Windswept & Interesting: My Autobiography

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title Windswept & Interesting: My Autobiography
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Billy Connolly
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:400
Dimensions(mm): Height 232,Width 152
Category/GenreIndividual actors and performers
Memoirs
ISBN/Barcode 9781529318258
ClassificationsDewey:792.7028092
Audience
General

Publishing Details

Publisher John Murray Press
Imprint Two Roads
NZ Release Date 12 October 2021
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

In his first full-length autobiography, comedy legend and national treasure Billy Connolly reveals the truth behind his windswept and interesting life. Born in a tenement flat in Glasgow in 1942, orphaned by the age of 4, and a survivor of appalling abuse at the hands of his own family, Billy's life is a remarkable story of success against all the odds. Billy found his escape first as an apprentice welder in the shipyards of the River Clyde. Later he became a folk musician - a 'rambling man' - with a genuine talent for playing the banjo. But it was his ability to spin stories, tell jokes and hold an audience in the palm of his hand that truly set him apart. As a young comedian Billy broke all the rules. He was fearless and outspoken - willing to call out hypocrisy wherever he saw it. But his stand-up was full of warmth, humility and silliness too. His startling, hairy 'glam-rock' stage appearance - wearing leotards, scissor suits and banana boots - only added to his appeal. It was an appearance on Michael Parkinson's chat show in 1975 - and one outrageous story in particular - that catapulted Billy from cult hero to national star. TV shows, documentaries, international fame and award-winning Hollywood movies followed. Billy's pitch-perfect stand-up comedy kept coming too - for over 50 years, in fact - until a double diagnosis of cancer and Parkinson's Disease brought his remarkable live performances to an end. Since then he has continued making TV shows, creating extraordinary drawings... and writing. Windswept and Interesting is Billy's story in his own words. It is joyfully funny - stuffed full of hard-earned wisdom as well as countless digressions on fishing, farting and the joys of dancing naked. It is an unforgettable, life-affirming story of a true comedy legend. 'I didn't know I was Windswept and Interesting until somebody told me. It was a friend who was startlingly exotic himself. He'd just come back from Kashmir and was all billowy shirt and Indian beads. I had long hair and a beard and was swishing around in electric blue flairs. He said: "Look at you - all windswept and interesting!" I just said: "Exactly!" After that, I simply had to maintain my reputation...'

Author Biography

Sir William Connolly, CBE is a much-loved Scottish comedian, musician, TV presenter, actor, and artist. Now a 'welder statesman', he is the recipient of a BAFTA Lifetime Achievement Award and is regularly voted the nation's favourite stand-up comedian. His collected stand-up routines, TALL TALES & WEE STORIES, was a No.1 bestseller and has spent over a year in the Sunday Times' charts. Billy was born and raised in Glasgow and now lives in America.

Reviews

Billy Connolly's long and vivid life makes for a joyous memoir * The Big Issue * There are a lot of laughs and love in the book, but a great grimness to it as well. * The I * This is everything a celebrity autobiography should be and more. * Scottish Mail on Sunday *