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Billy Connolly


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20 minutes ago, Wee Willie said:

He was a pretentious twat when he took the Windsor's shilling.

But he was always a funny bugger.

Bitter? surely ye mean heavy?

When he accepted a knighthood from the Windsors.

That's when I stopped sending him Christmas cards

In the early days he used tae say he had more in common with the workers of Liverpool etc than with the highland lairds.

How times have changed.

I think it was New York in 2005.

He wisnae funny as all he did was shout and swear and tell unfunny jokes.

I think he’s brilliant myself, one of the best stand up comedians of all time and an absolute national treasure.

He was but since he's a Sir he's a cnut

Everything you have posted just stinks of jealousy I’m afraid. 

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He was very funny for a remarkably long period of time. By the time he got to the 'I know you' period mentioned earlier, the circles he moved in were obviously smaller and his material suffered as a result, but he still made it worth a listen. I was still happy enough to sit through his High Horse DVD, despite it being easily his weakest. We maybe put too much emphasis on what people become, rather than what they were - it's the same for musicians, everyone like a laugh at how bands like the Rolling Stones haven't written a decent tune in decades, but the guys who wrote all the songs you love are now receiving the rewards for what they did back then. That's the way we should probably think about it, rather than castigating them for being shit now.

Something that came up earlier: comedians are all liars. Barely any of the stories they tell happened to them, or even happened at all. It's fiction. You wouldn't criticize, say, Irvine Welsh because Trainspotting wasn't an accurate memoir, or Tom Hanks because he didn't actually contract HIV. We have a really odd mentality when it comes to comics - it's a performance like any other. Just relax and enjoy the show. So long as they aren't plagiarising other people, it doesn't matter where the stories come from.

Oh, his travel shows were good too. The later ones were naturally weaker as his familiarity with the places wasn't as strong, but World Tour of Scotland is a terrific love letter to his old home. A lot of younger folk might not be familiar with his albums either, which is a shame as they're very good. Well, except A Change Is As Good As Arrest, but you can't win them all.

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As a collective response to those who took exception to my suggestion that he had "sold his working class soul", he became a part of the gentrified set fairly quickly after his uk-wide exposure. Mixed with the saxe-coburg-gothas and their ilk and then took one of their gaudy trinkets which ensured his"ya" bawbaggery would continue.

Each to their own on this one, but i remember the early 70s when he burst onto Scottish TVs and, indeed, i had a couple of his live albums.  The changes are mega.  He changed his act where saying sweary words on TV got him the laughs and masked the actual comedic elements of his performance.

He may be a "national treasure" to some, but to me he's a sell out, and i don't mean the theatre tickets. 

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47 minutes ago, Wee Willie said:

He was a pretentious twat when he took the Windsor's shilling.

But he was always a funny bugger.

Bitter? surely ye mean heavy?

When he accepted a knighthood from the Windsors.

That's when I stopped sending him Christmas cards

In the early days he used tae say he had more in common with the workers of Liverpool etc than with the highland lairds.

How times have changed.

I think it was New York in 2005.

He wisnae funny as all he did was shout and swear and tell unfunny jokes.

I think he’s brilliant myself, one of the best stand up comedians of all time and an absolute national treasure.

He was but since he's a Sir he's a cnut

 

 

25 minutes ago, throbber said:

Everything you have posted just stinks of jealousy I’m afraid. 

He was a pretentious twat when he took the Windsor's shilling.

Do you disagree?

Bitter? surely ye mean heavy?

In Scotland we would say heavy - agree?

When he accepted a knighthood from the Windsors. That's when I stopped sending him Christmas cards

Do you still send them to him?

In the early days he used tae say he had more in common with the workers of Liverpool etc than with the highland lairds.

you cannae remember him saying that?

I think it was New York in 2005. He wisnae funny as all he did was shout and swear and tell unfunny jokes.

Listen tae that show and tell me I'm wrong.

He was but since he's a Sir he's a cnut

Do you disagree?

Everything you have posted just stinks of jealousy I’m afraid.

Jeez - nae comment

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Oh, the accent thing - folk who purposefully change their accent to deny where they come from are wanks, but I don't think most people do that. Most folk with strong regional accents have a "clearer" way of talking when dealing with people from outside the area who might struggle to understand - that's just common courtesy, not pretension. Some of us also switch accents without knowing it, depending on who we're talking to; it's not deliberate. First time I realised I did this was when I had a mate from school over (in England) and my mum called. When I got off the phone, he was surprised at how "Scotch" I sounded.

They still haven't found the body, thankfully.

Edit: nothing to do with his accent, but Wee Willie's posts are very hard to follow.

Edited by BigFatTabbyDave
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Oh, the accent thing - folk who purposefully change their accent to deny where they come from are wanks, but I don't think most people do that. Most folk with strong regional accents have a "clearer" way of talking when dealing with people from outside the area who might struggle to understand - that's just common courtesy, not pretension. Some of us also switch accents without knowing it, depending on who we're talking to; it's not deliberate. First time I realised I did this was when I had a mate from school over (in England) and my mum called. When I got off the phone, he was surprised at how "Scotch" I sounded.
They still haven't found the body, thankfully.


Agreed. Awareness of one’s accent is no bad thing and you can adjust accordingly. However, Connolly - like David Bowie - has affected a nonsense exaggeration to serve a purpose. Doesn’t detract from his art, and maybe enhances it, but it’s a dickhead move to use it all day, every day.
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7 minutes ago, hearthammer said:

As a collective response to those who took exception to my suggestion that he had "sold his working class soul", he became a part of the gentrified set fairly quickly after his uk-wide exposure. Mixed with the saxe-coburg-gothas and their ilk and then took one of their gaudy trinkets which ensured his"ya" bawbaggery would continue.

Each to their own on this one, but i remember the early 70s when he burst onto Scottish TVs and, indeed, i had a couple of his live albums.  The changes are mega.  He changed his act where saying sweary words on TV got him the laughs and masked the actual comedic elements of his performance.

He may be a "national treasure" to some, but to me he's a sell out, and i don't mean the theatre tickets. 

Exactly although I'll qualify that. With BC there is a before & after.

Before the bauble (2017) he was brilliant and as someone said his travel shows were the bees knees.

After the bauble he became a cnut.

And that should be on his tombstone.

bc.jpg

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If you look at lots of "old Glasgow" videos etc from the 1960s, 70s, 80s, people were better spoken. Even documentaries on the neds of the day. A modern day ned would mock them for sounding posh in comparison to today. Speech is a means of communication and for someone like him who makes a living going round the world talking to people from different places why on earth should it be seen as an issue if they modify their voice to allow them to be understood? He still sounds Scottish. 

I have to speak to folk from all over the world every day and if I spoke like the 7 y/o Fifer version of myself it would make for pretty long and frustrating days. It's not a rejection of roots, it's assimilation into the world we currently inhabit. If you live and work in the area you grew up, with colleagues and clients who did likewise then you're not going to change your accent. It's pretty simple evolution and adaption. 

You can hear Connolly's speech is now impaired a bit by his Parkinson's. Especially when he has listened to a sentence and is trying to reply. You can hear the effort to blurt out "yes".

 

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Never trust a man, who when left alone in a room with a tea cosy, that doesn't try it on.

An audience with Billy Connolly is the funniest hour I've ever seen and it makes no difference how many times I've watched it.

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I think very few people change their accent deliberately, although you'd have to be very weird if you don't try to speak more clearly if somebody doesn't understand you. Some people subconsciously mimic the accents of those around him, somebody told me the other day I've picked up a Sneckie twang. Purrfict. A mate of mine in London moved down with his sister from Stirling when they were 14. By the time they were in their early twenties his accent had barely changed, hers was broad cockney. Only total wankers change their accents deliberately to sound posh, you can spot it a mile off and they come over as ridiculous, quietly mocked by their role models.

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Never trust a man, who when left alone in a room with a tea cosy, that doesn't try it on.

An audience with Billy Connolly is the funniest hour I've ever seen and it makes no difference how many times I've watched it.
The incontinence trousers cracks me up every time.
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The funniest comedian, definitely in the UK and quite possibly the world. The fact he is Scottish should be celebrated. Yes, he did change but who wouldn't. What was he meant to do, pack Pamela and the weans into a tenement fkat in the Gorbals? His association with Andrew and Fergie wasn't exactly something to be celebrated but as far as I'm concerned he can associate with who the f**k he wants.People who don't find him funny are weirdos and probably think John Bishop is funny.

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6 minutes ago, Joe Terrapin said:

The funniest comedian, definitely in the UK and quite possibly the world. The fact he is Scottish should be celebrated. Yes, he did change but who wouldn't. What was he meant to do, pack Pamela and the weans into a tenement fkat in the Gorbals? His association with Andrew and Fergie wasn't exactly something to be celebrated but as far as I'm concerned he can associate with who the f**k he wants.People who don't find him funny are weirdos and probably think John Bishop is funny.

The case rests.  There's another one who "sold his soul" to the london set.      Not weirdos, perhaps a tad more discerning than those who see it as sacrilege to be negative about a "national treasure".   Each to their own.

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36 minutes ago, hearthammer said:

The case rests.  There's another one who "sold his soul" to the london set.      Not weirdos, perhaps a tad more discerning than those who see it as sacrilege to be negative about a "national treasure".   Each to their own.

Discerning? The fact your'e putting Bishop in the same stratosphere as Connolly would tend to refute that.

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1 minute ago, Joe Terrapin said:

Discerning? The fact your'e putting Bishop in the same stratosphere as Connolly would tend to refute that.

Au contraire, i was merely stating that he too had "embraced" his fame with the london set in a similar fashion.  I made no reference to the levels of comedic abilities.

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57 minutes ago, Joe Terrapin said:

The funniest comedian, definitely in the UK and quite possibly the world. The fact he is Scottish should be celebrated. Yes, he did change but who wouldn't. What was he meant to do, pack Pamela and the weans into a tenement fkat in the Gorbals? His association with Andrew and Fergie wasn't exactly something to be celebrated but as far as I'm concerned he can associate with who the f**k he wants.People who don't find him funny are weirdos and probably think John Bishop is funny.

You’re an angry wee man.  The Proclaimers are shite too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Actually I quite like the Proclaimers  but you get my point.

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