A biography for Eric Bristowhasn’t been written yet.
“It took me about 10 years to get rid of. I'm all right now, though, lovely, I'm throwing some nice darts at the moment, but every now and then I get a bit of a jump. I wish I could find a cure, I'd make a bloody fortune.”
“I'm not on Twitter or Facebook and don't even use email. I don't trust computers: one day they'll all break down, and everyone will be knackered.”
“All this cuddling and kissing on stage these days, well it's all right in football when someone scores a goal, but not when you're playing darts.”
“I was 15 when I got my first job as a proofreader for an advertising agency in the City, earning £12 a week. But by then, I was already playing darts tournaments every weekend, regularly winning the £50 first prize. By the time I was 16 and winning two or three contests a weekend, I ditched the agency job and concentrated on darts.”
“My dad bought me a dartboard for my 11th birthday, and I became intrigued by the game.”
“My dad was an Arsenal supporter and he used to take me there, but I've always been Chelsea.”
“I was born at the right time. I was a freak - the only young player when darts took off in the 1970s.”
“The Crafty Cockney had a picture of the owner dressed up as a copper, so I brought it home, wore it on TV and the name just stuck.”
“You can't drink too many otherwise you can't see what you're throwing at.”
“I don't read books.”
“In 1987 I got dartitis, a psychological condition which means you can't let your darts go properly. For a time, I wondered what the hell I was going to do if I didn't recover. But I remained positive and, thankfully, got over it. It occurred during the Swedish Open when I found I couldn't let the darts go.”
“By the time I was 25 or 26, I would have earned a million, but if you looked in the bank account, it's not there because I've spent it. That's what it's there for. I don't want to be the richest bloke in the graveyard. Look at Elvis.”
“Nah, I don't watch TV either, apart from a few sports programmes. I just don't have the time.”
“Any sport where people earn a lot of money you are going to get groupies.”
“It's all right buying all these good players but they've got to gel, and that takes time.”
“Hopefully I've given something back to darts, which has been brilliant to me. Hopefully I made it a bit popular when I first started; I was part of the breakaway, and I also created a monster, so I think I've done a little bit.”
“You eat when you're hungry, and I'm not normally hungry in the mornings.”
“Mark my words, Michael Van Gerwen will knock Phil Taylor off his perch one day and be the best darts player on the planet.”
“I remember when we were in the World Cup in Australia and I had to win the singles against Tony Payne, best of seven legs, to win it. I was 2-0 down but ended up beating him 4-2.”
“Ever since I've been 16, 15, that's all I've been doing: playing darts.”