Who better to write a book about Billy Connolly than Pamela Stephenson? Not only originally a comic actress by trade, she is now a clinical psychologist but more importantly his wife. These three stand points must give her an all round insight of the man who has become one of the worlds best loved comedians. Often the best evaluation of a
person can only come from an outside source, not the person himself or herself. For this reason whilst autobiographies are fine for a view of a person's
career and decisions in
life, it is only in a biography that a person can be put truly under the spotlight. The person closest to you often knows you better than you know yourself. So from a professional, emotional and psychological point of view this book explores the man who is Billy Connolly.
Billy Connolly is a work in progress and the man we see before us on stage to day is the process of a
long evolution and the book relays the passage of this. From his
early days in the rough Glasgow tenements to international stardom is a long walk and every step is brought to life in this vivid account. What I personally find fascinating about peoples road to fame is the whole question of what opportunities came along to help them step out of the normal everyday life into a different career path that would lead to success. The answer to that in most cases is sheer hard work and a number of lucky breaks and it is certainly the case here.
The man we see on our screens
today has passed through many phases in his professional career. His formative years were ones spent as a banjo player in
folk clubs, which eventually allowed him to give up his day job as a welder and pursue his dream full time. Working with the likes of Gerry Rafferty and Tam Harvey, both stalwarts of the folk scene, Billy was a successful folk player long before he was a successful comedian and eventually the time came when circumstances contrived to send him out on his own as a solo artist. The comedy element then began to come to the fore and the serious folk player re-emerged as a not so serious comedic musician. Finally allowed to be, or maybe forced to be, himself the real Billy emerged. The humour that lies at the heart of his act today is the real man coming through, no stage act to be turned on and off at will, and it was at this time in the early seventies that we first see that aspect emerging. From there the comedy increased and the music lessened until finally he evolved into the stand up comedian that we know him as today. But as the book makes clear also, he is more than that. Even in the early days of his career, Billy was involved in acting and we forget how many films and other project he has been involved in, especially in more recent times. Add to that the amount of TV work, both humorous and otherwise and you realise that Billy is a multi talented individual.
What the book makes clear also is that it has been no easy ride and although it almost seems clichéd to describe this as a rags to riches tale of determination over adversity that is exactly the story we have here. From situations forced upon him, or ones created by him the man has been through a lot and when dealing with these areas the trained psychologist in the author comes to the fore. Here Pamela Stephenson dons the white coat to get behind the reasons for why Billy, and people in general behave the way they do. But you also get the picture of a man who can survive almost anything due to his inherent humour and his family and friends both of which seem more important than the trappings of fame. Despite the superstardom of his later career the man that has emerged from the hard one success is as warm and balanced as when he first began. All in all a very down to earth person that many can still related to, despite his celebrity trappings.
For anyone interested in the man, this is a fantastic insight into him life, it is also an excellent read just for the story, take away the well known names and you still would have a great read. I think it may also gain him a few more fans, those that see him as a bit of a foul mouthed comedian, as many put it, will find that there is an interesting tale that has brought him to the place where he is today. Pamela Stephenson has done a marvellous job here, all credit to her and the all credit to the man himself.