Tall Tales and Wee Stories by Billy Connolly (Paperback, 2020)

Tall Tales and Wee Stories brings together the very best of Billy's storytelling for the first time and includes his most famous routines. 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.

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.

Format: Paperback | 336 pages

Dimensions (cm): 19.8 x 12.8 x 2.1 | 234g

Publication Date: 29 Sep 2020

Publisher: John Murray Press

Imprint: Two Roads

Publication City/Country: London, United Kingdom

Language: English

Illustrations note: b&w illustrations

Edition Number: 1

ISBN10: 1529361362

ISBN13: 9781529361360

 

Condition: Good

A book that has been read but is in good condition. Some damage to the cover including minor scuff marks and minor creasing on the front cover, and a fair amount of creasing on the back cover, but no holes or tears. The majority of pages are undamaged with very minimal creasing but no tearing. No pencil underlining of text, no highlighting of text and no writing in margins. No missing pages.