I was looking at Eric Bristow's flat when he died and his demise hit me hard, says ex-BBC darts host Bobby George
'MY MATE' I was looking at Eric Bristow's flat when he died and his demise hit me hard, says ex-BBC darts host Bobby George
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BOBBY GEORGE says the sudden death of long-time drinking and darts pal Eric Bristow seven years ago 'hit me hard'.
And his new book details the duo's many escapades.
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Darts great Eric Bristow passed away seven years ago
Credit: REX
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The former world champion passed away aged 60
Credit: GETTY
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Long-time pal Bobby George has opened up on the passing of the beloved Bristow
Credit: GETTY
They first met in the 1970s and became oche rivals — they contested the 1980 World Darts Championship final — but also 'very good friends'.
According to George, the five-time world champion would be 'good as gold until about 10 or 10.30pm — then he'd become a complete a***hole once he had drunk too much'.
The King of Bling, claimed Hackney-born Bristow would be 'rude, arrogant, leery and happy to pick a fight with anyone . . . I didn't like him when he was like that, no one did'.
Yet the Crafty Cockney never wavered in his strong loyalty towards George, 11 years the senior man, whom he called Bo.
Bristow — one of the sport's greatest throwers — died on April 5, 2018 from a heart attack before a Premier League event in Liverpool. He was 60.
Writing in Still Here! The King of Bling, George, 79, said: 'Eric Bristow's death hit me hard.
'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.
'He could be a pain in the a*** and we had some right ding-dongs over the years.
List of all-time Darts World Champions
BELOW is a list of darts world champions by year.
The list does not include winners from the pre-Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) era or BDO world champions.
That means Raymond van Barneveld, for example, is only listed once - Barney also won four BDO titles - and none of Eric Bristow's five BDO titles are included. 1994 - Dennis Priestley
1995 - Phil Taylor
1996 - Phil Taylor (2)
1997 - Phil Taylor (3)
1998 - Phil Taylor (4)
1999 - Phil Taylor (5)
2000 - Phil Taylor (6)
2001 - Phil Taylor (7)
2002 - Phil Taylor (8)
2003 - John Part
2004 - Phil Taylor (9)
2005 - Phil Taylor (10)
2006 - Phil Taylor (11)
2007 - Raymond van Barneveld
2008 - John Part (2)
2009 - Phil Taylor (12)
2010 - Phil Taylor (13)
2011 - Adrian Lewis
2012 - Adrian Lewis (2)
2013 - Phil Taylor (14)
2014 - Michael van Gerwen
2015 - Gary Anderson
2016 - Gary Anderson (2)
2017 - Michael van Gerwen (2)
2018 - Rob Cross
2019 - Michael van Gerwen (3)
2020 - Peter Wright
2021 - Gerwyn Price
2022 - Peter Wright (2)
2023 - Michael Smith
2024 - Luke Humphries
2025 - Luke Littler
Most World Titles 14 - Phil Taylor
3 - Michael van Gerwen
2 - John Part, Adrian Lewis, Gary Anderson, Peter Wright
1 - Dennis Priestley, Raymond van Barneveld, Rob Cross, Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith, Luke Humphries, Luke Littler
'But for most of the time, he was my mate and we had some great times together.'
On the night Bristow died, George was on Merseyside, working at Shooters Bar and Diner. The pair had 'a little catch-up and I got him a Guinness'.
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That night, George stayed in a Stoke pub run by Barry Birch, Bristow's former driver.
And he was even looking at 'Eric's flat' less than 200 yards away when he learned the tragic news.
George said: 'I couldn't believe the suddenness of his passing.
'Nor could I take in the fact that I could see his flat — the same flat he'd have left just a few hours earlier — as I was trying to take in the tragic news.
'What were the odds of it? Me being with him, saying goodbye, going to Stoke and looking out of a window at his flat whilst stood alongside his former driver?
'We both needed a stiff drink that night. They reckon Eric's heart must have stopped before he hit the ground as there was no blood.
'In his diary, apparently, he'd written he had got bad chest pains.
"Bloody hell, if that was the case, why didn't he go to the doctors or hospital and get it sorted?
'Knowing Eric, he probably thought, 'I'll put loads of Guinness down my neck, that'll get rid of the pain'.
'Anyone who knew him was aware that he didn't exactly lead a healthy lifestyle.
I had known him since he was a teenager — and he never changed."
Bobby George on Eric Bristow
'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.
'Always on the go, working and travelling, meant he was always pushing it.
"Although it wasn't work to him, 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.
'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.'
George first encountered the 'mouthy so-and-so' while playing in a BDO event at Margate in Kent.
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Bobby George knew the late Eric Bristow when he was a teenager
Credit: GETTY
He said: 'After that we became good mates and he would do anything for me, anything.'
As they toured the country, they 'would share prize money', but there were times when George thought 'we're going to get our heads kicked in' due to Bristow's OTT antics.
On a US tour in 1978, the first time George went on a plane, Bristow enraged locals by pretending 'to wipe his a***' with the American Stars and Stripes flag 'before chucking it on the floor'.
George said: 'The atmosphere had turned really toxic and I was worried that someone was going to do something really stupid, like pull a gun out on him.
''Watch yourself, Eric,' I whispered in his ear. 'These guys aren't messing about and they have guns over here!'
'I'd like to say that was an isolated incident but it wasn't.
'That's how he was, always getting into trouble. But somehow always managing to get himself out of it.'
Still Here! The King of Bling, published by Pitch Publishing, is out now, £25.
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