The windswept and very interesting Billy Connolly was born in Glasgow in Anderston in the 1942. He had a difficult upbringing but he wasn’t anything special. There are many people of that time and even now that have and were born in similar conditions. In fact Glasgow has the highest rate of poverty in the UK and their life expectancy is one of the lowest in the developed world.

You had to get a trade and the best place to go to was the Shipyards. It was also one of the toughest places to work but if you were up for it you would be fine. This is where he did his apprenticeship as a welder as well as comedy. You needed a sense of humour to work here.

There are many Billy’s in Glasgow, you only have to walk down the street or pop into one of the city’s many pubs and you will come across a character spewing forth the Glasgow Patter. But he is best known as the Big Yin.

To make life more interesting for him he was brought up as a Pape or a Catholic as you would know it. Many Papes & Prods fought each other for no other reason other than their religion. I can remember this from my child hood. I was at primary school when I heard that someone had been stabbed in a fight on the way to school. Mind you it was only a scratch. The catholic protestant divide is still quite strong in certain areas of Scotland.

My Mum was a Pape and she and I used to have a laugh about this because I was brought up as a Prod. She used to say that you could always tell a Pape because they had horns on their heads.

In the shipyards you would either sink or swim and Billy was already a bit of a smart arse, so for him going to the shipyards was one of the best training grounds He decided to also join the Territorial Army as it sounded a bit exotic and he thought he would get laid more. In fact his words were to Be windswept and Interesting, words I have used to describe myself when I had more hair. A lot of his stories came from the palette of characters he found in Govan Shipyards.

Even now you will find kids as young as 8 giving you some lip, as they say, or some smart arse comments.I’ve not been home for a few years but the last time I was I can remember being privy to a conversation where this 10 year old swiftly took down someone that was trying to be a bit too condescending and smart.

The sharpness of the wit and humour is instinct.

He was one of the first comedians to have the style of a commentary on life. I must admit it’s something that I have always done and can often remember my Mum and I commenting on the folk that walked past or laughing when most people might think that sympathy was the required response. I have a vivid memory of my Mum laughing at me when I was wee when I slipped and fell. I looked at my Mum and she was in tears laughing. My Mum said that she would go to hell for being so pass remarkable. That’s the catholic upbringing for you always sitting with your conscience.

Billy took a natural talent and excelled with it and offended many righteous folk along the way and why not. Life is too short and some barriers need to be brought down and humour is an ideal way of doing so. One of his biggest targets was religion, which is one of my favourite things to attack also. He went after the Catholic Church in particular with Venom.

The telling of the crucifixion done through Glaswegian eyes is still funny today, but it really pissed off the Catholic Church. If you can find this audio you must listen to it.

Religion wasn’t his only target, nothing was sacred and that’s the way it should be.

But he was not only someone that could command an unruly mob with his mouth but he was also talented musically and he plays the banjo very well. He was in the Humblebums. You might not have heard of them but you might have heard of Gerry Rafferty and another fellow called Tam Harvey. They had a bit of success but as you may know Gerry Rafferty went on to bigger and better things musically.

He would later combine his musical talents with his story telling as his career progressed.

But Scotland’s a wee place and if he wanted to make a name for himself he had to go south to London like so many other Scots before him.

He appeared on the Michael Parkinson’s talk show in 1971 and this was his big break into the main stream. What we loved the most about this was that we actually saw and heard a Scottish accent on the TV. And this guy was speaking just the way we did. Funny thing is that not many other parts of the country understood a word he said, much like what happened here and still does from time to time when I speak.

When Billy first went south he spoke very much like a local Glaswegian but as is the case we have to modify our speech for the rest of the world to understand.

Michael Parkinson was in tears listening to Billy, well that was when he understood what he said and to be honest if it was not for Michael Parkinson Billy would not be where he is today.

He had such a following that it was like hitting the jackpot for Billy.

Billy was also not media savvy and I guess his mouth and brain were not totally in sync and he just rambled on.

He told a joke that got him noticed and also lit up the BBC switch board.

Joke about Man’s Wife showing in the back yard. Play Video

He was refreshing and out spoken and just so far removed from the other comedians of the day.

He was a breath of fresh air

Billy used his musical talents throughout his career and he has many wonderful songs to his credit.

He did DIVORCE in 1975 which actually got in to the charts

If it wusnae fur yer Wellies

He has had great success touring the world and he has done many TV specials as well as movies.

He has a habit of taking his clothes off and running around naked when he visits places.

The role he got most accolades for was the depiction of Mr Brown alongside Judi Dench. Where he played Queen Victoria’s man servant.

THE Man that Sued God

X Files

The Hobbit

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0175262/awards

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Connolly#Discography

Connolly was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by the University of Glasgow on 11 July 2001.[55]

In 2003, the BAFTA presented him with a Lifetime Achievement award.[56] Also in 2003, he received a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.[57]

On 4 July 2006, Connolly was awarded an honorary doctorate by Glasgow’s Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) for his service to performing arts.[58]

On 18 March 2007 and again on 11 April 2010, Connolly was named Number One in Channel 4’s “100 Greatest Stand Ups”.[59]

On 22 July 2010, Connolly was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (D.Litt) by Nottingham Trent University.[60]

On 20 August 2010, Connolly was made a Freeman of Glasgow with the award of the Freedom of the City of Glasgow.[61]

On 10 December 2012, Connolly picked up his BAFTA Scotland Award for Outstanding Achievement in Television and Film at his BAFTA A Life in Pictures interview in the Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow.[62]

In January 2016 he was presented with the Special Recognition award at the National Television Awards to honour his career.[63]

Bibliography[edit]66 actor credits

5 composer credits

26 Writer

147 tv film

Health,

He is currently battling Prostate Cancer and Parkinson’s disease and deafness

It’s bizarre that the very namesake that gave him his first big break, Parkinson has a disease with the same name that will maybe take his life.

He has written letters to his Grand Children which he wants read after his death. He said he is facing death and is not afraid of it, but I’m sure like the rest of us he would rather be here.

He’s currently doing a tour of the UK which is where I would love to see him perform. Especially in Glasgow as this is where he would talk in his normal voice and could be free to speak naturally.

Billy Connolly will not be forgotten; he has created quite a persona and left his mark on the world.

Quotes

Marriage is a wonderful invention; but then again so is a bicycle repair kit.

Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes. After that who cares? He’s a mile away and you’ve got his shoes

The great thing about Glasgow is that if there’s a nuclear attack it’ll look exactly the same afterwards

There’s a point when big fat ugly people even feel good