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Windswept & Interesting

My Autobiography

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Windswept & Interesting

By: Billy Connolly
Narrated by: Billy Connolly
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WINNER OF THE 2022 BRITISH BOOK AWARDS AUDIOBOOK OF THE YEAR: NON-FICTION

The funny, frank and full autobiography of the nation's favourite comedian.

'It's the first time I've done this. Other people have written about me - or for me - but this time it's just my own life in my own words'

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...'

(P)2021 Hodder & Stoughton Limited©2021 Billy Connolly Entertainment & Celebrities Performing Arts Celebrity Comedy Biography Funny Inspiring Witty Feel-Good Heartfelt Thought-Provoking
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Critic reviews

Billy Connolly's long and vivid life makes for a joyous memoir
There are a lot of laughs and love in the book, but a great grimness to it as well.
This is everything a celebrity autobiography should be and more.
All stars
Most relevant
A must for all fans of the big yin, Billy's story in his own words and voice, a mix of funny wee stories, tragedies and a wild windswept and interesting ride through life. At one point listening to this I achieved that kind of silent laughter when you simply cannot breathe anymore so you just shake uncontrollably. I'm delighted after all these years Billy can still get me in that state. I have no words of praise high enough for the book, it is, like its author, simply wonderful.

Magnificent

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It's one of the the most lovely things I've ever listened too! Long live the big yin!

Tadpole down the trousers!

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I have loved Billy Connolly for what seems like all my life. I saw the original Parkinson show and laughed till I cried. I have laughed until I thought death was next, breathing was that hard, at his live shows and seen many of his TV productions. Mrs Brown remains a favourite film. So buying this book was a no-brainer. At first, his voice made me sad. It's no longer got the power it used to have - obviously. but as the stories unfolded, I came to love him more, if that's possible. he tells them without self pity,. I felt that for him. He has huge compassion and that amazing clarity that comes with age and experience, the type the young think is theirs but actually isn't. And then, at the end comes the farting and memories of sliding off theatre seats in complete hysterics came flooding back. This book is a joy! A very simple joy of a life well lived. Thank you Sir Billy.

Thanks for the memories....

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The king of comedy. A staple for the Scots and much loved by all. I haven’t enjoyed an autobiography in such a long time, to hear of his life story, in his own words and read by the man himself, hard and compelling but coming full circle to a happy and content life. Well done Billy, apologies Sir Billy. Sitting here in Partick a stones throw away from places you grew up. I could have listened for hours more.
Exceptional just exceptional.

National treasure

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Billy truly makes the world a better place! Told so often that he was worthless he made his own rules and determined his own value within them, and through that process became a supremely original and insightful human being. Telling his story in his own voice we can hear that the years have taken their toll but we learn that each one of those years was packed to the brim with vividness and fascination. He is one of the few people who can reduce me to pant-wetting laughter just by his way of looking at the ordinary experiences we all share and this book will inform my philosophy of living from now on. F**k the begrudgers!!

Such a delight, my book of the decade

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