World Tour of Scotland
| World Tour of Scotland | |
|---|---|
DVD box-set cover
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| Created by |
Billy Connolly Nobby Clark Steve Brown |
| Starring | Billy Connolly |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 180 minutes (30 min/episode) |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC One |
| Original release | 1994 |
World Tour of Scotland is a six-part television series — the first of Billy Connolly's "world tours" — originally broadcast by the BBC in late 1994. It involves his touring around his homeland of Scotland for 54 nights during early 1994, beginning in Greenock and visiting cities and towns and performing live on stage to audiences. However, this, like all his other tours, involves more than just shows: he visits numerous places of historic and scenic value, as well as some places that resonate with his own upbringing.
The series is dedicated "with much love and thanks to the people of Scotland". It has since been released on VHS and DVD. On the latter format, the six episodes are split across two discs.
The opening titles feature an aerial view of the Range Rover (driven by Connolly throughout the series) making its way through various locations and weathers. The camera is mounted atop four metal legs, several feet in length.
The closing titles feature an excerpt of Connolly's performing his cover of Van Morrison's "Irish Heartbeat", live at Edinburgh's Usher Hall, over landscape views of the areas visited in the respective episodes.
The series is often repeated on the UKTV channels Dave and Blighty.
The series begins with Connolly aboard a Caledonian MacBrayne ferry sailing down the west coast.
Connolly almost ventures into English territory at the end of the episode when he cycles past the "Scotland" sign in Roxburgh. "I've come a bit far here, I believe," he says, after screeching his bike to a halt. "And me out without my passport. It is a Scottish tour, after all."
"One thing confuses me, however," he continued, as he prepares to retrace his route. "If this is the border with England, and that is the border with Scotland, what happens in here? Maybe it is owned by the Manx government, or something. I don't know. Perhaps you can build a house here and never pay tax again."
The music featured in the series is available on Connolly's 1995 album Musical Tour of Scotland.
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