Film Review: Billy Connolly's 1975 Irish tour sees comedian at his peak

Big Banana Feet (New Restoration) Billy Connolly. Capturing 'The Big Yin' on and off stage during his 1975 tour of Ireland

• Billy Connolly: Big Banana Feet
• ★★★★☆
• (Cinema release)

First released in 1977, and now restored to all its grainy glory, Big Banana Feet (12A) centres on Billy Connolly’s live performances in Dublin and Belfast in 1976, shortly after the former folk musician had exploded onto the UK comedy circuit.

He had ‘a duty to go’ he tells a reporter who asks why he has travelled to Ireland during the Troubles, a not unexpected answer from a down-to-earth comedian whose persona seems to have changed very little during his 50-odd years in the public eye.

The on-stage material might seem a little crude by today’s standards — even if some of the funniest material is his fart-gag routine — but it’s the off-stage Connolly that is the most interesting aspect of this film.

Swarmed by fans and reporters before and after shows, unfailingly polite to those who bring him a constant stream of very un-rock-‘n’-roll cups of tea, delivering off-the-cuff quips and one-liners to anyone who will listen, Connolly is an infectiously funny presence, even for those fans who will likely have heard all the gags before.