Last minute tickets are just about one of my favourite things, particularly when they’re for something you’ve been really wishing you could go to! So when my big brother Robert phoned this week and asked me to head along to see Billy Connolly with him on Friday night, I happily accepted.

 Connolly is almost 67 now, and he is still one of the best there is. His show was very typical of what you’d expect – lots of laughs relating to his working class background, everyday life, sex and religion. Coming towards the end of a string of 12 Glasgow tour dates, you may have expected him to recycle some jokes but after comparing notes with my boss who was there last weekend there seemed to be no similarities!

 I was laughing before Billy even started – this could be blamed on the bottle of wine we’d had with dinner – but mostly because of the numerous loudspeaker announcements in the Auditorium reminding gig-goers that Cliff Richard was not playing in this venue but over in the SECC. This was followed by three old dears running up to me and Rob looking very panic stricken and crying: “Where’s Cliff!?”

Arriving in his trademark black and white stripy trousers, Billy took the stage and my eyes were streaming within about 10 seconds. He certainly knows how to deal with hecklers, simply shouting at one rowdy drunk “sit the f*** down and shut the f*** up!” 

The Armadillo is a great venue, and Billy commented on how pleased he was to play so close to where he had grown up in Anderston. The crowd were also brilliant, I think just about everyone loves Billy Connolly.