A disaster waiting to happen: when George Best met Debbie Harry
They don’t make sports stars like George Best any more, and that’s probably good news for everyone. But even by his standards, Best’s short stint in Scotland involved some serious hell raising.
Now 35 and past his best, the feted winger shimmied into the Hibernian dressing room to the acclaim of everyone, except his new manager, who described the signing as a “disaster waiting to happen”.
It didn’t take long for him to be proved right. In February 1980 Best went AWOL for days, missing training. Nobody knew where he was until the tabloids published photos of him stumbling out of a London nightclub.
With a big cup game against Ayr United coming up next, the gaffer handed Best a final warning, ordering him to spend the night before the big game in his room at Edinburgh’s Balmoral Hotel.
But Georgie’s plans for a quiet one were derailed when he bumped into hard-drinking French rugby player Jean-Pierre Rives in the lobby, who insisted they have a sesh.
And things escalated when Debbie Harry, lead singer of Blondie and every 70s teenager’s wet dream, joined them at the bar.
Best has no recollection of what happened next, other than “bedlam”. His next memory came at 10am, when hotel staff carried him from the bar to his bed.
One hour later, a Hibernian coach arrived to pick him up for the game. He found Best, passed out in bed next to a girl (possibly Debbie Harry), unable to say anything except “I’m so pissed.”
Eventually, after a vat of coffee and several slaps, Best opened his eyes, gestured towards his companion, and quipped: “What would you rather do, spend the afternoon with her or play Ayr United?”
He didn’t make the game.
