Bites Yer Bum was a fantastic and hilarious stand-up show from the younger days of the most loved comedian, and I was looking forward to seeing this one that came the following year. Filmed in 1982, Billy Connolly performs at the Cambridge Theatre in London, this time claiming to be just telling stories and not telling jokes, but we know better. The subjects he discusses include a party in Glasgow, flushing "jobbies" (poos) on a plane, a sewage worker and the sewage system, a hit-man being hired on the spot to shoot his friend's wife and the man she's shagging, sexual pictures and sex toys in a magazine and getting inspired by them, sexual experiences and much more. He also sings (surprisingly well) the songs "Andrews" and a quick one on the guitar. Just like Bites Yer Bum this has all the right ingredients to make me laugh, and I can definitely agree from seeing two shows now that he is definitely one of if not the finest comedian to come from Britain. Billy Connolly was number 16 on TV's 50 Greatest Stars, he was number 8 on The Comedians' Comedian, he was number 1 on Britian's Favourite Comedian, he was number 1 on 100 Greatest Stand-Ups, and he was number 1 on 100 Greatest Stand-Ups 2010. Very good!
3 Reviews
aka Hand Picked by Billy Connolly
petershelleyau16 May 2004
Highlights from Billy Connolly's concerts at London's Cambridge Theater, though the footage of Connolly appears seamless in content.
Director David Mallet often over-edits the different camera angles of Connolly, and the audience coverage is minimal - it also includes pre-performance foyer footage and that of a card trickster.
Connolly mixes anecdotes with extended jokes, and while his skill as an impersonator of attitude and body language is funny, his material is lowbrow eg the Glasgow Sewerage Worker, Lovely Raquel the blow-up sex toy. He also plays the guitar and yell-sings Oh! Andrew, a ditty about a "welly boot". The best of the night is his description of a drunken party, where he uses accumulation of character to amusing effect.
Director David Mallet often over-edits the different camera angles of Connolly, and the audience coverage is minimal - it also includes pre-performance foyer footage and that of a card trickster.
Connolly mixes anecdotes with extended jokes, and while his skill as an impersonator of attitude and body language is funny, his material is lowbrow eg the Glasgow Sewerage Worker, Lovely Raquel the blow-up sex toy. He also plays the guitar and yell-sings Oh! Andrew, a ditty about a "welly boot". The best of the night is his description of a drunken party, where he uses accumulation of character to amusing effect.
Classic Connolly - one of his best ever concerts
camelot23021 November 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I must have listened to this concert literally a thousand times on cassette and then CD so it was a real treat when I finally found the concert on DVD. This is the concert with the famous cover of Billy picking his nose, hence the title "The Pick of Billy Connolly".
Many of Connolly's jokes become much funnier on DVD because part of the joke is the visual aspect of the gag - the look on the face, the hand movements, sexy Sadie slung over the arm of the irate customer and so on. All that is lost on the audio version so watching the actual concert, you get an extra appreciation for the jokes because you're seeing Billy in the flesh, visual gags and all.
The best part has to be the party in Glasgow with all the crazy wackos turning up and creating chaos - the party host with his bagpipes "posing for the shortbread tin", the budgie "flying out his cage like a Red Arrow" and the two drunks trying not to be sick and failing miserably.
Some jokes do flop though. The one where the old couple try kinky sex by kissing each other on the bum was not that funny in my opinion and the whole act about airplane toilets was a bit long and drawn out. But he more than amply makes up for it with his other airplane humour (getting drunk before getting on "Buddy Holly Airlines"!)
This is Billy at his very best. This was 1982 when he was unmarried, young, wild, reckless with the long hair and the beard. His humour was no-holds-barred and he was really in his element talking about willies, jobbies and kisses on the bum. He laughed in the face of political correctness and you could see the audience cringing when he talked about homosexuality in the British parliament.
Before watching this, get the crash cart ready for emergency CPR and get the sedative injection ready. Within minutes, you're going to be on the floor, hysterical with laughter. Listen in small doses and don't be drinking anything while he's talking otherwise you'll end up choking on it when he delivers the knockout line.
Many of Connolly's jokes become much funnier on DVD because part of the joke is the visual aspect of the gag - the look on the face, the hand movements, sexy Sadie slung over the arm of the irate customer and so on. All that is lost on the audio version so watching the actual concert, you get an extra appreciation for the jokes because you're seeing Billy in the flesh, visual gags and all.
The best part has to be the party in Glasgow with all the crazy wackos turning up and creating chaos - the party host with his bagpipes "posing for the shortbread tin", the budgie "flying out his cage like a Red Arrow" and the two drunks trying not to be sick and failing miserably.
Some jokes do flop though. The one where the old couple try kinky sex by kissing each other on the bum was not that funny in my opinion and the whole act about airplane toilets was a bit long and drawn out. But he more than amply makes up for it with his other airplane humour (getting drunk before getting on "Buddy Holly Airlines"!)
This is Billy at his very best. This was 1982 when he was unmarried, young, wild, reckless with the long hair and the beard. His humour was no-holds-barred and he was really in his element talking about willies, jobbies and kisses on the bum. He laughed in the face of political correctness and you could see the audience cringing when he talked about homosexuality in the British parliament.
Before watching this, get the crash cart ready for emergency CPR and get the sedative injection ready. Within minutes, you're going to be on the floor, hysterical with laughter. Listen in small doses and don't be drinking anything while he's talking otherwise you'll end up choking on it when he delivers the knockout line.
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