 1998 with the album ''Rice and Curry'', hitting the charts with the title track "
Rice & Curry
''Rice & Curry'' is the first studio album by Swedish bubblegum dance artist Jonny Jakobsen under his pseudonym Dr. Bombay, released in 1998.
The album was the subject of mild controversy upon its release, prompted by a negative reaction to its ...
", as well as "
Calcutta (Taxi Taxi Taxi)" and "
SOS (The Tiger Took My Family)". Subsequently, he went on to record albums as faux-Scottish Dr. MacDoo and faux-Mexican Carlito. Even though he grew up in
Sweden, his
citizenship
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
is
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...
. He speaks both Danish and Swedish.
He has gained some fame and notoriety in the
Europop
Europop (also spelled Euro pop) is a style of pop music that originated in Europe during the mid-to-late 1960s and developed to today's form throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with revivals and ...
scene. Two of his songs have appeared in the
Beatmania IIDX
is a series of rhythm video games, that was first introduced by Konami in Japan on February 26, 1999. ''IIDX'' has since spawned 31 arcade releases and 14 console releases on the Sony PlayStation 2. It is the sequel to the '' beatmania'' ...
series of video games,
one of them appeared in
Samba de Amigo
is a rhythm game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. The game was released in arcades in December 1999, and for the Dreamcast video game console in 2000. A port for the Wii was also developed by Gearbox Software and Escalation Stu ...
and another one in Pump It Up PRO 2.
Before "Dr. Bombay"
Jonny Jakobsen was born in Sweden on 17 November 1963 to Danish father Ejner Jakobsen and a Swedish mother who died in 1992/3. His twin sister Susanne and him are the youngest of five children. He has two older sisters Vinni and Lis and an older brother Niels. He has a son called Jimmy Jakobsen born in 1983/4.
Before his music career, he was a taxi driver in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
.
He began his career as a faux-country/pop singer called Johnny Moonshine. As Johnny Moonshine, Jakobsen released one album titled ''Johnny Moonshine & The Troubled Water Band'' (1995).
Due to the failure of Johnny Moonshine, Jakobsen moved on in search of a newer, more 'annoying' sound. He chose the style of eurodance, which was just becoming popular in the mid 1990s, and began his career as the fake Indian "Dr. Bombay",
facing controversy along the way.
Jakobsen teamed up with
Robert Uhlmann
Robert Erik Uhlmann (born 14 March 1968) is a Swedish media executive and composer who has written/produced music for the artists Dr. Alban, Jonny Jakobsen, Arash, Basshunter, Margaret, Samantha Fox, Shaggy, Sean Paul, Smile.dk, Josefine Ridel ...
, who is famous for his work with
Smile.dk
Smile.dk (sometimes written SMiLE.dk or Smile-dk, pronounced ''Smile D-K'') or Smile is a Swedish Eurodance group with Veronica Almqvist as the only current member. The band is known for many songs featured in music video games, such as ''Dance ...
Johnny Moonshine
Albums
Dr. Bombay
Jakobsen's earliest career success was prompted by the introduction of the Dr. Bombay character in 1998. In his lyrics, the character is portrayed as an Indian taxi driver,
mystic,
sitar
The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form i ...
player,
chef
A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a k ...
,
snake charmer
Snake charming is the practice of appearing to hypnotize a snake (often a cobra) by playing and waving around an instrument called a pungi. A typical performance may also include handling the snakes or performing other seemingly dangerou ...
and avid fan of
elephant racing. He appears clad in traditional Indian garb, such as a
kurta
A ''kurta'' is a loose collarless shirt or tunic worn in many regions of South Asia, (subscription required) Quote: "A loose shirt or tunic worn by men and women." Quote: "Kurta: a loose shirt without a collar, worn by women and men from South ...
and
pagri
Phari or Pagri (; ) is a town in Yadong County in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China near the border with Bhutan. The border can be accessed through a secret road/trail connecting Tsento Gewog in Bhutan () known as Tremo La. the town had a popula ...
, with the addition of dark glasses that are also worn by the other characters portrayed by Jakobsen.
In 2018 Dr. Bombay celebrated his 20th anniversary with a new single entitled "Stockholm to Bombay". a year later on 5 October 2019 he published a music video for the song "Stockholm to Bombay".
Singles
Albums
Dr. MacDoo
Singles
Albums
Carlito
Singles
Albums
References
External links
Dr. Bombay at Bubblegum Dancer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jakobsen, Jonny
1963 births
Living people
Video game musicians
Eurodance musicians
English-language singers from Sweden
Swedish dance musicians
Swedish people of Danish descent
20th-century Swedish musicians
21st-century Swedish musicians