Bobby George lifts lid on Eric Bristow's wild lifestyle before he died aged 60

Daily Mirror

2 days ago

Eric Bristow, who died aged 60 of a heart attack, used to drink 16 pints of Guinness in a night while smoking non-stop before finishing the night by eating a curry
Darts legend Eric Bristow passed away aged 60 after suffering a heart attack. And while he was shocked and saddened by his friend's sudden death, Bobby George had known he was on a self-destructive path.
Bristow, known as the Crafty Cockney, won five World Masters during a storied darts career. He was the archetypal player of the 1980s scene, drinking, smoking, romancing and partying as hard as he played the sport.
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After a whirlwind life, which contained almost as many pints of Guinness as treble 20s, Bristow died on April 5, 2018 from a heart attack before a ­ Premier League event in Liverpool. His death shocked George, who had been with his friend hours earlier and stayed the night in a pub ran by Bristow's driver in Stoke.
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Writing in 'Still Here! The King of Bling', as reported by The Sun, George 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. But for most of the time, he was my mate and we had some great times together.'
The two were fierce rivals at the oche and, although they had their fair share of bust-ups, they remained close. George was witness to many ropey nights in bars, with one incident in America, when Bristow pretended to wipe his bottom on the stars and stripes, causing some particularly anxious moments.
'Anyone who knew him was aware that he didn't exactly lead a healthy lifestyle,' George writes in his new book. '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.
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"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.'
Writing in his autobiography 'Eric Bristow: The Crafty Cockney', the man himself said: "If I had my life again I wouldn't change a thing, apart from one or two women I went out with."