Glasgow Mural Hunting

There was a special the other night on  BBC commemorating the Big Yin’s 75th birthday.  Three artist were asked to produce a painting of Billy Connolly.   They were unveiled at the Peoples Palace

the next day and I was fortunate enough to arrive to see them an hour after they went on display. A couple of folks were noticeably disappointed when they realized it was not Sir Billy but just some Yank admiring the artwork.

Jack Vettriano did one based on a 90’s tour BC did.

Old Pal John Byrne did one of Billy as he is now

and Rachel Maclean did a surrealistic one incorporating many of his classic gags.

Such as:

No man left in a room alone with a tea cosy can resist putting it on his head

Something along the lines (check out the sporran) that as you age the hair in your nose and ears gets longer and why is that telling us will happen

The staff is a tribute to a prostate exam gag.  Look closely

The epaulettes are a gag about parking a bicycle

And his love for bananas.

Billy was not only aware that these were being done, he posed.  The BBC special can be found on Youtube and is very much worth it. I love he way the Big Yin laughs at himself.  A frequent guest on Alan Parkinson’s TV show he laments that that is how he caught the disease! And when a fellow actor (MJ Fox?) once told him if he felt shaky to put hi hand in his pocket.  Billy’s comment was he didn’t mention jacket pocket not pants.

What BC did not know was that the City of Glasgow where he was born and raised had commissioned them as huge murals.

This led me to seek out, over the next 2 days as many of the other murals as I could find , but by no means all of them. The City Council has created a Mural Trail but not knowing the city well enough and some apparently no longer there, I guess I’ll have to find the rest some other visit.

Spaceman

Big Birds

 

I can’t find the name of this one.

Badmitten

Honey, I shrunk the kids

World’s most Economically Taxi

Glasgow Tiger

More unknowns

By Charring cross there are these

And the Charing Croc

In a pedestrian tunnel I found Shadow Hand Puppets

Swimmers

Clutha

I can’t believe someone damages Stan Laurel

Marionetts

By Strathclyde Uni There is this one

 

Glasgow Residents

The Argyle Cafe

Another Panda

Outside a Barber Shop

Again I can’t recall the names

 

My dogs are barking and I’m taking today easy but you must agree it was a  strong effort one would have to admit, but there are still more to find and, I’m sure, more to come.