Windswept & Interesting: My Autobiography

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Anyhow this is a marvellous tale concerning the life and good times of one Billy Connolly daft Glaswegian comedian and musician. It is a laugh and a tear, he does show the world how one can live and not perhaps fit the standard because if anything he is different and that is what is so great about him and his work. So this poor guy was sitting there with his wife, minding his own business, waiting for me to come on, and suddenly: BIFF! BOOF! “Ya bastard!” Connolly's banana boots, designed and made by Glasgow Pop Artist Edmund Smith and a regular in his act during the 1970s, are now on display in the People's Palace in Glasgow. [27] I went onstage to start my show, but the place was only about two-thirds full, and people were still pouring in. Not only that, but a fight had erupted to the left of the stage. About six rows up there was a man in the aisle, trying to hit a man five rows in. “Ya fooking gobshite!” Biff! Boof! This guy was half man, half beetroot, covered in tweed clothes, with fists like hams. Biff! Boff! Bash! ... I went over and said, “Hey, hey HEY!! What’s the story here, big man?” and the full story unfolded. Billy wrote this autobiography via dictation, and the result is that it perfectly captures Billy’s voice. It’s impossible not to read this without Billy’s Glaswegian accent in your head. It has a wonderful whimsical ramble to it that is equal parts endearing and laugh-out-loud funny. It has been a long time since I regularly had to pause reading because it was making me laugh until tears rolled down my face.

The South Bank Show episode guide". TV.com. 4 October 1992. Archived from the original on 17 June 2008 . Retrieved 1 September 2011.I said: “Oh, aye? Fair enough.”.Then I said, “How is it out there?” Meaning the auditorium. “Is it full yet?” On 20 August 2010, Connolly was made a Freeman of Glasgow, with the award of the Freedom of the City of Glasgow. [96] It was an appearance on Michael Parkinson's chat show in 1975 - and one outrageous story in particular - that catapulted Billy from cult hero to national star. TV shows, documentaries, international fame and award-winning Hollywood movies followed. Billy's pitch-perfect stand-up comedy kept coming too - for over 50 years, in fact - until a double diagnosis of cancer and Parkinson's disease brought his remarkable live performances to an end. Since then he has continued making TV shows, creating extraordinary drawings... and writing.

Connolly, Billy (18 October 2018). Made in Scotland: My Grand Adventures in a Wee Country. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-1-78594-370-6. Margolis, Jonathan (5 October 1998). The Big Yin: The Life and Times of Billy Connolly. Orion. ISBN 978-0-7528-1722-4.In the book Billy (and in a December 2008 online interview), Connolly states he was sexually abused by his father between the ages of ten and fifteen. He believes this was a result of the Catholic Church not allowing his father to divorce after his mother left the family. Because of this, Connolly has a "deep distrust and dislike of the Catholic church and any other organisation that brainwashes people". [53] He has called himself an atheist. [54] Connolly announced his retirement from comedy in 2018, [9] and in recent years he has established himself as an artist. In 2020, he unveiled the fifth release from his Born on a Rainy Day collection in London, [10] followed by another installment later that year and has subsequently issued another five collections. During the filming of the ITV documentary Billy Connolly: It's Been a Pleasure, he described how art had given him "a new lease of life". [11] Early life [ edit ] This guy just put his foot on my forehead and gently pushed me out the door, then closed it. I found out later his name was Willie Adams, my mother’s lover. Shortly afterwards, she left us.

Then you just get down to what you do for a living, and you make it better, and you end up being the best at what you do." Connolly also joined the Territorial Army Reserve unit 15th (Scottish) Battalion, the Parachute Regiment (15 PARA). He later commemorated his experiences in the song "Weekend Soldier". [23] Career [ edit ] Origin of "The Big Yin" [ edit ] In 2000, Connolly starred in Beautiful Joe alongside Sharon Stone. The following year, he completed the third in his "World Tour" BBC series, this time of England, Ireland and Wales, which began in Dublin and ended in Plymouth. It was broadcast the following year. Also in 2001, Stephenson's first biography of her husband, Billy, was published. Much of the book is about Connolly the celebrity but the account of his early years provides a context for his humour and point of view. A follow-up, Bravemouth, was published in 2003. I can’t remember who found us alone in the house after my mother left. Maybe a neighbour. Anyhow, someone took us to a children’s home. I remember sitting with Florence [his sister] in the foyer. It was all wooden panels and echoes, and I didn’t like it much. I was glad when my father’s sisters Mona and Margaret showed up and took us out of there.In his World Tour of Scotland, Connolly revealed that, at a trailer show during the Edinburgh Festival, the Humblebums took to the stage just before Yehudi Menuhin. In his first full-length autobiography, comedy legend and national treasure Billy Connolly reveals the truth behind his windswept and interesting life. Billy found his escape first as an apprentice welder in the shipyards of the River Clyde. Later he became a folk musician - a 'rambling man' - with a genuine talent for playing the banjo. But it was his ability to spin stories, tell jokes and hold an audience in the palm of his hand that truly set him apart. In 1985, he divorced Iris Pressagh, his wife of sixteen years (they had separated four years earlier), and he was awarded custody of their children Jamie and Cara. [21] [26] That same year, he performed An Audience with..., which was videotaped at the South Bank Television Centre in front of a celebrity audience for ITV. The uncut, uncensored version was subsequently released on video. In July 1985, Connolly performed at Live Aid at Wembley Stadium, immediately preceding Elton John, whom he introduced on stage. [32] 1990s [ edit ]