"Peter Wright told me he took a page out of my book" - Bobby George on origins and impact of his iconic walk-on
PDC
Bobby George is a living legend in the world of darts. The two-time World Championship finalist is now 79 years old, but still regularly appears in action across the country at various exhibitions events.
George was mainly active in the 1980s and 1990s, reaching the finals of the BDO World Championship at the Lakeside Country Club in both 1980 and 1994, although both finals were lost. Even more than his achievements at the board, George became particularly popular with fans because of his iconic walk-on. Dressed in a gold robe, with jewels all over his body and holding a candelabra, he invariably entered the stage to the tune of Queen's classic anthem: We are the Champions.
"I was in a tournament in Spain and a guy came on doing Elvis Presley!" George recalls in conversation with Sky Sports about the origins of his walk-on. "He was awful, but he had all the sequins on him and a girl there was a dressmaker so I said to her: 'If you make me a sequined shirt, I'll wear it in the Worlds.' They bet me 20 quid I wouldn't, so I had to then!"
"I came out the hotel door in the corridor, and Olly Croft was right opposite. Just before I went out he said: 'You're not going out on the stage dressed like that are you? Don't you think you've got enough pressure on you without dressing up like that?' I just said: 'At least they won't forget me Olly'," George remembers. "But yes, if you dress like that, you've got to be good. Peter Wright told me he took a page out of my book. 'If I dress like this then I've got to play well' he said."
As mentioned, George was also the first to come on stage with music. "I came back in 94 and I used to watch the tournaments and it was a bit dull, a bit quiet," he explains. "So I thought: Why don't we have a bit of music? I asked the BBC and they said yes, and I became the first to play the walk-on music."
Congratulations @LukeTheNuke180 you certainly weren’t a fluke young man. Fantastic! 👑🏆
— Bobby George (@BobbyGeorge180) January 3, 2025
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- It's not tennis, snooker or golf, nobody mentioned Fallon,great as she is. Beau beats her week in,week out. But she isn't interested. If you want to include crowd pleasers,get Les Wallace back!!! He was a world champion,and wore a kilt!!!rick6707-01-2025
- I'm glad wright and van Ben bergh were overlooked. Too much dancing,not enough darting. Bunting is always quality,as for price,he's a crowd pleaser(!!?) too. Aspinall has had his problems,but it's nice to see him back,he's a decent chap. Dobey is a top player,big hitter,so I won't complain. Cross will finish bottom,much as I like him,he seems to be off lately. I'm glad they didn't pick a Belgian just for the audience. But I don't agree with the tournament or format,so I guess it's immaterial to me. They might as well turn up at a random pub and play for the beers!!!rick6707-01-2025
- I think the PDC's choice is too conservative. EIther or both of Damon Heta and Mike de Dekker should have been in, at the expense of Aspinall and possibly Price. I guess the PDC's reasoning is that they do not want too much turnover from year to year, and so having already rejected Smith and Wright, they have kept Price and Aspinall, but I guess those two are "on probation".
UndartedWaters06-01-2025 - Two from the three of Price, Aspinall and Dobey should have been excluded, De Decker and Edhouse should have been in. I would have offered a place to Beau Greaves though i doubt she would have accepted it and probably not really ready for it confidence wise.Mysstree06-01-2025
- Tennis has a protected ranking system for injuries and Golf has a system that as a Major winner you get invited back of a number of years regardless of your ranking. Barry Hearn gave Stephen Hendry a wildcard for some tournaments though he still had to enter at the qualification stage. Doubt the PDC would give Burnett an exemption as he has never won a PDC Major, same would apply to Steve Beaton. It’s a slippery slope to abandoning a meritocratic system, if the PDC did do so they could then (for example) award a place to Fallon Sherrock even though she has yet to qualify at any level for a tour card.Mysstree06-01-2025
- I'd have said the same about Ady Lewis,but the PDC is indeed a law unto itself,so sorry bud,get your leg kicking and do it for the good lads!!rick6705-01-2025
- COME ON RICHIE BURNETT Surely a World Champion and player with the calibra of Richie should be exempt from ever losing a tour card and having to qualify.richieburnettrocks04-01-2025
- That's true, Richie. Taylor used to call it, "Manley's millions."MrYnyslas197103-01-2025
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- Wessel Nijman nickname should be Ni I Manmedinabello03-01-2025