"I absolutely f*cking hate the song" - Nathan Aspinall sick of hearing Mr Brightside but won't change walk-on due to immense crowd reaction

Darters invariably enter the stage during major tournaments to the accompaniment of their respective walk-on song. For Nathan Aspinall, his one of the most popular on the circuit.

Aspinall walks out to the cult-classic "Mr. Brightside" by American band The Killers. "I’m known in the darts world as a bit of a party animal. I’m like the Jack Grealish of darts," the World Matchplay champion tells Planet Sport. “I was trying to think of a song a few years ago and I was out. It was New Years Eve, I just got beat in the 2019 semi-final [of the world championship] against Michael Smith. I went out that night and I was trying to think of a new song. Mr. Brightside came on and everyone went mental. I was like ‘that’s the one’."

It's fair to say, Aspinall made a good choice as he is now serenaded by the paying crowd everytime he takes to the stage. “It’s worked wonders for me. My popularity just from that song has been massive," he admits. "It’s so hard to be focused at the start of the game because as you saw at the worlds this year, the atmosphere when that song comes on is different to everyone else’s walk on."

"I try so hard to not get involved with the crowd but it’s hard. There’s five thousand people screaming and singing that song to you. You can’t help but join in," he continues. “What that does, your adrenaline levels are so high that it takes me a couple of minutes to come down. A lot of the time I might lose the first one or two legs. It’s something I’m working on to be fair in the new year. Trying to think of new tactics to try and clam myself down before throwing. It’s amazing, I would never change it. But it does have an effect on my game."

The song has long been known as a karaoke classic in the UK. "But also, when I play in other countries, I get a lot of support purely down to the walk on song. If they like the walk on song, they like the player. It’s amazing. But with the greatest of respect, I absolutely f*cking hate the song. I used to love it but now, everywhere I go, they put it on. But the fans love, so long may it continue.”

"The Killers are touring this year and I keep getting tagged on social media saying they should let me walk out when they’re performing at Manchester," he concludes. “I don’t think the Killers know who I am. I think that’s the problem.”