Billy

Pamela Stephenson

That the author is the wife of her subject matter might lead you (it did me, I confess) to suspect a let's-write-a-book-about-you-and-make-a-few-bob offering. However, it is a highly readable and, in places, surprisingly moving look at the Scottish entertainer Billy Connolly. (And, as a fellow Glaswegian, it is always nice to read about things and places that I am familiar with!)

The book digs beneath the surface and reveals a lot about the man behind the famous persona, e.g. being abandoned by his mother, brought up by vindictive relatives and being subjected to sexual abuse by his father. This must have been difficult for Connolly to go public with, and his wife - a doctor of psychology - is well-placed to comment on the part played by these and other factors (e.g. his battle with alcohol) in her husband's success.

On the other hand it is strange that she rather skims over other matters, e.g. Connolly's relationship with his children from his first marriage and the early days of his transition from ordinary guy (a welder in the Glasgow shipyards) to successful entertainer. There are also a surprising number of inaccuracies (e.g. surely it was VE-Day and not D-Day which 'lured the citizens of Britain into the streets for dancing and endless celebratory parties in 1945') and awkwardly written passages (e.g. when she's dealing with the leading Glasgow football teams, Rangers and Celtic - why not just call them that and not get into a twist over 'team', 'club' etc.?) And - perhaps unavoidably - there is a fair bit of the as-Billy-was-saying-to-Dustin or Joan-Collins-just-called sort of thing.

Overall, though, a decent, if somewhat uneven attempt to get to grips with the man behind the name. Well worth a read.