Comedian Sir Billy Connolly, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2013, has released new artwork which is inspired by Sir Elton John
Billy Connolly has revealed how his time touring with Sir Elton John in the 1970s has inspired his latest venture. The comedian, 82, has released a string of new limited edition art works under the series, Born On A Rainy Day, in which he recalls some of the fondest memories from his life.
Billy, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2013, revealed his pal Sir Elton John inspired one of the pieces, named Saturday Night, which shows a piano player in action, with Sir Billy saying the character in his piece “does that leg thing which is pure Elton”.
Speaking about opening for the Rocket Man singer in 1976, he added: “It was that point of the show where he backheeled the stool and it tumbled off the stage. The roadies all dived so that it didn’t break. I saw Elton lately and he was better than I’ve ever seen him. He’s an amazing performer.”
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Sir Billy, who began drawing in 2007 and has built a name for himself as an artist since his retirement from comedy in 2018, has also released Sausage Tree, which reflects on his childhood, Sunburned, which depicts a sunburned Scottish man, and Fly Away Peter, which shows a multicoloured figure surrounded by birds.
The Glasgow-born star added: “It’s taken me years to call my art beautiful, I would never dream of saying it before for the chance that somebody would say, ‘it’s crap, you’re no good’, but I’m quite good. I can make people smile and feel happy. It’s great.”
Sir Billy was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2013 and has been candid about his health in recent years. Last year the comedian said he was ‘not dead or broken’ in his book, The Accidental Artist.
He wrote: “The Parkinson’s just rumbles along, doing its thing. It bothered me for a while but when I think about it I suppose I’m lucky I didn’t get something worse because I was a welder.”
The comedian previously worked as a welder in shipyards in Glasgow in the 1960sbefore persuing his comedy career. He penned: “The diseases they talk about now due to welding weren’t known about when I was in the shipyards,” he said.
“They didn’t know about the hazards of asbestos. And men were always dying in accidents too. I was in an accident myself. I fell off the ship into the Clyde, dropped 40 feet into three feet of water and broke my ankle.”
Earlier this month, Sir Billy warned fans about scammers impersonating him online, telling them he and his wife, Pamela Stephenson, had been impersonated using artificial intelligence.
He said scammers had been “impersonating me, often reaching out to fans soliciting direct messaging”, adding there “could well be criminal intent”.
Sir Billy has continued to record TV programmes since his retirement, with his most recent projects including shows such as 2018’s Billy Connolly: Made In Scotland, Billy Connolly’s Great American Trail in 2019, and Billy Connolly Does…, which began airing in 2022.
The new pieces are available from Castle Fine Art from 8am on Friday.
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