Glasgow's greatest comic Billy Connolly in 11 iconic pictures

Our archives are packed with fantastic pictures of his life and work - here are 11 of the best, which capture some iconic moments in his career.

Billy has appeared countless times at Glasgow’s great variety theatre, the Pavilion. In our main image, he is pictured larking about on the venue's stage in 1980.

At Café India, Billy was a regular – he is pictured here with manager Raj Bajwe.

Billy is a huge fan of Celtic FC.

In a recent documentary, he said his sporting hero Jock Stein, the club's famous manager, would often tease the comedian about his build.

Billy joked: “Jock used to tell me I had a weight problem, that I was always too skinny. One time he turned and said to me ‘you’re built like the gable end of a pound note’ – I thought it was a great line.”

In 2007, Billy was appointed patron of the Celtic Foundation – here he is with fellow Hoops fan Rod Stewart having a chinwag at the Celtic v Hearts game in September 2010.

In fact, Billy once refereed a Celtic match. It was in 1976, and Jock Stein was back in charge for a  testimonial for Jimmy Johnstone and Bobby Lennox versus Manchester United, whom Celtic thrashed four-nil.

Jock made Billy run out on the pitch to referee for a short while, dressed in a Rangers hat and scarf. In an interview with the Daily Mail, Billy said: “I said to him: ‘I can’t run out there with this on, they will eat me.’ I am standing there frantically waving the red card when, to a man, they suddenly start chanting: ‘You can stick your flaming wellies up your ****.’ A memory that will live with me for ever.”

In 1975, Glasgow pop artist Edmund Smith made Billy Connolly a pair of banana boots for his tour, and they became his trademark.

They have been on display in the People’s Palace for many years (the museum is currently closed for refurbishment).

When the museum re-opened in 1998 after refurbishment, one of the most frequently asked questions was ‘are the banana boots still on show’?

In 2010, Billy received the freedom of the City of Glasgow from Lord Provost Bob Winter, and the boots were on display.

Watching rows of celebrities crying with laughter at Billy’s antics was one of the best bits of An Audience With Billy Connolly, a now-legendary performance from the comedian on Granada TV in the 80s.

Michael Parkinson is often credited with giving Billy his big break, by introducing him to a wider TV audience. He appeared on Parky's show many times over the years and the two men became friends. 

Here they are on a Bank Holiday special programme in 1977.

Before he was a stand-up comedian and actor, Billy Connolly was a folk singer and banjo-player.

He formed The Humblebums with Tam Harvey in 1965 and they played in Glasgow’s pubs and clubs. Singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty, of Baker Street fame, was also a member for a short time. Here are Billy and Gerry in their Humblebum days.

In 2019, Billy Connolly led the Tartan Day parade in New York with his wife, Pamela Stephenson.

The kilt he wore was made with the MacLean of Duart tartan by Edinburgh-based kiltmaker Howie Nicholsby.

Billy said: “I like to wear my mother’s tartan. When I was a boy in Glasgow, people who wore kilts were thought of as weird. When we saw someone in a kilt we used to follow them, singing ‘kilty, kilty cold bum’. Over the years it has become very popular. When I got married to Pamela it was in Fiji and I had a Fijian sarong painted like a tartan kilt – in that heat a woollen one would have been nightmarish.”

Proving he has many strings to his bow, in 1975, Billy played the gaoler Frosch in Scottish Opera’s production of Die Fledermaus at the gala performance marking the re-opening of the Theatre Royal on October 14. Connolly also reprised the role in the 1979 revival.