Sir Billy Connolly Narrates New Audio Guide for Kelvingrove Museum

Sir Billy Connolly has recorded a new audio guide for Kelvingrove Museum, sharing personal memories and insights on 12 selected artefacts, including Fulton's Grand Orrery. The guide aims to engage listeners with Connolly's unique perspective and fondness for the museum.

Kelvingrove Museum's Rich Collection and Legacy

The iconic red brick building housing Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is home to thousands of artefacts, ranging from a full-sized elephant positioned beneath a hanging spitfire to Salvador Dali's renowned painting, Christ of St John of the Cross.

Historic red‑sandstone building with ornate towers and archways, displaying the signage ‘Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum,’ with people walking and sitting in the open area in front — Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum contains thousands of artefacts

Beyond its extensive collection, the museum serves as a place of memory for the millions who have visited over the past 125 years.

A child in a striped shirt leaning on a stone balcony inside a large museum hall with arched balconies, ornate lighting, a marble floor, and exhibits including a suspended aircraft, a giraffe model, and an elephant sculpture — Visitors to the museum can see a a full-sized elephant beneath a hanging spitfire

Sir Billy Connolly's Involvement

Among those visitors is comedy legend Sir Billy Connolly, who has recently recorded a new audio guide for the museum.

Glasgow Life, the charity responsible for managing the city's museums, initially collaborated with Connolly over ten years ago when he showcased his first art exhibition at the People's Palace. Given this history, he was the natural choice when the idea of creating a personal tour of Kelvingrove was proposed.

"We wanted to create something which would make the listener feel like they were talking to Billy," said Jane Rowlands, head of Glasgow Museums and Collections at Glasgow Life.

Because Connolly had not visited the museum recently, the team provided him with up-to-date images and a short video of the galleries. From these, he selected 12 objects he wished to discuss in the audio guide.

Selected Artefacts and Personal Reflections

One of the chosen items was Fulton's Grand Orrery, a mechanical model of the solar system that predates the museum itself.

"It was on the first floor, a mechanical map which you could wind up. It explained the solar system to children in a way which I have never seen.

"I got the chance to wind it up once. That's what happens when you're rich and famous."

Jane Rowlands explained the approach taken in the audio guide.

"We weren't looking for facts and figures about the building or our collections.

"We were looking to hear his memories and it comes across with such personality and he speaks about the place with such fondness that you can't help but be engaged by it."

Like many visitors, Connolly first experienced Kelvingrove with his family. He fondly recalls those visits, including sliding around the tiled floors with his sister Flo while wearing socks.

"As a wee boy, you knew it was classy," he said. "The guys who looked after the place were kind and nice.

"They would explain stuff to you, usually to get you to stop running about. It had life in it. It wasn't like a museum, and I thought 'I belong here'."