Born in Glasgow during 1942, Billy Connolly is known throughout the world as a comedian, artist and actor.
Sir Billy Connolly started his working career as an apprentice welder in the rough and tough Clyde shipyards of Scotland.
In 1964 he met Danny Kyle, who introduced Connolly to folk pubs including the Scotia Bar in Glasgow and the Glasgow Folk Club in Montrose Street.
This lit the spark for Billy’s musical career and in the following year, Connolly and singer-guitarist Tam Harvey formed the Humblebums.
A short time later Connolly met the accomplished songwriter, singer and guitarist, Gerry Rafferty and after initially working as a trio with Harvey, they became the New Humblebums, releasing the album of that name in September 1969.
The jokes he told between songs eventually took over his act and he became a full-time comedian thanks, in part, to a national appearance in 1975 on the Parkinson show.
This tv appearance started a chain reaction, making him famous in Britain and beyond through his stand-up comedy routines, sell-out tours, TV shows and film appearances over the following decades.
Billy Connolly, art and film
Connolly is also well-known as an artist and sculptor.
In 2022 he revealed in a TV special that drawing had given him a new lease of life, having been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2013.
Billy Connolly has appeared in more than 50 films including The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies (2014), Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), The Last Samurai (2003), Mrs. Brown (1997) and Indecent Proposal (1993).
In October 2021, he released his first autobiography, Windswept & Interesting.
Glasgow murals
In celebration of Billy Connolly’s 75th birthday three murals were commissioned in 2017 featuring the Glasgow legend.
The murals are created from original works by top Scottish artists Jack Vettriano, John Byrne and Rachel Maclean.
They were painted in secret by the artists Rogue-one and Art Pistol ahead of a BBC tv programme, Billy Connolly: Portrait of a Lifetime.
These now form part of the Glasgow Mural trail. An interactive map is also available here.
A fourth mural, created by artist Andy Scott, is near the comedian’s birthplace. It overlooks the shipyards where he once worked as a welder and can be seen from the Kingston Bridge.
It is made from about 1.5 miles (2.4km) of 6mm (0.24in) steel, chopped into thousands of pieces.
Sanctuary Scotland Housing Association commissioned the 500kg (79st) mural which formally completes phase 1 of a regeneration project.
The Big Yin, Billy Connolly walking tour
In this walking guide you can pay tribute to Glasgow’s funniest welder, actor, musician, TV presenter and comedian, Sir Billy Connolly with a tour of his Glasgow murals and more.
Billy Connolly was awarded an honorary degree on 11th July 2001, part of the University of Glasgow’s 550th anniversary celebrations. He was awarded the Doctor of Letters in recognition of his work as a singer, comedian and media personality.
Connolly’s nickname The Big Yin was first used during his adolescent years to differentiate between himself and his father, according to Wikipedia.
Mr Connolly currently lives in Florida.