Billy Connolly Tickets On Sale Today
Tickets go on sale today for NZ’s favourite comedian BILLY CONNOLLY’s 12-city tour in April and May.
BILLY CONNOLLY – or The Big Yin as he’s affectionately known in his native Scotland -- has been wowing NZ audiences with
his live stand-up shows since 1978. With every visit, his fanbase has become larger and larger: from under 7000 people
in 1978 to over 60,000 in 2009 - every concert sold out and surpassing all records for international comedians in NZ.
This time round will be no exception. He’s funnier than ever and he’ll be on his very high horse as he regales audiences
with the humour that’s filled his head since his last visit.
A recent critique from the UK ...."Like no other, BILLY CONNOLLY turns our everyday life experiences into stunningly
funny situations, carrying his audience from one irreverent story to another until a collective exhaustion sets in! ..."
It's great to have Billy back for a comprehensive 12-city tour,” says promoter Ian Magan. “In the 36 years he has
visited New Zealand, Billy has become a true friend to Kiwis who love his irreverent and topical humour
His professional life started in the shipyards of Glasgow where he worked as a welder in the early 60s. He decided to
give it away to pursue a career as a folk singer and banjo player in the Humblebums with Gerry Rafferty (later of Baker
Street fame) and then as soloist.
The jokes he told between songs eventually took over his act and he became a full-time comedian. Already a big star in
Scotland, he became a household name in the UK after appearing on "Parkinson" (1971) in the early 70s.
He also became an actor, and has appeared in blockbusters ranging from Indecent Proposal (1993) to Mrs. Brown (1997),
for which he was nominated for a BAFTA; the all-star Quartet (2012) through to Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate
Events (2004) and Gulliver’s Travels (2010) starring Jack Black, to name but a few. His love affair with New Zealand has
included appearances in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit movies as well as The Last Samurai, filmed in Taranaki, and starring Tom
Cruise.
A worldwide TV audience of over 30 million also got to see him hooning around on his trike and naked bungy jumping for
his series World Tour of New Zealand (2004).
In 2012, BILLY CONNOLLY's artistic expression took a new path, in the form of fine art (his tour logo features his own
art). The process is similar to that of the Surrealist Automatism movement, whereby the artist allows the hand to move
randomly across the paper or canvas, without an intent to create anything specifically.
Connolly's art can also be likened to that of the cave paintings that originated in Aurignacian culture, possessing a
charming simplicity, yet an extraordinary self-awareness and humanity. Connolly's characters are faceless, completely
anonymous; seemingly devoid of emotion or expression and yet, the emotional connection with the audience is quite
prevalent.
Don’t miss out on seeing this great jockey of jokes on his high horse!
ends