A visit to Inverness library helped change William Lobban’s life.
He had grown up in one of the toughest parts of Glasgow and was a member of one of the most notorious crime families in the city, the Mansons.
Crime was a way of life from as far back as he can remember.
Over the years he has been responsible for offences ranging from fraud and armed robbery to grievous bodily harm, drug dealing and prison riots.
Growing up, it was an unwritten rule that no one talked to the police.
Now the reformed gangster, who leads a quiet life with his partner Kelly at their home near Beauly, says he has no problem speaking to the police.
And thanks to that first visit to the library, he is author of The Glasgow Curse, currently sitting at number four on Waterstone’s best-selling list.
It is a chilling and at times disturbing memoir in which William tells in his own words the first part of his extraordinary life story.
Born in Exeter Prison to 19-year-old Sylvia, his violent, schizophrenic mother, the first six months of his life were spent behind bars.
“My grandparents, Nessie, a fluent Gaelic speaker originally from the Outer Hebrides, and Hector made the 900 mile trip from Glasgow to bring me back to their home in the Carntyne area of the city.
“For the first part of my life my mother was very much a stranger to me, someone who came in and out of my life.
“She was a wee bit loopy.
“She’d left school with good qualifications, was an avid reader and always well dressed but everything changed when she took a drink – she was a sort of Jekyll and Hyde-type character.”
DARK MEMORIES
In the book William writes about always seeing her with a book in her hand along with a can of Carlsberg Special Brew and a cigarette.
When he was small he had to share a bed with her and when she was drunk she would often wet the mattress and he would have to sleep on towels to keep dry.
“As a wee boy I saw her inflict violence numerous times. It wasn’t nice but it was normal.”
Horrific acts he says he saw her commit include stabbing her then-boyfriend so hard in the stomach the blade went right through him, and slashing a woman’s throat.
She also bit one boyfriend’s ear off – and kept the grisly souvenir in the fridge for a couple of weeks.
For much of those early years he was raised by his grandparents, who were also no strangers to crime.
His grandfather had spent time in jail for stabbing a man and as a wee boy, William would regularly join them on shoplifing jaunts.
“They saw it as a way to get by. From the time I was about five I’d be asked to carry a carrier bag and my grandfather would pop things like a chicken or meat in it.
“Growing up in Carntyne was at times a happy and exciting time for me as I’d no discipline and could do what I wanted which for a young lad was great.
“My uncles were the big league criminals of the day and they’d look out for my grandparents, coming round to give them money but when they got money they’d spend it on drinking binges and things would go wrong.
“I remember they’d drive up to the house in a convoy of big flash cars and when they left, they’d roll down the windows and have a scramble, throwing money out to the kids.
“I loved that because I became the centre of attention with my pals.
“I wanted to be like my uncles.”
A LIFE OF CRIME
Destined for a life of violence, crime and insecurity, he was quickly drawn into a bleak underworld.
Aged just 15 he masterminded a daring break-in at a Glasgow pub, and many years of armed robberies, dealing class A drugs and gang fights followed.
When not causing mayhem on the streets, he was serving terms in various young offenders’ institutions and prisons, where he was involved in some of the most serious prison riots of recent years.
“Being born into one of the most notorious criminal families in Glasgow, along with the neglect I suffered as a kid, wasn’t a good recipe for success – I was destined for disaster so it was inevitable I was going to turn into a baddie.
“But there’s always part of you that knows what you are doing isn’t right.
“We all know there is a line that shouldn’t be crossed.
“The difference between you and me was that I was prepared to cross that line if needs be with no thought to what the consequences would be.
“But as you get older and mature you start to think about things.
“There was always a part of me that wanted to do something different, but the life I led meant I didn’t have much choice.”
It was not until he was released from prison in 1998 that he made the decision to walk away from a life of crime.
“I wanted a fresh start so moved to Inverness but by then I’d started drinking heavily, easily knocking back a litre bottle of vodka a day, straight from the bottle, along with cans,” said William.
Regular pains in his left leg saw him seek medical assistance and he was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis, which required him to take daily medication.
En-route to visit an old pal in Stornoway, he realised he’d forgotten to bring along his medication and thought little of it until he awoke with an excruciating pain in his leg.
“The ambulance came straight away but as the helicopter was busy I’d to wait six hours for a light aircraft to take me to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness where the lower part of my leg was amputated.
“I wasn’t a very nice person back then and felt like I’d the weight of the world on my shoulders.
“I stupidly kept drinking and this led to me losing my driving licence.
“They say you have to hit rock bottom before you can get up and that was my rock bottom.
NEW OUTLOOK
“I didn’t want to go back to jail again and knew I’d have to do something different with my life.
“I’d always had the idea for a book inside me so bought a smartphone and started writing notes – I eventually progressed to a lap-top.
“I visited Inverness library and asked if they knew of anyone that could help me write a book.”
Staff put him in touch with Hi-Arts and its creative writing development officer, Peter Urpeth.
“He believed in me from the start and became my mentor,” said William.
“I’d write a chapter and send it to him and he’d help me with grammar but wouldn’t change what I’d written as it had to be my voice.
“Writing has given me a whole new identity and changed my life.
“Of course there are temptations and every day is a challenge, but I’ve chosen my path and my criminal days are behind me now,” said William.
Mr Urpeth, now a director of Emergent, an organisation which aims to develop writing and writers through a wide range of programmes, said: “When William got in touch with us it was immediately obvious that this was a book with potential as he is a great natural storyteller.
“He had an ability to put his story together in a very engaging way and had a great deal of perspective on its content.
“His was a very difficult story to tell and his openness is a real achievement.
“I think the book is of genuine historical value and possibly one of the best true crime books written since Jimmy Boyle was on the go and it has a lasting value which separates it from many true crime books.
“William is very open about what he did and his impact on people, and has genuinely moved on.”
Emergents, a community interest company which is a joint venture between Creative Scotland and Highlands and Islands Enterprise Creative Industries, offers a free service supporting creative careers in the Highlands and Islands and beyond. It can be contacted on Emergents.co.uk
William, meanwhile is writing a sequel to the book, which has been shortlisted for an international competition, The MARSocial Author of the Year.
The winning author may see their book made into a film and The Glasgow Curse has made it into the top 40.