The PDC Tour is as popular as ever, but darts legend Bobby George believes there’s one thing his era had that the current crop does not.
The PDC has expanded across the world and the tour is as competitive and engrossing as it’s ever been, but it’s a completely different beast to the 1970s and 1980s when it was edgier on the stage.
Bobby George brought flamboyancy to the game with entrance music and glitzy jewellery as he became the eccentric character the game was built on.
George believes the game has stopped producing characters like him and he’s revealed the reason why.
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Bobby George thinks modern darts players are mollycoddled
George took darts from the pub to the big stages and became a household name during the game’s boom in the 70s and 80s.
He believes darts have become more sanitised as it’s become more popular and has decried the lack of flamboyance in the game.
Speaking exclusively to The Darts Insider ahead of the debut of Sky documentary Darts Kings, George said: “They’re brought up in a different system, not like ours.
“We played in pubs and clubs and did everything ourselves. Now they’re all wrapped up in cotton wool. Everything’s done for them. You know, that’s the difference.”
George doesn’t believe a single star on the PDC Tour can hold a flame to anyone from his era. He said: “There’s not one with character. I’m actually with them all the time. So I know them.
“They’re nice boys and, a bit of fun, but there are not really many characters at all.”
George’s earned the nicknames ‘King of Bling’, ‘Bobby Dazzler’, and ‘Mr. Glitter’ for his flamboyancy on the oche.
Bobby George explains what made his era of darts exciting
The Sky documentary ‘Darts Kings’ details the likes of George, Eric Bristow, and John Lowe transforming darts from a pub game into a cultural obsession.
George believes those larger-than-life characters helped jump from the television screen into people’s lives.
The darting veteran famously became one of the first players to arrive on stage to entrance music, using Queen’s ‘We Are The Champions’ to arrive into venues.
Talking about his flamboyancy in the game, George said: “I thought it was a good idea. You know, at the time some of the players didn’t like it.
“They thought it was bad for the game. But if I never done that music and dressed up, there wouldn’t be no dressing up or music.”
It wasn’t just George who added to the eccentricity of the game in the seventies, as his storied rivalry with Bristow brought the game into the public consciousness.
George revealed: “I’ve done something good, and Eric made it good because he was rude and big-headed.
“So they all had different characters. Everyone. He had too much trap, you know, you give it all that he did.”
Bristow defeated George in the BDO World Darts Championship in 1980 to capture his first-ever world title.
Watch Dart Kings from 4th Jan on Sky Documentaries and NOW