Windswept & Interesting
My Autobiography
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Windswept & Interesting
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Narrated by:
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Billy Connolly
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By:
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Billy Connolly
About this listen
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 four 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 & 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....
©2021 Billy Connolly (P)2021 Hodder & Stoughton LimitedListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Windswept & Interesting
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- ttbko
- 24-10-21
Thanks for the memories....
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.
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- W.Fenlon
- 24-10-21
BRILLIANT!
Thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook of Windswept and Interesting by Billy Connolly, narrated by the man himself. A few stories I'd heard before, but there was so much that I hadn't. He really had a hell of a life growing up. But what a treasure he is. Everything he has achieved in his life, and even now through his art, is nothing short of phenomenal. The true definition of how well life can turn out when you just go with the flow and don't give a monkeys.
Five stars. No question.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Whistling Woman
- 15-10-21
Such a delight, my book of the decade
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!!
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- PaulC6230
- 19-10-21
Absolutely Brilliant
I absolutely loved this audiobook especially since I’ve been waiting on an official autobiography narrated by the Big Yin himself. It was great hearing from his childhood to present day and how interesting his life was and still is ( I love watching his documentaries and shows ). Highly recommend this for all people who love this national treasure A++++
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- JGILB
- 01-12-21
Everything Billy.
I'm really pleased I listened to this on Audiobook as listening to Billy's voice singing the songs, chuckling away and sometimes losing himself in laughter is absolutely fantastic.
A great look back at the life of a comedy legend and explore his journey through life and the characters he's met along the way, his positivity is infectious and this book is such an honest and open account of his life.
I wish we could all see life, the way Billy sees it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- andy bate
- 22-11-21
True nostalgic journey of comedic gold
I cannot emphasize how much this brought all the memories of Billy Connolly's shows and stomach wrenching laughter back.
Humbling
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Clairerio
- 23-11-21
Brilliant
Great audio book, I loved hearing Billy's life in his own words and voice.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- geoffrey bevan/Debra Bevan
- 18-11-21
Loved Billy’s gravelly voiced autobiography
Really enjoyed listening to Billy Connelly. He’s the first comedian I could relate to as a child. Remember him telling a joke, about scratching his bum in public, on the Michael Parkinson show and my sister, cousin and I falling about laughing. That joke stuck with me through life - don’t let others thoughts and words get to you. His book made me laugh and cry and doesn’t disappoint. Thank you for the sunshine Billy Connelly and please come to Wales ❤️🏴🏴
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mrs J M Holliday
- 09-11-21
Brilliant
Brought back many memories of 50/60's Glasgow...I believe every word and having seen Billy live... Brilliant is the only word to describe his live performance....
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- salli hardstone
- 05-12-21
Classic Billy
I just loved it. I could listen to him all day long, so I did
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