Billy Connolly

Billy Connolly CBE (sometimes known as 'The Big Yin'), was born in Govan in 1942 and is a comedian, musician, presenter and actor. Before he became a performer, Billy was as a welder in the Glasgow shipyards, giving it up to be a folk singer with his groups, the Humblebums (who took to the stage just before Yehudi Menuhin in an Edinburgh Festival concert) along with Gerry Rafferty of Baker Street famie. Connolly’s first solo album, Billy Connolly Live!, was a mixture of comedic songs and short monologues that hinted at what was to follow, but it was his next album, Solo Concert, that would prove to be his breakthrough. He has since released over 25 albums, and has been at the top of the UK Singles Chart, and remains popular for his comedy songs.

A close friend of Michael Parkison, Connolly holds the record for the most appearances on Michael's chatshow, Parkinson, probably due to his forthright comedic style – unusual when he debuted in the 1970s, and he became successful throughout the UK, Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada.

Now known, perhaps, primarily as a comedian, Connolly began his comedic career integrating music with the jokes, and he was seldom without his banjo; as characteristicly Connolly as his shaggy hair, sometimes colourful beard and bad language.

As well as his own television series, (World Tour of Scotland; England, Ireland and Wales; World Tour of New Zealand), Billy has appeared on many others as a guest star, including An Audience With…, Comic Relief, Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Connolly in Performance, and the televised performances of Live Aid and Freedomfest: Nelson Mandela’s 70th Birthday Celebration.

My definition of an intellectual is someone who can listen to the William Tell Overture without thinking of the Lone Ranger.

His movie credits include Mrs Brown with Dame Judi Dench, for which he was nominated a BAFTA, Beautiful Joe, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events and The Man Who Sued God.

In November 1998, Connolly was the subject of a two-hour retrospective entitled Billy Connolly: Erect for 30 Years, which included tributes from Dame Judi Dench, Sean Connery, Whoopi Goldberg, Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, and Eddie Izzard.

Billy now lives in Aberdeenshire with his wife Pamela Stephenson, after some years abroad. He has received honorary degrees from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and the University of Glasgow.

Without arts programmes there's only reality TV, and reality TV needs the arts to show it what reality is.