Billy Connolly

[checkoutgirl]

Never actually sat and watched a full set but could watch the travel shows over and over, especially the Australia one, which I've probably sat through about 20 times, in another lifetime he'd have just done them and been brill

Big fan of the travel shows too, fave being Eng Ire NI & Wal. Get genuinely emotional at the theme tune. Just them shows alone would be such a blast to do and 99% of people will never get to see half of that in 5 lifetimes. A very lucky man.

I'm a fan of his standup even if I rarely watch it these days. Live 1994 being a favourite. Saw him live in 2007 and again for his last one. People saying they were sad he didn't move about puzzle me because firstly it's his words I'm most interested in and secondly I knew he had Parkinsons going in so adjusted expectations. He didn't disappoint.

Even though I like and will seek out any Bigyin related documentaries he hasn't half done a fair few of late. Portrait of a Lifetime, Billy Connolly & Me, Made in Scotland, Billy and Us, to name but four he's done in the last couple of years. Very good but some stray too close to sychophancy for me. Like he's scrabbling to cement a legacy with programmes that say how great he is. Probably a bit harsh.

He's certainly a unique voice that I"ve enjoyed for years now and I know I'll be very sad when he goes.

[checkoutgirl]

his extended anecdote about attending an absurdly posh dinner party in some manor or other is one of the funniest routines I've ever heard.

I know you, I doo.

Alright ye fuckin' know me!!!

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I know you, I doo.

Alright ye fuckin' know me!!!

"Aren't the Goodies good?"

"No, I think they're fucking shite."

[checkoutgirl]

If you stood Norway up straight and let it fall to the side, where would it land?

This is hypothetical? I don't have to go and get a JCB do I?

[Replies From View]

And the man with the itch right in the middle of his head making all those noises to make the bit next to it vibrate.

[Enrico Palazzo]

Comedy aside, I enjoyed his head-to-head with Ken Stott in The Debt Collector. The two Peter McDougall/John Mackenzie films he did in the 70s for the BBC, Just Another Saturday and The Elephant's Graveyard, are a great watch too.

[monkfromhavana]

I only really know the later stuff, but do love "potatoes of the night", "Scottish goalkeepers" and the bit about "left over venison".

[Phil_A]

I only really know the later stuff, but do love "potatoes of the night", "Scottish goalkeepers" and the bit about "left over venison".

I got confused and thought I was in the Brian Butterfield thread for a moment there.

[kidsick5000]

I've not seen this since it was on TV in the late 90s.
I'd had to go into hospital for a variety of tests and had been prodded and probed all over in ways that someone in their 20s usually shouldn't need to be.
So when I saw this, it resonated more than it usually would.
It's the moo that got me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfQLzLCNrzc

[TheMonk]

I still have fond memories of my mum and dad both laughing to the point of coughing fits over "Sting getting about with the bloke with the CD in his mouth." Probably unacceptable now.

[Ray Travez]

I like this description so much I've decided to type it out with Buxton's prompts and interjections omitted:

Cheers, really interesting. Didn't know he'd been on buckles' podcast, I'll have to give that a listen.

[Jake Thingray]

The two Peter McDougall/John Mackenzie films he did in the 70s for the BBC, Just Another Saturday and The Elephant's Graveyard, are a great watch too.

They were plays, not films.

[Tony Yeboah]

The best and most influential stand-up for a good period. You can debate when he stopped being as funny as he used to be but he has to be in the contention for best British stand-up ever.

[Enrico Palazzo]

They were plays, not films.

I realise they were part of Play for Today but they're films based on plays, aren't they.

[ProvanFan]

Ah love beheading, it's extraordinary, ye must try it.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

Och, he's got a wife many years younger than him, something not uncommon for ex- pat men working in lucrative jobs that part of the world, what on earth is that all about? Help me, boab!

THE GHOST OF OSCAR WILDE: I wish *I'd* said that, William.

[ProvanFan]

Mine was meant with affection, don't use me a springboard for hate.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

" hate" is a bit of a strong term, I just don't think Billy Connolly is very funny. However, I can see that I am very much in the minority here, so shall take my leave from this thread.

* leaves in the style of Competetive Dad's dad, from those Christmas sketches in the final episodes of " The Fast Show" *

[Jake Thingray]

I realise they were part of Play for Today but they're films based on plays, aren't they.

No, dramas written specifically for television.

[chrispmartha]

Saw him at the Sydney Opera House in 2009 - actually in pain with laughing, which surprised me as I was of the opinion that he wasn't as good as he used to be at the time.

[Jockice]

Och, he's got a wife many years younger than him, something not uncommon for ex- pat men working in lucrative jobs that part of the world, what on earth is that all about? Help me, boab!

THE GHOST OF OSCAR WILDE: I wish *I'd* said that, William.

It's 'help ma boab.' Although - like 'jings' and 'crivens' - I've never heard a genuine Scot say it except ironically.

Happy to help. Ma boab.

[Jockice]

" hate" is a bit of a strong term, I just don't think Billy Connolly is very funny. However, I can see that I am very much in the minority here, so shall take my leave from this thread.

It's you and my deceased dad against the world here.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

If you stood Norway up straight and let it fall to the side, where would it land?

This is hypothetical? I don't have to go and get a JCB do I?

"MOROCCO! The guy had actually measured it."

Another great line from that show: "One of my favourite sweary phrases is 'Jesus suffering fuck!' There's a lot going on there, isn't there?"

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

And the man with the itch right in the middle of his head making all those noises to make the bit next to it vibrate.

Such a great, weird, specific observation. Face facts, Seinfeld, Connolly is better at observing things than you are.

[BeardFaceMan]

"MOROCCO! The guy had actually measured it."

Another great line from that show: "One of my favourite sweary phrases is 'Jesus suffering fuck!' There's a lot going on there, isn't there?"

Is that the show where he does the walks? He does a drunken walk, and then he does a walk where it's like a kid has been pushed out of the door in the morning by his mum and its a slightly off balance, hurried walk. That might be the hardest I've ever laughed at a stand up show.

Theres also a great bit, it might even be from that same show, where he says he feels like a busker,  he starts his next bit and someone throws coins on to the stage, one of the few heckles I've seen that I've actually enjoyed. And Billy responded by going to pick up his glass of water, throwing it over the punter and just saying "fuck you" to them.

The early to mid 90s was the sweet spot for me, he was on fucking fire then.

[marquis_de_sad]

No, dramas written specifically for television.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I still have fond memories of my mum and dad both laughing to the point of coughing fits over "Sting getting about with the bloke with the CD in his mouth." Probably unacceptable now.

Definitely, but to be fair to the Big Yin, that routine was more about how much of a cunt Sting is. He made it clear that he didn't agree with the patronising way in which Raoni Metukire was wheeled out on Wogan and whatnot. But yeah, he did rather undermine his righteous point with a cheap gag about the man's appearance. Not cool, Billy.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Is that the show where he does the walks? He does a drunken walk, and then he does a walk where it's like a kid has been pushed out of the door in the morning by his mum and its a slightly off balance, hurried walk. That might be the hardest I've ever laughed at a stand up show.

Theres also a great bit, it might even be from that same show, where he says he feels like a busker,  he starts his next bit and someone throws coins on to the stage, one of the few heckles I've seen that I've actually enjoyed. And Billy responded by going to pick up his glass of water, throwing it over the punter and just saying "fuck you" to them.

The early to mid 90s was the sweet spot for me, he was on fucking fire then.

I think that's all from the same show, yeah. And I agree, he reached his peak in the early to mid '90s. Some of the greatest stand-up comedy you ever will see.

The drunken walk routine is amazing: "Those guys always look like they're hours away from home."

Such a funny and oddly humane observation. When you see seriously pissed blokes wandering the streets alone at 3am, you just know that they've either got the wrong bus or have given garbled directions to the taxi driver. Connolly would love Limmy's "She's turned the weans against us!" sketch.

[The Culture Bunker]

The early to mid 90s was the sweet spot for me, he was on fucking fire then.

Might have been around that time I caught him on TV doing the routine about getting his prostate checked and the specialist, finger up his jacksie, gives him the reach around to milk him like a cow, which had me howling with laughter.

However, as I get older and going through the same procedure becomes an increasingly likely oncoming reality, I'm not sure I find it as amusing.

[pigamus]

Definitely, but to be fair to the Big Yin, that routine was more about how much of a cunt Sting is.

Nah. They're best mates. Sorry about the awful quality on this clip, but I've got fond memories of this when it went out. "It's nearly tuned, Mr Sting!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBBhbSW0q7M&list=RDbBBhbSW0q7M&start_radio=1&t=22