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John Parrott

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This article is about the English snooker player. For the U.S. Senator and Representative, see John F. Parrott.
John Parrott
MBE
Parrott in October 2008
Born (1964-05-11) 11 May 1964 (age 60)
Liverpool, England
Sport country England
Nickname
Professional1983–2010
Highest ranking2 (1989/90, 1992/93–1993/94)
Maximum breaks1
Century breaks221
Tournament wins
Ranking9
World Champion1991

John Stephen Parrott MBE (born 11 May 1964) is an English former professional snooker player who was world champion in 1991. He was a professional during the late 1980s and 1990s, and remained within the top 16 of the world rankings for 14 consecutive seasons. Parrott is now a TV snooker commentator and pundit.

He twice reached the final of the World Snooker Championship. At the 1989 World Snooker Championship, he lost 3–18 to Steve Davis, the heaviest defeat in a world championship final in modern times. Two years later, however, defeating Jimmy White in the final of the 1991 event. He also won against White later the same year, to win the 1991 UK Championship title. This made him only the third player to win both championships in the same calendar year (after Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry); he is still one of only six players to have achieved this feat. The following year, Parrott lost in the final of the 1992 UK Championship, again to White. Parrott reached the final of the Masters on three occasions, losing to Hendry each time.

Parrott reached his highest place in the world rankings in 1989–90, 1992–93, 1993–94 where he was second. He is one of several players to have achieved more than 200 competitive century break during his career, with 221. Following his playing career, Parrott became a commentator and pundit for the BBC. In addition, he also presented horse racing and was a regular on BBC quiz show A Question of Sport.

Early life and career

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John Parrott was born on 11 May 1964 at the Oxford Street Maternity Hospital, Liverpool.[2] Parrott grew up with his aunt and uncle following a split between his parents when he was 4.[3]: 10  He was a keen bowls player until the age of 11,[4] as he was first introduced to snooker by his father.[3]: 16 [5] He lost in the final of the English Under-16s Championship in 1979 and then again in 1980.[6][7][3]: 34–37  The next year, he won the 1981 Pontins Junior Championship. In 1982, he won the Pontins Open, a tournament with over 1,000 entrants.[3]: 44  The same year, he also won the televised Junior Pot Black championship. He turned professional in 1983 after winning 14 tournaments in his last year as an amateur player, including a second Junior Pot Black title,[8] and finishing as runner-up in the English Amateur Championship.[9][10]

Professional career

[edit]

Parrott turned professional in 1983, aged 19, making his televised debut as a professional during the last 16 of the 1984 Classic.[3]: 20  In the match, he defeated Alex Higgins 5–2. He then beat Tony Knowles in the next round before losing to Steve Davis in the semi-finals on a deciding frame.[11][12] Parrott qualified for the World Snooker Championship on the first attempt, losing only three frames in qualification. He defeated Knowles, but lost in the quarter-finals to Dennis Taylor. He finished his first professional season ranked 20th in the world.[3]: 54  In 1987, Parrott was placed within the top 16 in the world for the first time.[3]: 54 

At the 1988 Classic, Parrott reached his first ranking event final. Despite leading 11‍–‍10, he lost 11‍–‍13 to Steve Davis.[13] The following season, Parrott was runner-up in four events. He lost again to Davis in the final of the 1988 World Matchplay, to Stephen Hendry in the final of the invitational 1989 Masters, to Mike Hallett at the 1989 English Professional Championship and then at the 1989 World Snooker Championship.[3]: 59–61 


He took his first ranking title in the 1989 European Open,[14] and defended his title in 1990.

Parrott spent 14 consecutive seasons in the top 16 of the snooker world rankings, 11 of them in the top 6.[4]

From 1984 to 2004 Parrott was ever-present at the World Championship, reaching at least the last 16 every year from 1984 to 1995,[4] but he failed to qualify in 2005.[15]

Following his 1991 victory he never again reached the semi-finals, but lost in the quarter-finals seven times between 1992 and 1999.

Overall, Parrott won a total of nine world ranking events, which as of November 2019 was 12th on the all-time list behind Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis, Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins, Mark Williams, Jimmy White, Mark Selby, Ding Junhui, Neil Robertson, Peter Ebdon and Judd Trump. Winning both the World Championship and UK Championship in 1991 made him one of only six players to have won snooker's two most prominent ranking titles in the same year.

Parrott also reached the final of the Masters three times in four years, but lost to Stephen Hendry on each occasion.

Parrott came through the qualifying event for the World Championship a record ten times. In 2007 he reached the last 16 of the World Championship for the first time in seven years, after victories over James Leadbetter, David Gray and Steve Davis (10–9, having led 6–1 and 9–6).[16]

A record ten of Parrott's World Championship matches went to a final-frame decider, seven of which he won. He was also the first player to conduct a "whitewash" in the Crucible World Championship final stages, when he defeated Eddie Charlton 10–0 in the first round of the 1992 tournament.[17] For 27 years, he held the record for being the only player ever to achieve this, until Shaun Murphy defeated China's Luo Honghao 10–0 in the first round of the 2019 World Championship.

On 4 August 2009 at the qualifiers for the 2009 Shanghai Masters he lost 0–5 against Michael White.

Following his 6–10 defeat to young Chinese Zhang Anda in the 2010 World Championship Qualifiers, Parrott finished outside the top 64 in the end of season rankings and was not assured a place on the main tour for the 2010–11 season.[18] Later Parrott announced he was to retire from the professional game.[19]

Parrott played in the 2011 World Seniors Championship, where he lost in the semi-finals to Davis.[20] He also participated in the preliminary qualifying rounds of the 2012 World Snooker Championship for players who were members of the WPBSA but were not on the main tour, losing 0–5 to Patrick Wallace in Round 1.[21]

Television

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Following his playing career, Parrott became a pundit and commentator on snooker for BBC Sport, often in partnership with Steve Davis.[citation needed] From 1996 to 2002, he was one of the team captains on the BBC quiz show A Question of Sport, alongside association football player Ally McCoist.[22] As a supporter of horse racing, he was involved in the BBC's horse racing coverage as part of the presenting team.[23][24]

Personal life

[edit]

In 1996, Parrott was honoured with an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list, for charitable services in Merseyside.[25] In 2008, he launched John Parrott Cue Sports, an online retailer selling snooker and pool cues and some snooker collectables.[26] This was re-branded John Parrott Sports in 2019.[27] Parrott is a supporter of Everton F.C. and brother-in-law of former Everton player Duncan Ferguson.[28] Parrott was made the Honorary Patron of the British Crown Green Bowling Association in 2010.[29]

Performance and rankings timeline

[edit]
Tournament 1983/
84 		1984/
85 		1985/
86 		1986/
87 		1987/
88 		1988/
89 		1989/
90 		1990/
91 		1991/
92 		1992/
93 		1993/
94 		1994/
95 		1995/
96 		1996/
97 		1997/
98 		1998/
99 		1999/
00 		2000/
01 		2001/
02 		2002/
03 		2003/
04 		2004/
05 		2005/
06 		2006/
07 		2007/
08 		2008/
09 		2009/
10
Ranking[30][nb 1] [nb 2] 20 18 17 13 7 2 3 4 2 2 5 4 4 6 6 5 10 22 18 30 31 29 42 39 39 53
Ranking tournaments
Shanghai Masters Tournament Not Held LQ A LQ
Grand Prix[nb 3] 2R 2R 1R 2R SF 2R 3R QF 1R 2R SF 1R 1R SF QF 2R 2R 2R 2R 1R SF 1R 1R LQ LQ 2R LQ
UK Championship NR 1R 2R SF QF QF 3R SF W F SF QF 3R QF 2R QF 2R 2R 2R 1R 1R QF 1R 1R LQ WD LQ
Welsh Open Tournament Not Held SF QF 2R 1R F SF QF 2R 1R 1R LQ LQ 2R 3R 1R 1R 1R LQ LQ
China Open[nb 4] Tournament Not Held NR QF 1R 2R 1R Not Held LQ LQ LQ LQ WD LQ
World Championship 2R QF 2R 2R 2R F SF W QF QF QF QF 1R QF QF QF 2R 1R 1R 1R 1R LQ 1R 2R LQ LQ LQ
Non-ranking tournaments
Premier League[nb 5] A Not Held A A F RR A RR SF F RR RR RR A A A A A A A A A A A A A
The Masters A A A A SF F F QF F QF 1R 1R QF QF 1R 1R SF QF A A A A LQ A A A A
Former ranking tournaments
Canadian Masters Not Held Non-Ranking QF Tournament Not Held
Hong Kong Open[nb 6] Non-Ranking Event NH 2R Not Held NR Tournament Not Held
Classic SF LQ 1R QF F QF 3R 2R QF Tournament Not Held
Strachan Open Tournament Not Held F Tournament Not Held
Dubai Classic[nb 7] Tournament Not Held NR SF 2R W W 2R 1R W 1R Tournament Not Held
German Masters[nb 8] Tournament Not Held 2R 1R F NR Tournament Not Held
Malta Grand Prix Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event QF NR Tournament Not Held
Thailand Masters[nb 9] Non-Ranking Event Not Held WD QF 3R QF 2R 2R QF QF F SF 1R SF 1R NR Not Held NR Not Held
Scottish Open[nb 10] A LQ QF 1R 3R 1R QF Not Held 2R W SF 1R QF 2R 3R 1R 3R 2R 1R 3R Tournament Not Held
British Open[nb 11] NR 2R 3R 1R SF SF 1R 1R 1R 3R 3R SF QF 1R QF QF 2R 2R 2R 3R 1R 2R Tournament Not Held
Irish Masters Non-Ranking Event LQ LQ LQ NH NR Not Held
European Open[nb 12] Tournament Not Held W W 1R SF 2R SF F W F NR SF Not Held LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R LQ NR Not Held
Northern Ireland Trophy Tournament Not Held NR LQ 1R LQ NH
Bahrain Championship Tournament Not Held LQ NH
Former non-ranking tournaments
UK Championship 1R Tournament Not Held
Canadian Masters Not Held QF A A R Tournament Not Held
Hong Kong Open[nb 13] A A SF A QF NH R Not Held A A Tournament Not Held
Fosters Professional[nb 14] NH A SF A A SF Tournament Not Held
Pontins Professional A QF QF SF W QF A A A A A A A A A A A Tournament Not Held
English Professional Championship NH 2R 2R QF 2R F Tournament Not Held
New Zealand Masters NH A Not Held A QF Tournament Not Held
Norwich Union Grand Prix Tournament Not Held A SF W Tournament Not Held
World Masters Tournament Not Held 2R Tournament Not Held
London Masters Tournament Not Held F F SF Tournament Not Held
Thailand Masters A RR A A Not Held SF Ranking Event A Not Held A Not Held
European Challenge Tournament Not Held QF A Tournament Not Held
Hong Kong Challenge[nb 15] A QF A A A QF NH A QF Tournament Not Held
Indian Challenge Tournament Not Held F Tournament Not Held
Belgian Challenge Tournament Not Held QF Tournament Not Held
Kent Classic[nb 16] Not Held A W A A A NH W Tournament Not Held
Belgian Masters Tournament Not Held W SF F Not Held A Tournament Not Held
World Matchplay Tournament Not Held F F QF QF QF Tournament Not Held
Nescafe Extra Challenge Tournament Not Held A NH RR Tournament Not Held
Pot Black A 1R 1R Tournament Not Held QF SF 1R Tournament Not Held A A A Not Held
Malta Grand Prix Tournament Not Held W A A A A R A Tournament Not Held
Red & White Challenge Tournament Not Held F Tournament Not Held
German Masters[nb 17] Tournament Not Held Ranking Event W Tournament Not Held
Champions Cup[nb 18] Tournament Not Held QF QF QF QF 1R RR A A Tournament Not Held
Scottish Masters A A A QF A NH SF QF QF QF QF 1R 1R SF SF QF QF A A A Tournament Not Held
Irish Masters A A A A A SF QF F SF SF QF SF 1R QF SF 1R SF A A Ranking Event A Tournament Not Held
Performance Table Legend
LQ lost in the qualifying draw #R lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin) 		QF lost in the quarter-finals
SF lost in the semi-finals F lost in the final W won the tournament
DNQ did not qualify for the tournament A did not participate in the tournament WD withdrew from the tournament
NH / Not Held means an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Event means an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Event means an event is/was a ranking event.
MR / Minor-Ranking Event means an event is/was a minor-ranking event.
PA / Pro-am Event means an event is/was a pro-am event.
  1. ^ From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.
  2. ^ New players on the Main Tour do not have a ranking.
  3. ^ The event run under different names as Professional Players Tournament (1983/1984) and the LG Cup (2001/2002–2003/2004)
  4. ^ The event run under different name as China International (1997/1998–1998/1999)
  5. ^ The event was also called the Professional Snooker League (1983/1984), Matchroom League (1986/1987-1991/1992) and European League (1992/1993-1996/1997
  6. ^ The event also ran as the Australian Masters (1983/1984–1987/1988 & 1995/1996)
  7. ^ The event ran under different names such as Thailand Classic (1995/1996) and Asian Classic (1996/1997)
  8. ^ The event run under different name as German Open (1995/1996–1997/1998)
  9. ^ The event ran under different names such as Asian Open (1989/1990 to 1992/1993) and Thailand Open (1993/1994 to 1996/1997).
  10. ^ The event ran under different names such as International Open (1983/1984 to 1984/1985, 1986/1987 to 1996/1997), Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986) and Players Championship (2003/2004).
  11. ^ The event was also known as the International Masters (1983/1984).
  12. ^ The event ran under different names such as the Irish Open (1998/1999) and Malta Cup (2004/2005–2007/2008)
  13. ^ The event also ran as the Australian Masters (1983/1984–1987/1988 & 1995/1996)
  14. ^ The event also ran as the Carlsberg Challenge (1984/1985–1986/1987) and the Carling Challenge (1987/1988)
  15. ^ The event was also called the Hong Kong Masters (1983/1984–1988/1989)
  16. ^ The event was also called the Kent Cup (1986/1987–1987/1988 & 1989/1990–1990/1991)
  17. ^ The event run under different name as German Open (1995/1996–1997/1998)
  18. ^ The event ran under a different name as the Charity Challenge (1994/1995–1998/1999)

Career finals

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Ranking finals: 18 (9 titles)

[edit]
Legend
World Championship (1–1)
UK Championship (1–1)
Other (7–7)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1988 The Classic England Steve Davis 11–13
Winner 1. 1989 European Open Wales Terry Griffiths 9–8
Runner-up 2. 1989 World Snooker Championship England Steve Davis 3–18
Winner 2. 1990 European Open (2) Scotland Stephen Hendry 10–6
Winner 3. 1991 World Snooker Championship England Jimmy White 18–11
Winner 4. 1991 Dubai Classic England Tony Knowles 9–3
Winner 5. 1991 UK Championship England Jimmy White 16–13
Runner-up 3. 1992 Strachan Open Thailand James Wattana 5–9
Winner 6. 1992 Dubai Classic (2) Scotland Stephen Hendry 9–8
Runner-up 4. 1992 UK Championship England Jimmy White 9–16
Winner 7. 1994 International Open Thailand James Wattana 9–5
Runner-up 5. 1994 European Open Scotland Stephen Hendry 3–9
Winner 8. 1995 Thailand Classic (3) England Nigel Bond 9–6
Runner-up 6. 1996 Welsh Open Wales Mark Williams 3–9
Winner 9. 1996 European Open (3) England Peter Ebdon 9–7
Runner-up 7. 1997 European Open (2) Scotland John Higgins 5–9
Runner-up 8. 1997 German Open Scotland John Higgins 4–9
Runner-up 9. 1998 Thailand Masters Scotland Stephen Hendry 6–9

Non-ranking finals: 22 (7 titles)

[edit]
Non-ranking finals contested by John Parrott
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1988 Kent Cup  Martin Clark (ENG) 5–1
Winner 2. 1988 Pontins Professional  Mike Hallett (ENG) 9–1
Runner-up 1. 1988 World Matchplay  Steve Davis (ENG) 5–9
Runner-up 2. 1989 The Masters  Stephen Hendry (SCO) 6–9
Runner-up 3. 1989 English Professional Championship  Mike Hallett (ENG) 7–9
Runner-up 4. 1989 Matchroom League  Steve Davis (ENG) Round-Robin
Runner-up 5. 1989 London Masters  Stephen Hendry (SCO) 2–4
Runner-up 6. 1989 World Matchplay (2)  Jimmy White (ENG) 9–18
Runner-up 7. 1990 The Masters (2)  Stephen Hendry (SCO) 4–9
Runner-up 8. 1990 London Masters (2)  Stephen Hendry (SCO) 2–4
Winner 3. 1990 Belgian Masters  Jimmy White (ENG) 9–6
Winner 4. 1990 Norwich Union Grand Prix  Steve Davis (ENG) 4–2
Runner-up 9. 1991 Irish Masters  Steve Davis (ENG) 5–9
Runner-up 10. 1991 Indian Challenge  Stephen Hendry (SCO) 5–9
Runner-up 11. 1992 The Masters (3)  Stephen Hendry (SCO) 4–9
Winner 5. 1992 Kent Classic  Stephen Hendry (SCO) 6–5
Runner-up 12. 1992 Belgian Masters  James Wattana (THA) 5–10
Runner-up 13. 1994 European League (2)  Stephen Hendry (SCO) 7–10
Winner 6. 1994 Malta Grand Prix  Tony Drago (MLT) 7–6
Runner-up 14. 1995 Red & White Challenge  Nigel Bond (ENG) 6–8
Winner 7. 1998 German Masters  Mark Williams (WAL) 6–4
Runner-up 15. 2017 World Seniors Championship  Peter Lines (ENG) 0–4

Team finals: 1 (1 title)

[edit]
Outcome No. Year Championship Team Opponent(s) in the final Score
Winner 1. 2000 Nations Cup  England  Wales 6–4

Pro-am finals: 3 (2 titles)

[edit]
Pro-am finals contested by John Parrott
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Ref.
Winner 1. 1982 Pontins Spring Open  Ray Reardon (WAL) 7–4 [31]
Runner-up 1. 1985 Pontins Spring Open  Jim Chambers (ENG) 6–7 [31]
Winner 2. 1986 Pontins Spring Open (2)  Tony Putnam (ENG) 7–6 [31]

Amateur finals: 8 (3 titles)

[edit]
Amateur snooker finals contested by John Parrott
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Ref.
Runner-up 1. 1979 British Under-16 Championship  Tony Pyle (ENG) 2–3 [6]
Runner-up 2. 1979 Pontins Junior Championship  Dave Gilbert (ENG) 1–3 [32][33]
Runner-up 3. 1980 British Under-16 Championship (2)  Terry Whitthread (ENG) 1–3 [7]
Winner 1. 1981 Pontins Junior Championship  Don Tate (ENG) 3–1 [32][34]
Runner-up 4. 1982 British Under-19 Championship  Neal Foulds (ENG) 2–3 [35]
Winner 2. 1982 Junior Pot Black  John Keers (ENG) 156–70[a] [8]
Runner-up 5. 1983 English Amateur Championship  Tony Jones (ENG) 9–13 [9]
Winner 3. 1983 Junior Pot Black (2)  Steve Ventham (ENG) [a] [8]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Final decided on aggregate score over two frames

References

[edit]

Citations

  1. ^ a b "John Parrott". Snooker.org. Archived from the original on 30 November 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  2. ^ Morrison 1988, p. 81.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Parrott, John (1991). Right on Cue : an Autobiography. London: Robson Books Ltd. ISBN 0-86051-778-0.
  4. ^ a b c "Player Profile: John Parrott". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 23 December 2002.
  5. ^ Williams & Gadsby 2005, p. 159.
  6. ^ a b "Off the cush". Daily Mirror. 5 April 1979. p. 26.
  7. ^ a b "The weekend's sport in detail". The Guardian. London. 31 March 1980. p. 21.
  8. ^ a b c Morrison 1987, p. 101.
  9. ^ a b Morrison 1987, p. 37.
  10. ^ Williams & Gadsby 2005, p. 159-160.
  11. ^ Everton, Clive (16 November 1983). "Rankings upset". The Guardian. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Classic". Snooker Scene. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  13. ^ "Mercantile Credit Classic Winners". Snooker Database. Archived from the original on 17 March 2016.
  14. ^ Hayton & Dee 2004, p. 156.
  15. ^ "Ding Denied". Eurosport. 15 March 2006. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  16. ^ "Parrott edges out colleague Davis". BBC Sport. 22 April 2007.
  17. ^ Hendon, David (9 November 2004). "Obituary: Eddie Charlton". The Independent. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  18. ^ Everton, Clive (4 March 2010). "Jimmy White out of snooker world championship after Ken Doherty defeat". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  19. ^ "Parrott could call it a day". Sky Sports. 4 March 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  20. ^ "Morgan Takes Senior Crown". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012.
  21. ^ "Brecel, Jones and Cao earn Crucible debuts". Snooker Scene. May 2012. p. 16.
  22. ^ "John Parrott to leave A Question of Sport". BBC. 27 May 2002.
  23. ^ BBC Press Office (29 March 2010). "2010 Grand National in HD – a first for UK horse racing".
  24. ^ Mukesh (17 January 2023). "John Parrott Net Worth 2023, Biography, Age, Height, Family, And More". ViralNewly. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  25. ^ "Supplement to the London Gazette, 15th June 1996 – Birthday honours 1996". The London Gazette. No. 54427. 14 June 1996. p. B22.
  26. ^ "John Parrott Cue Sports". johnparrottcuesports.com. Archived from the original on 10 August 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2008.
  27. ^ "John Parrott Sports". johnparrottsports.com. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  28. ^ "Why I love... Everton". BBC Sport. 13 March 2001. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  29. ^ "Press Release – BCGBA welcome John Parrott MBE as honorary patron". BCGBA. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
  30. ^ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  31. ^ a b c "Brief History of the Pontins Open and Professional". SnookerArchive.co.uk. 2008. Archived from the original on 28 February 2012.
  32. ^ a b Morrison 1987, p. 100.
  33. ^ "Pontin's Roll of Honour". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 19 December 2008. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  34. ^ "Parrott cues in on snooker glory". Liverpool Echo. 16 May 1981. p. 14.
  35. ^ "Sport in brief: snooker". The Guardian. London. 7 June 1982. p. 21.

Books

  • Hayton, Eric; Dee, John (2004). The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker: The Complete Record & History. Lowestoft: Rose Villa Publications. ISBN 978-0-9548549-0-4.
  • Morrison, Ian (1987). The Hamlyn Encyclopedia of Snooker (Revised ed.). Twickenham: Hamlyn Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-600-55604-6.
  • Morrison, Ian (1988). Hamlyn Who's Who in Snooker. London: Hamlyn. ISBN 978-0-600-55713-5.
  • Williams, Luke; Gadsby, Paul (2005). Masters of the Baize. Edinburgh: Mainstream. ISBN 978-1-84018-872-1.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Parrott, John (1991). Right on Cue : an Autobiography. London: Robson Books Ltd. ISBN 0-86051-778-0.
[edit]
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