Fans get a chance to meet Saints legend Billy

Apr 17 2009 by Andrew Newport, Paisley Daily Express

ST MIRREN hero Billy Abercromby has been to hell and back – from Scottish Cup winner to alcoholic and battling back again to sobriety and a new life.

For the first time, the man known to fans as Aber tells this incredible story in his autobiography, published on Tuesday.

The book – Aber’s Gonnae Get Ye! – tells how, in his prime, he took on the cream of European football playing against the likes of Platini, Cruyff, Gullit, Dalglish and Souness.

And with the St Mirren fans’ chant of ‘Aber’s Gonnae Get Ye’ ringing in his ears, the football hard man – who was infamously sent off three times in one game – experienced the ultimate joy of leading the Saints to Scottish Cup glory in 1987. But within months, he found himself on a downward spiral into the dark, dark pit of alcoholism.

He fell as far as you could go. Spending his days drinking bottles of sherry with his booze buddies by a canal, Billy was given one final stark message from doctors as he lay in a hospital bed – you’re one more bevvy session from the grave.

From that moment, Billy made himself a promise he would beat the booze and with the same fighting spirit, courage and determination that made him the scourge of opponents on the football field, he is winning that fight. The wicked grin, the laugh-a-minute patter and the mischievous look in his eyes have returned.

Chat

And Saints fans will get the chance to meet the man himself, chat about his life and times, and pick up an autographed copy at a special evening to be held at St Mirren Park on Wednesday.

The former midfielder will host a signing session for his autobiography – Aber’s Gonnae Get Ye! – at 7.30pm.

Billy will be on hand to sign copies of the new book and will chat to fans and share a drink with them – non-alcoholic in his case – at the hospitality suite bar, which club bosses are opening specially for the evening.

The book is sure to be a massive hit with Buddies as, for the first time, Billy tells his amazing story.

The book’s publisher, Norman Macdonald – of Macdonald Media Publishing – said: “This is an amazing and heart-warming story that reveals the secrets of what goes on behind the door of a football dressing room, a brutally honest insight into one man’s battle with the demon drink and an uplifting conclusion that tells us Billy Abercromby has made the biggest comeback of his life.

“You don’t have to be a St Mirren fan to enjoy reading Aber’s Gonnae Get Ye!

“It’s one of the best football autobiographies I’ve ever read, giving fans a fantastic insight into life as a professional footballer and also the way Billy Abercromby is overcoming alcoholism to build a new life for himself.”

l ‘Aber’s Gonnae Get Ye!’, by Billy Abercromby and Fraser Kirkwood, will be published by Macdonald Media Publishing on Tuesday, April 21, priced £9.99.

For those who are unable to attend the signing session at St Mirren Park on Wednesday night, the book will be available to buy from Provan Sports, in Causeyside Street, Paisley; the WH Smith stores in Paisley’s High Street and Braehead in Renfrew; and the Waterstones outlet at Braehead.