Windswept & Interesting
My Autobiography
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4.3 • 77 Ratings
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- £4.49
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- £4.49
Publisher 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...'
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
If you love Billy Connolly’s comedy, the comedian’s autobiography Windswept & Interesting will be a no-brainer. And if you’re not well versed in his stand-up? Well, we think you’ll love it all the same. Here, Connolly delves into his remarkable life, from growing up in Glasgow to being orphaned at the age of just four and suffering horrific abuse, before finding his way out and rising—against all odds—to become of the UK’s most beloved comedians. This is Connolly, so of course much of Windswept & Interesting is hilarious (the kind of funny where you might have to put it down every so often just to compose yourself), and there are plenty of (brilliantly rambling) anecdotes on everything he’s learned so far. And most of the time, this feels like hearing old stories from a good friend. But, navigating his early life and the end of his 50-year stand-up career—brought to an end by a diagnosis of both Parkinson’s disease and cancer—Windswept & Interesting is also tremendously moving and personal, as Connolly celebrates the power of just being who you are, without caring what anyone else might think. An honest read that will go down as one of 2021’s best celebrity memoirs.
Customer Reviews
Completely Windswept and Interesting!
One of the best Autobiography’s I have ever read !!! Being Scottish myself I got all the jokes and banter but was amazing to hear him talk about his childhood and the hardships he has come through ! Absolutely brilliant! X
Windswept & Interesting
I bought this book as a treat for myself after having surgery on my neck. The book is brilliant, but, I hadn’t counted on it being so funny, the bits that had me chuckling were agony, the nursing staff advised me to download a different book that was less likely to undo the surgeons work! I’m sure Billy would be kind of proud to find out that he has penned the first dangerous book available to the public.
On a more serious note the writing style is such that you feel almost as if Billy is sat, chatting to you about his life, it’s utterly captivating.
Thank you Billy, this book was a cracker, even though it was a pain in the neck at times.
Legend
The only word needed is in the title …