Val Hudson had the insane idea in the first place, that I should go where Eleanor Roosevelt went … creatively speaking that is … and write about my own husband. I believe I have the edge, though, since FDR was dead when she penned his biography, which let him nicely off the hook from those irritating non sequitur questions at midnight and beyond. ‘OK, Billy, you’ve now told me of three occasions when you first decided to become a comedian. I’ve got a book to finish, for heaven’s sake: which is it?’ Of course, the recipient of such unsexy pillow talk deserves to be wholeheartedly thanked for managing to keep his temper. And it was particularly good of him to live such an interesting life.
I consider myself extremely fortunate to have had publisher Val Hudson overseeing my efforts with remarkable care and enthusiasm. I am immensely grateful for her admirable taste, judgment, insight and, above all, her tremendous sensitivity to the material and its impact on the lives of those who are described in this book.
Monica Chakraverty also deserves my many thanks for her tireless and constructive editings in the face of tight deadlines, and her good-humoured willingness to handcount the fucks, for reasons that will become clear when you read the introduction. I am also extremely grateful to Rachel Smyth for designing the book at even shorter notice, and, in fact, to everyone at HarperCollins for being so wonderfully supportive.
I have talked to very many people whose lives have intersected with Billy’s, and without their time, and in some cases the willingness to risk a serious nutting, the book could have been paraphrased ‘Lots of Untrue Stuff You’ve Read Before About Billy’. In particular, Florence Dickson, Mattie Murphy, James and Cara Connolly, Michael Connolly, Hughie and Neil McLean, Eddie Connolly, Michael Parkinson, Gerry Rafferty, Ralph McTell, Peter McDougall. Phil Coulter, June McQueen, Joe West and all the welding gang, the folkies, the boyhood pals, the old girlfriends, the rockers, the stars … deserve my grateful thanks, as does Steve Brown, whose wisdom and intuition were essential. My main support crew have worked extremely hard to provide me with writing time, especially Jock Edwards, and I would like to thank all Candacraig staff, in particular Martine and Paul Hicks.
Several trusty pals read the manuscript, and I am most grateful to Steve Martin for his incisive comments, such as ‘You might want to think about changing the title … to “Kevin” or “George”.’ In addition, Tania and Eric Idle, Marsha and Robin Williams, as well as everyone on the Internet who cracked my password, respectively offering constructive advice, support and new ways to get tits like Britney Spears. Thanks, guys.