KIN
Bruce Morton COMEDIAN What does Billy Connolly mean to you? llc inspircs. llc dcmonstratcs thc powcr ol‘ candour. llc shows Us how thc sltttplt‘\l. prosaic things in hit“ can hc aw csomc. :\nd hc was thc lirst comic to spcak to its (in thc w cst ol Scotlandl in our own \'t)lL‘L‘. Does he deserve to be lauded as a Scottish legend or is he ultimately a disappointment to his nation? llc is clcarl_\' a lcgcnd. .\'o onc can touch him. He appears to have a real bee in his bunnet about Scotland and, in particular, the press. Is he right? Or what have we done to deserve it? l'ntil this littlc countr} of ours can walk with conlidcnt grow n-up stcps: until. l'or instancc. our lu'oadcastcrs arc adult cnough to allow' an linglish acccnt to hc hcard on our radio airancs and until our popular prcss can tcll a slot‘)’ without putting a kilt on it. thcrc arc many ol tis otit hcrc who will ha\ c not only a hcc hut an cntirc l'ucking hi\c in our hunncts. ll' (‘onnolLV has a prohlcm with thc Scottish mcdia. is an_\onc t'cztll} \tll‘Pt'iscd'.’ .'\lltl il~ sotttc scctions oi thc prcss ha\ c a prohlcm with (‘onnoll_\'. pcrhaps it is hccausc hc just rcl‘uscs to hc hound h} thcir cspcctations and will not play h} thcir squalid. dimw it rulcs. Do you have a Big Yin anecdote that you could retell? 'l'wo summcrs ago I was hosting a gig in (iltlsgtm Ctlllt‘tl HI'HH' .l/(U'IUH I’I't’.\'('III.\ . . . ’l‘Cll minutcs hcl‘orc showtimc. (‘onnoll_\ walkcd into thc club. on his own. Backstagc. I‘Vc nc\cr sccn so mam comics gct so llL‘l‘Htlls so quickly. llc was a 24 carat gcnt: chatt}. t'ricndl}. intcrcstcd and sound as a pound. l'\c rarcly hccn so llattcrcd as w hcn hc starch quoting old routines ol' minc. 'l’hc hcst thing about that night. though was thc wa_\ that thc pcoplc in thc audicncc — who clcarl} kncw hc was thcrc ~ ga\c thc man his room and did not gct in his l‘acc othcr than. at thc cnd ol‘ thc night. to sa_\ a quick hcllo and a good luck on thc w a} ottt.
20 THE LIST 5‘ ‘.'.:' '-'- -'t:'
Tommy Sheppard OWNER OF THE STAND
What does he mean to you? l rcmcmhcr as a tccnagcr in \orthcrn lrcland hcing
routincs such as thc l’opc . -- tat-mg cat‘t'icd m a chair hccausc ol his crL‘mc dc mcnthc tippling. and lttch‘tl lw‘ songs likc ‘Scrgcant \\'hcrc‘.s .\linc'. llc was a grtiund-hrcakcr who madc lcgitimatc thc carth}; Vulgar humour ol rcal pcoplc at a timc w'hcn comcdy was dominatcd h} thc l'c} wordplay ol thc southcrn linglish middlc-class. And hc was a mastcr ol‘ ohscrt'ational stand-up. dcmonstrating that thc hcst comcd)‘ comcs lrom holding a mirror up to thc audicncc and gctting thcm to latigh at thcmsch'cs. But that was thcn . . . Legend or disappointment?
.-\ hit ol' hoth. hut history will hc kind to him. Somctimc in thc carh 80s I think hc got scduccd h)‘ thc class that w‘crc oncc thc targct ol' his wit and im'ccti\'c. lt hluntcd his wit and sct him on a trail that would lcad to ill-adtiscd dccisions on achrtising. tclcx'ision and \'ltlL‘t) rccordings that l‘ailcd (and which inhcrcntl} lttlll to capturc thc magic ol' li\'c pcrl'ormancc. lior a whilc hc hccamc an icon and l‘ailcd as an iconoclast.
The press
I can't spcak for thc prcss. hut I think hc sccms to charactcrisc a w'holc countr} h} thc actions ol‘ sonic of its population. llc’s donc wcll cnough not to ha\c to worry about the jcalotis} ol' thosc who llilVClld. llc should gct imolt'cd with thc cxciting things that arc happening in Scotland now. particularly in comcdy.
Janey Godley COMEDIAN
What does he mean to you? llc is thc grandlathcr ol Scottish coincd}; I can rcmcmhcr sitting listcning to his comcd} on \ in}l as a child and hcing ama/cd that hc could make rcally 'ordinary stul‘l' l'unn}.
Legend or disappointment?
Hc is a lcgcnd l‘or surc. ll' _\ou ask Scottish
thrilch all lllL‘ it'l‘L‘Vc‘l'c‘ltL‘L‘ til.
He may be Scotland’s most famous stand-up, but BILLY CONNOLLY recently provoked outrage with his jokes about Iraq hostage Ken Bigley. Has the purple-goateed guy lost his place as the nation’s best loved comedian? Brian Donaldson and Brodie Govan asked the good people of Scotland what they really think of the man they call the Big Yin.
pcoplc to namc a lamous S( ‘( )l'l'lSll conicdian. thc} will most timcs sa} Hill) ('onnollt. llc is a truc artist and comcd} should hc rccogmscd as an art duc to his cll’orts. I think thc lact hc hclpcd inl'lucncc a gcncration ol comics and gun c Scottish comcd} a platl'orm limit which to spring is a grcat thing. I was gi\cn \cr_\ nicc commcnts and trcatmcnt whcn I did somc gigs in l..\ as | camc lrom thc samc cit_\ as Bill} ('onnollt.
The press
I think Scotland docs ha\c lhc 'tall popp}~ s_\ndromc at timcs. \Vc do tcnd to cut down aii_\thing that gcts too hig. \Vc arc a nation ol pcoplc who scrcam in support ol lltc 'w cc man' )c‘t ill hc gcts too hig. w c stah him.
Big Yin anecdote
\thn hc was lilming in thc ('alton (ilasgow wars ago. in} daughtcr was ooh li\c _\cars old. Shc wcnt o\cl' to talk to him and hc kncclctl down to hcr and chatlcd l'or agcs. Shc askcd him whcrc his childrcn w crc and hc c\p|aincd that ltc misscd thcm hccausc thc} w cl'c in km ;\ttgclcs. .\l} daughtcr huggcd him quickl} and said: ‘ll m) dadd} was awa_\ lrom mc I would cr_\ L‘\t‘l'} da_\ l'or him.‘ Imus c}cs mistcd mm and shc huggcd him tightcr. l was so cmlmrrasscd that m_\ daughtcr was making him so sad: lhc man who was in} hcro l'or making mc laugh?
DC Jackson
HALF OF GLASGOW FABULOUS
What does he mean to you? llc was thc li\cntuall_\ wc won't hatc him mugging awa} on thc l$l3(' tclling tis how 'hrill—cc-anl' road hridgcs arc and ruining all our mcmorics. .\lilcs l)a\is was an cmharrassmcnt hclot‘c hc dicd too but wc can l‘airl} appraisc his gcnius now. It is unrcasonahlc to cspcct pcoplc to hc at thc top of thcir gamc l'or an} signilicant lcngth ol' timc.
Legend or disappointment?
'l'hc Big Yin is a lcgcnd and I'm glad hc‘s itll\ c. w cl! and prospcring. You can't hpr l'ccling w c‘d lt)\'c‘ him so much morc il‘ hc‘d onl} donc a Bill Hicks. ()r a l.cnn_\ Brucc. ()r a Richard l’r_\or.
:Jl'L'illL‘Sl.