He’s a man of the people. It truly would be a people’s statue
Sculptor Graham Ibbeson
The sculptor who created the iconic dancing tribute to Eric Morecambe believes Billy Connolly’s would become the people’s statue. Graham Ibbeson thinks statues should not just be the preserve of “the great and the good” or those who have died. He thinks they should also be monuments to people held in public affection that can be enjoyed during their lifetime. Mr Ibbeson said: “If people want to honour Billy because he’s promoted the country he’s come from and the city, and also he’s revered worldwide, then I haven’t a problem with ordinary men and women, or extraordinary men and women, being literally put on pedestals. “People will see a sculpture of Billy Connolly and it will bring all the gags back, and immediately it will conjure up the last time they saw him on stage.
“It’s a memorial to everything he’s done even though he’s still alive. It’s a tribute to the man and what he achieved and how he achieved it and the originality of the man. “He’s still a man of the people and that’s what I like. It would truly be a people’s statue.” Mr Ibbeson has sculpted a string of famous people including Laurel & Hardy, Victoria Wood and Cary Grant.
He is most famous for the statue of Eric Morecambe, which was unveiled by the Queen in 1999 and became an instant tourist attraction in Morecambe, the Lancashire seaside town where Eric was born. His sculpture of cricket umpire Dickie Bird, now 87, signalling a player out with his finger also became a focal point in his home town of Barnsley – but not necessarily for the right reasons.
Mr Ibbeson said: “It was on a low plinth, which was the council’s idea and I agreed like a fool, and everybody coming back from the pub was putting things on to his finger. “Dickie used to go up on Sunday mornings and clean the sculpture, which is a gag in itself.”
The sculptor believes humour plays an important part in artworks, and also that it should be accessible.
He added: “It draws people in. It’s about real life, it’s like the peculiar observations of life.
“It needs to have humour in it but I think the humour will come whenever anybody sees it because it will trigger the memories.
“There will be an affection and warmth for that sculpture.
“Why not have a joyous occasion? Why should it be a memory of somebody who has passed away? Let people enjoy the sculpture now and the memories that sculpture brings back. “Let Billy be honoured in that way. He needs to be. “What he’s done in his lifetime is unbelievable.”