Billy Connolly: Big Banana Feet (12)

At the beginning of his comedy career, Billy Connolly made a fly-on-the-wall film of his stand-up tour of Dublin and Belfast during the Troubles.

In an age where every selfie and photogenic breakfast is preserved eternally online, it’s a shock to recall that actual art was once disposable – and prone to getting lost. This restored 1976 documentary shows that, despite his bombastic and crude stage presence, Connolly is impeccably polite.

It follows the Glaswegian on what was then the biggest domestic tour undertaken by a solo artist. It’s gorgeous to see him here so young and full of life; a people’s person – chewing the fat with squaddies, the support act – even as he begins to withdraw from the growing celebrity clamour.

It’s quite the time capsule, with its endless fag-smoking and backstage antics. Connolly clearly didn’t feel the modern pressure to refine his brand, and onstage, he did what he liked: politics and ridiculous fruit footwear, soulful ballads, and jokes about farting, all in the same show. Giving us something special in genesis, back when touring comedy was barely a thing, Big Banana Feet is a great rediscovery.