The Humblebums

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The Humblebums were a Scottish folk band, based in Glasgow. Its members included Billy Connolly, who later became a noted stand-up comic and actor, guitarist Tam Harvey and entertainer Gerry Rafferty. The band was active from the mid-1960s until the early 1970s.

Connolly co-founded the band with Harvey in the mid-1960s and played in the pubs and clubs around the city, most notably the Old Scotia Bar. Connolly sang, played banjo and guitar and entertained the audience with his humorous introductions to the songs. Harvey was an accomplished Bluegrass guitarist.

Rafferty joined later and for a short time they performed as a trio. However, the nature of the act had changed and Harvey departed shortly afterwards. The remaining duo broke up in the early 1970 after recording several albums of material. Connolly embarked on a solo career while Rafferty started his own band, Stealers Wheel. A number of songs performed by Connolly on his early comedy albums originated with the Humblebums, and actual Humblebums recordings also frequently turn up on Connolly compilations. A number of Humbebums recordings were reissued following Connolly's rise to international stardom.