Robert Farrant obituary

"My friend and neighbour Robert Farrant, who has died aged 81, led a quiet life in north London, walking his dog, Brindle, in the park, feeding the ducks and chatting to other dog owners. Very few people in the neighbourhood knew that Robert had once been Bobby Shafto, a pop singer who charted in the US and graced stages across Britain. When his mother became ill, Robert retired from performing to become her full-time carer, and rarely spoke about his past unless asked."

"Shafto released nine singles on Parlophone between 1962 and 1966, with She's My Girl reaching No 99 on the US Billboard Chart in 1964. From the 1970s onwards Robert focused on acting, using his real name. He portrayed Jesus in the original London production of Jesus Christ Superstar at the Palace theatre from 1972 to 1980, and played Agustin Magaldi in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita (1986-87)."

"After his mother died in 2009, Robert moved to a flat of his own in Crouch End, sometimes helping out with the local school drama group. I met Robert through our dogs. We would stop to chat often about politics, and frequently about art, which Robert loved. He once told me about meeting David Hockney at a party and, noticing the artist wore mismatched socks, adopted the habit, adding splashes of colour to his daily walks."

Robert Farrant was born in Hornsey to Samuel Farrant and Kathleen Murray and left school at 15. He worked as a tea boy at Lionel Bart's Apollo Music publishing house, where Bart became his manager and christened him Bobby Shafto. Shafto released nine singles on Parlophone between 1962 and 1966, with She's My Girl reaching No 99 on the US Billboard in 1964. From the 1970s Robert used his real name for an acting career, portraying Jesus in the original London Jesus Christ Superstar (1972–80) and Agustin Magaldi in Evita (1986–87). He became his mother's full-time carer in the early 1990s, later moved to Crouch End after her death in 2009, appeared in a few commercials, helped a local school drama group, and lived a quiet life in north London with his dog Brindle until his death aged 81.

Read at www.theguardian.com