The darts star was a huge crowd favourite and a showman on and off the oche, but he was also a very controversial figure
Eric Bristow is arguably the biggest superstar – and undoubtedly the greatest showman – that darts has ever seen. Phil Taylor may have more wins under his belt, but it was Bristow who first catapulted the sport into the mainstream, becoming a household name far beyond the local world of darts.
Known as The Crafty Cockney, Bristow was a regular fixture on TV screens, even appearing on I’m A Celebrity. His larger-than-life personality made him a must-watch, both on and off the oche.
With his 40-a-day smoking habit, love of a pint and a vindaloo, and reputation as a ladies’ man, Bristow was brash, outspoken, supremely confident and never shy about stirring the pot. He was darts’ answer to Muhammad Ali.
Just like boxing’s greatest, Bristow would talk a big game about how he was going to demolish his next opponent – and then go out and do just that. Ali was dubbed the Louisville Lip. In homage to his own sporting hero, Bristow christened himself the London Lip.
Whether you loved him or loathed him, there was no ignoring Eric. Just like Ali. And most people did love him. It was hard not to.
Even after retiring, decades after a career that saw him clinch a record five World Championships at the time, Bristow found a new generation of fans when he entered the jungle. Surprisingly, for such a competitive character, Eric only came fourth.
But he still felt like a winner, reflecting on his newfound popularity. He said: “To them I’m known as the jungle man, not as a darts player. I’m signing autographs for 14 and 15-year-olds who have never even seen me play darts. Crackers.”
The darts landscape was forever changed in 1980 when a 23-year-old Bristow stormed onto the scene, claiming his maiden world title with a 5-3 victory over Bobby George at Jollees Cabaret Club in Stoke-on-Trent.
Bristow’s emergence sparked a surge in the sport’s popularity, coinciding with increased TV coverage that brought his epic battles with John Lowe and Jocky Wilson into the living rooms of millions. His iconic red Crafty Cockney shirt and distinctive pinkie grip became instantly recognisable as he threw darts with precision and finesse.
Over the next seven years, Bristow dominated the sport, adding four more world titles to his collection by 1986, as well as making five other World Championship final appearances. His remarkable record also included five World Masters crowns, four British Open victories, and a total of 24 major titles.
Bristow’s on-stage presence was nothing short of electrifying. Commentator Sid Waddell famously quipped during one of his early world title wins: “When Alexander the Great was 33, he cried salt tears because there were no more worlds to conquer. Bristow is only 27.”
Only Waddell could conjure up such a poetic phrase. But what truly cemented Bristow’s status as a household name was his larger-than-life personality and charisma.
He was equal parts world champion and pantomime villain, thriving on the adoration and disdain of the crowd in equal measure. The frenzied atmosphere he created inside the arena was unparalleled, and Bristow lapped up every moment of it.
He was the man who catapulted darts into the limelight, turning it into the wildly popular sport we know today. Without him, it simply wouldn’t have happened.
Promoter Barry Hearn paid tribute as he said: “Eric was a legend, never afraid of controversy, but he spoke as he found and was honest and straightforward, which is what people admired about him.”
And speak his mind, Bristow certainly did. Winning was his be-all and end-all; nothing else came close, and he wasn’t shy about making that clear.
“Losing is no good, second is nowhere,” he once said. “Britain seems to love losers but I always said stuff that, I’m only interested in one thing! Look at Eddie The Eagle – the biggest loser in history, but he became a national treasure. For what? Falling off the end of a ski jump! He was loved as a failure in a minority sport.”
Among his other memorable quips include:
- “I was never going to be like a Jimmy White (snooker player), who would choke every time. I was going to win it. I was too good not to.”
- “I have two bowls of confidence for breakfast every morning.”
- “When the going gets tough, the tough get throwing.”
- “I’ve never met a dartboard I couldn’t beat.”
- “Pressure is for tyres, not for playing darts.”
- “If you think I’m a loudmouth on the oche you should hear me when I’m angry.”
- “This cuddling and kissing on stage these days, well it’s okay in football when someone scores a goal, but not when you’re playing darts. You’re playing to beat them.”
He even had the audacity to say ‘Sorry darling’ to The Queen when he accidentally turned his back on her while receiving his MBE at Buckingham Palace.
Only The Crafty Cockney could pull off something like that. He was priceless, a unique showman with an arrogant strut and cheeky grin who won over crowds just by being himself.
Even when the odds were stacked against him, he’d just laugh it off. When playing local hero Jocky Wilson in smoky Scottish pubs and clubs, Bristow would often find himself dodging beer cans thrown by the crowd.
But he never complained, thrived on the drama and invariably played his best. Bristow, a Hackney lad, was first handed a set of darts at the tender age of 11 and quickly discovered he had a knack for the game.
It steered him away from the East London gang culture he’d been sucked into as a teen – nicking cars for joyrides, toting a claw hammer for rival run-ins – and gave him a new focus.
A bit of a risk-taker, Bristow once accepted a challenge from a group of travellers to play for £500 in a North Wales boozer. True to form, Bristow won – only to find out they’d bagged a cool £2,500 on a side bet!
Lesson learned. But win or lose, Bristow was always a spectacle, his fierce rivalries with Lowe and Wilson setting the 1980s darts scene alight. It made for must-see telly.
Bristow bested Lowe twice in world finals, and Dave Whitcombe twice too. He often got the better of Wilson along the way, but fell to the Scottish legend in the 1989 final.
He even became an unlikely heartthrob, candidly discussing his exploits on one US tour where he kept racking up tournament wins.
“The biggest shocker for me was the women,” Eric said. “One group of about 50, mostly married to wealthy Yanks, would hop from tournament to tournament sleeping with as many British darts players as they could get their hands on.
“I’d be in bed with a woman one night and having a pint with her husband the next!”
Sadly, just as he was poised to continue his reign, Bristow was struck down with ‘dartitis’, a condition that robbed him of the smooth throwing style that had made him a legend.
This led to a string of losses in World Championship finals over a five-year period – falling to John Lowe in 1987, Wilson in 1989, Phil Taylor in 1990 and Dennis Priestley in 1991.
Bristow knew he wasn’t the same player anymore and, being someone who only played to win, decided it was time to hang up his darts.
“It just slowly comes on and eventually you can’t throw a dart,” he said of his affliction. “Over time your action gets slower and slower and then you just can’t throw.. Me fluency went. Weird. No-one knows how or why it happens, or where it comes from.”
He then moved into commentary for Sky Sports, although he was let go in 2016 after making derogatory comments about abuse victims of former Manchester City and Crewe coach Barry Bennell on Twitter, calling them “wimps” and “not proper men”. He later apologised for behaving like a “bull in a china shop.”
Bristow also had a stint on I’m A Celebrity, where he became a favourite among his fellow campmates, including EastEnders actress and eventual winner Charlie Brooks, Coronation Street’s Helen Flanagan, Dr Who’s Colin Baker and 80s pop star Limahl of Kajagoogoo fame.
While he didn’t take home the crown, finishing fourth out of 12 contestants wasn’t too shabby, and he thoroughly enjoyed his jungle adventure.
More importantly, he played a pivotal role in launching Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor into darts stardom. He spotted the raw talent of this then unknown lad in the local pubs and clubs around Stoke-on-Trent, deciding to sponsor and mentor him.
“He was from Stoke, where I had a house, and the idea was just to get him up there, see if he could do it,” Bristow said. “When I first started sponsoring him and he kept getting beat, they were laughing at me, saying what are you sponsoring him for? But after a while they weren’t laughing at me any more.”
Taylor, who would go on to inherit Bristow’s crown, added: “I wouldn’t have achieved what I did without him. I couldn’t afford to go to Rhyl, let alone Canada or Las Vegas to play darts.
“His biggest influence on me was the winning mentality. He was very strict, didn’t want to talk unless I’d won. I would ring him to say I’d made the semi-final or lost the final and he’d shout at me, ‘Only ring me when you’ve won’… then slam the phone down.
“That gave me the drive and hunger to succeed. And that mentality is his legacy. He was the first superstar of darts. He started the success it is today.”
Bristow left £407,351 in his will in 2018 as the darts world mourned the loss of a true legend.
Before that, he had said: “Hopefully I’ve given something back to darts, which has been brilliant to me. Hopefully I made it a bit popular when I first started, I was part of the breakaway, and I also created a monster, so I think I’ve done a little bit – and if you don’t like it, up yours.”
Eric Bristow, 25 April 1957 – 5 April 2018. Charismatic to the last.