Latest news with #KingOfBling
The Sun
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
I was looking at Eric Bristow's flat when he died and his demise hit me hard, says ex-BBC darts host Bobby George
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. 4 4 4 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'. 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. 4 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.'
Daily Mail
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Darts legend, 79, reveals he keeps an amputated body part in a bottle of VODKA behind the bar of his 18-bedroom Essex mansion
Darts legend Bobby George has revealed that he keeps a bizarre conversation piece in the bar of his lavish Essex mansion. The 79-year-old was one of the stars of the sport's first golden age in the 1980s, known for his extravagant style, flamboyant entrances and love of gold jewellery. While fans flocked due to his unique character, George was also certainly no slouch at the oche and won several major competitions, including the News of the World championship on two occasions. In his new book — Still Here! The King of Bling — George made a shocking admission that proved his eccentric habits haven't abandoned him since retiring from sport. The TV pundit revealed that he keeps an amputated toe in a bottle of vodka that has pride of place in the bar situated in the 18-bedroom 'George Hall' residence self-built on land he purchased in 1994. George has been forced to have four toes amputated since 1999 due to a genetic condition and while three were medically discarded, he was permitted to keep the first. 'Nobody believes me, or at least they don't, until they see me without my socks on,' George wrote in his new autobiography. 'Or if they come to my bar in George Hall and see the evidence for themselves. There's some sort of gene in my body that has caused the toes to pop out of their socket and cross over. 'It got so bad that I couldn't get my shoes on. I couldn't walk without checking my balance each step. It was so painful on some days that if I'd had a sharp enough knife I would have chopped them off myself. 'There was nothing that the medical profession could do, so it became "Operation Toot-Toot-Tootsie Bye-Bye". George added that he quickly recognised an unconventional potential for the newly-removed digit. He added: 'It didn't hurt and once the deed was done, Phil showed it to me and I asked him if I could keep it. 'Phil presented it to me in a little jar but said that he couldn't give me the proper stuff — formaldehyde, maybe? — as it was poisonous. 'But if I used vodka instead, that would preserve it beautifully. So I took it home and popped it in some vodka and now it has a permanent home behind the bar in George Hall. 'Whenever anyone comes to the house for a drink, I whip it out and ask them if they want a cocktail or a cocktoe? 'It's also meant that, over the years, if I've been away from home for any length of time and my wife, Marie, is missing me, she can always suck my toe!'
The Sun
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Darts legend Bobby George who broke his back celebrating on live TV reveals he keeps amputated toe in a bottle of vodka
BOBBY GEORGE has revealed he keeps one of his four amputated TOES in a bottle of vodka behind the bar of his 18-bedroom Essex mansion. Eccentric ex- darts star George — one of the sport's most recognisable figures — had four operations to remove four toes, two on each foot, due to a painful genetic deformity. 6 6 Three of them had to be discarded but he was allowed to keep the first one chopped off 26 years ago — and stores it at his self-built home George Hall. Writing in a new book — Still Here! The King of Bling — George, 79, declared: 'Nobody believes me, or at least they don't, until they see me without my socks on. 'Or if they come to my bar in George Hall and see the evidence for themselves. 'There's some sort of gene in my body that has caused the toes to pop out of their socket and cross over. 'It got so bad that I couldn't get my shoes on. 'I couldn't walk without checking my balance each step. 'It was so painful on some days that if I'd had a sharp enough knife I would have chopped them off myself. 'There was nothing that the medical profession could do, so it became 'Operation Toot-Toot-Tootsie Bye-Bye'. 6 'The first one was cut off in 1999 and it was actually a great relief when it was all over. 'I knew the surgeon, a bloke called Phil, and he talked me through the procedure — something called a tulip operation. Luke Littler narrowly avoids being hit by object thrown onto O2 stage during Premier League Darts finals 'It's done under local anaesthetic, so I was able to watch him cut it off. 'It didn't hurt and once the deed was done, Phil showed it to me and I asked him if I could keep it. 'Phil presented it to me in a little jar but said that he couldn't give me the proper stuff — formaldehyde, maybe? — as it was poisonous. 'But if I used vodka instead, that would preserve it beautifully. So I took it home and popped it in some vodka and now it has a permanent home behind the bar in George Hall. 'Whenever anyone comes to the house for a drink, I whip it out and ask them if they want a cocktail or a cocktoe? 'It's also meant that, over the years, if I've been away from home for any length of time and my wife, Marie, is missing me, she can always suck my toe! 'Removing one tootsie wasn't enough, though, and eventually the procedure had to be repeated another three times, so I'm missing two toes on each foot. "Unfortunately, none of the other surgeons have been as obliging as Phil and they wouldn't let me take the sawn-off digits away with me. 'Losing four toes hasn't been as bad as it may sound, although when I go barefoot I do look like an alien.' 6 6 George — who lost in two BDO World Darts Championship finals, in 1980 and 1994 — says he pops '16 tablets a day for pain relief'. That is because he has 'shocking arthritis in my hips' and BROKE his back on the famous Lakeside stage 31 years ago. During a 4-2 win over Kevin Kenny in the quarters at Frimley Green, George leapt in the air in celebration and 'felt a sharp pain in my back'. He was in 'constant excruciating pain for the remainder of the match', which was broadcast on TV. Following X-rays the next day, a doctor told him: 'You can't play darts. 'You shouldn't even be able to walk. You've broken your back, Mr George.' The King of Bling — who used to come on to stage holding a candelabra to the Queen song 'We Are the Champions' — reached the final where he was thumped 6-0 by Canadian John Part. George said: 'I was fortunate not to have been paralysed but I still required immediate surgery, which my £16,000 runners-up cheque helped to finance. 'Eight titanium screws, each around two inches long, were inserted into the base of my spine to help me on the long road to recovery.' STILL HERE! The King of Bling, published by Pitch Publishing, is out today. 6
