“Eric Bristow’s death hit me hard. He was only 60 for f***’s sake" - Bobby George opens up on love-hate rivalry with 'The Crafty Cockney'

Eric Bristow and Bobby George were titans of darts – fierce rivals at the oche and larger-than-life personalities away from it. Their clashes on stage were fiery, their off-stage bond even more explosive. Through the years, they shared more than just matches: they shared the madness of fame, the lure of the pub, and a loyalty that endured despite countless bust-ups.

“He could be a pain in the a*** and we had some right ding-dongs over the years,” George admitted. “But for most of the time, he was my mate and we had some great times together.”

One of those times – or perhaps infamies – unfolded in the United States, when Bristow, ever the wind-up merchant, pretended to wipe his backside with the Stars and Stripes. George, present as always, recalled the moment causing “some particularly anxious moments.” Bristow loved a stir – and lived for the chaos.

When Bristow died suddenly of a heart attack on 5 April 2018, aged just 60, it rocked the darts world. He had been due to attend a Premier League event in Liverpool that evening. For George, the news hit even harder – they had spent time together earlier that very day.

“Eric Bristow’s death hit me hard,” George writes in his memoir Still Here! The King of Bling. “He was only 60 for f***’s sake. That’s no age these days, is it? I had known him since he was a ­teenager – and he never changed.”

Nicknamed The Crafty Cockney, Bristow was more than a five-time World Masters champion and a five-time World Champion – he was the face of darts in the 1980s. With a pint in one hand, a roll-up in the other, and swagger to spare, he became the embodiment of a darts generation fuelled by pubs, pressure, and panache.

“Anyone who knew him was aware that he didn’t exactly lead a healthy lifestyle,” George wrote. “For as long as I’d known him, he was a heavy smoker, always rolling his own.”

“And he would think nothing of getting through 15 or 16 pints of Guinness in a day, rounding it all off with a curry. Nobody’s body can handle that day in, day out.”

Despite the relentless pace, Bristow never saw it as work. “Although it wasn’t work to him,” George added, “just a chance to get on the p*** every day. I like a drink and a smoke, but there are extremes – and Eric pushed them to the limit.”

George had warned him more than once. “I’d say, ‘You smoke and you drink too much.’ He said, ‘I know all about that, Bob. But put it this way – no one is going to be pushing me around in a wheelchair. When I go, I’ll go like that. Bang.’ And he f***ing did as well. Bang.”

Brash and brilliant, Bristow left a legacy that transcends silverware. He helped drag darts into the mainstream and inspired generations to follow, including protégés like Phil Taylor. His autobiography The Crafty Cockney summed up his attitude to life in one unforgettable line: “If I had my life again I wouldn’t change a thing – apart from one or two women I went out with.”