THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
80TH BIRTHDAY EDITION - NOW WITH 10 NEW TALL TALES!

'Connolly's raucous run through his life is as furious, funny and foul-mouthed as you'd expect' Sunday Times

In December 2018, after fifty years of belly-laughs, energy and outrage, Billy Connolly announced his retirement from live stand-up comedy. It had been an extraordinary career.

When he first started out in the late sixties, Billy played the banjo in the folk clubs of Scotland. Between songs, he would improvise a bit, telling anecdotes from the Clyde shipyard where he'd worked. In the process, he made all kinds of discoveries about what audiences found funny, from his own brilliant mimes to the power of speaking irreverently about politics or explicitly about sex. He began to understand the craft of great storytelling. Soon the songs became shorter and the monologues longer, and Billy quickly became recognised as one of the most exciting comedians of his generation.

Billy's routines always felt spontaneous. He never wrote scripts, always creating his comedy freshly on stage in the presence of a live audience. A brilliant comic story might be subsequently discarded, adapted or embellished. A quick observation or short anecdote one night, could become a twenty-minute segment by the next night of a tour.

Billy always brought a beautiful sense of the absurd to his shows as he riffed on his family, hecklers, swimming in the North Sea or naked bungee jumping. But his comedy can be laced with anger too. He hates pretentiousness and calls out hypocrisy wherever he sees it. His insights about the human condition have shocked many people, while his unique talent and startling appearance on stage gave him license to say anything he damn well pleased about sex, politics or religion.

Billy got away with it because he has always had the popular touch. His comedy spans generations and different social tribes in a way that few others have ever managed.

Tall Tales and Wee Stories brings together the very best of Billy's storytelling for the first time and includes his most famous routines including, The Last Supper, Jojoba Shampoo, Incontinence Pants and Shouting at Wildebeest. With an introduction and original illustrations by Billy throughout, it is an inspirational, energetic and riotously funny read, and a fitting celebration of our greatest ever comedian.

About the Author
Sir William Connolly, CBE is a much-loved Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is the recipient of a BAFTA Lifetime Achievement Award and is regularly voted the nation's favourite stand-up comedian. His previous two books, Tall Tales & Wee Stories and Windswept & Interesting were both No.1 bestsellers. Billy was born and raised in Glasgow and now lives in America.

Reviews
A read that entirely fits the personality of the extreme personality who wrote it, Connolly's raucous run through his life is as furious, funny and foul-mouthed as you'd expect. His stand-up knack for easy storytelling shines through * Sunday Times *
A read that entirely fits the personality of the extreme personality who wrote it, Connolly's raucous run through his life is as furious, funny and foul-mouthed as you'd expect. His stand-up knack for easy storytelling shines through * Sunday Times *
Wild and whirling . . . it reads like a talking book * Observer *
Wild and whirling . . . it reads like a talking book * Observer *
Connolly's writing is so much like his speech you can hear him as you read. * Evening Standard *
Connolly's writing is so much like his speech you can hear him as you read. * Evening Standard *
A glorious memoir full of insights into the funnyman's life and career. Hilarious. * Prima *
A glorious memoir full of insights into the funnyman's life and career. Hilarious. * Prima *
The Big Yin Bible * The List *
The Big Yin Bible * The List *
A very humorous read * Daily Stock Dish *
A very humorous read * Daily Stock Dish *

One of stand-up's great naturals. No one told a story better.

* Guardian *

One of stand-up's great naturals. No one told a story better.

* Guardian *
Raucous and side-splitting * Yours *
Raucous and side-splitting * Yours *
Wry, sometimes sacrilegious, often absurd and outrageously funny * The Senior AU *
Wry, sometimes sacrilegious, often absurd and outrageously funny * The Senior AU *
Gloriously, unashamedly peppered with swearing, bodily functions and drunken behaviour . . . you will laugh, guffaw and snort your way through this remarkable book * The Wee Review *
Gloriously, unashamedly peppered with swearing, bodily functions and drunken behaviour . . . you will laugh, guffaw and snort your way through this remarkable book * The Wee Review *
Bracingly sweary, robustly rude and brilliantly original, this is essential reading for fans of the Big Yin. * Daily Mail *
Bracingly sweary, robustly rude and brilliantly original, this is essential reading for fans of the Big Yin. * Daily Mail *
This book brings together the best of his stories...and offers something of a potted history of a life of spontaneous performance on stage. * Irish Independent Review *
This book brings together the best of his stories...and offers something of a potted history of a life of spontaneous performance on stage. * Irish Independent Review *



Book Information
ISBN 9781529361360
Author Billy Connolly
Format Paperback
Page Count 352
Imprint Two Roads
Publisher John Murray Press
Weight(grams) 280g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 128mm * 26mm