Billy Connolly: 'I supported Elton John on his 1976 US tour, he gave everybody girl’s names. I was Maureen'

Here are some clips from tonight's documentary where Billy Connolly officially retires from Standup and quotes from a recent interview Billy did, commenting on some of the celebrities who appear in tonight's show:

Elton John nicknamed you “Maureen”. How come?
I supported him on his 1976 US tour and Elton gave everybody girl’s names. I was Maureen because of Maureen Connolly, the tennis player. He still calls me that today. Davey Johnstone the guitarist was Veronica because he had long hair like Veronica Lake. It was a crazy tour. That was probably my peak rock star period but it was absolutely wonderful.

Is it true that Paul McCartney first came to see you out of curiosity because he heard you were being followed around by a priest?
Aye, he was a Scottish minister called Pastor Jack Glass. He took objection to me doing a routine about the Last Supper, so he used to picket my shows and accuse me of blasphemy. He followed me all over Scotland and right into Wales. He died in 2004. He was a terrible prick. He had this band of followers who used to stand outside, sing hymns and hold banners saying “Repent!” and all that. One night my roadies joined them with placards saying “Hello Mum”. Then some of the protestors came into the show and found it really funny.

Isn’t Dustin Hoffman slightly offended that you think Robert De Niro is the best actor in the world?
Ha ha. Hoffman’s a crazy motherf***er. He can be trusted to come up with weird stuff like that. He came to see me a few times in America because he couldn’t believe that I made stuff up on the spot. He was impressed and we became pals. He flew over just to present me with a Special Recognition Award at the NTAs four years ago. He’s a brilliant guy.

Watch Billy Connolly; It’s Been a Pleasure, ITV 28th December 2020 at 9.30pm.