Darts’ Mr Dazzler

AS TOUGH childhoods go, starting life in post-war London left motherless and in the care of a blind father might sound a tragic tale. But in his typical no-nonsense way, Bobby George says it made him the man he is today.
‘We didn’t feel sorry for ourselves, if you were poor you had to go out and get money, and that was the way it was. I was a baby when my mum died and my dad just had to get on with it. My father may have been blind, but make no mistake, he was a disciplinarian and in those days he was a force to be reckoned with. Everything was a lesson, and being me I usually learned the hard way,’ says Bobby.
‘Growing up I had no confidence at all, I struggled academically and I had a bad stammer so I was afraid to ask questions. Going to school was a waste of time and I left as soon as I could with nothing to show for it – mind you I haven’t done too bad have I?’ he says, gesturing to his surroundings with a grin.
In the years that followed Bobby worked around the clock spending his nights dealing with drunks as an Essex doorman and his days laying floors or working on the London underground digging the Victoria Line.
‘It was literally back-breaking work,’ he says. ‘I’m suffering for it now, but in those days I was as strong as an ox and working on the underground was tough, so not many people were willing to do it. I took on double shifts, and it was horrible work, but at the time it meant I could buy my own house.’
Life changed after a fishing trip to Ireland, when bad weather ruled out fishing and the group ended up playing darts in a local pub. It was here that Bobby first discovered his talent.
‘I realised I could throw a dart pretty accurately, and over the course of the day I beat every player in the pub. A few weeks later in my local a top player was bullying people on the board. I can’t stand bullies, so I asked him to stop and he offered me a bet. When I won I realised that what I had thought was beginner’s luck was a gift and I decided to go for it. My biggest problem was the counting side of the game and I had to develop my own out-shot system; once I had that, my game improved overnight.’
Just three years after picking up his first dart, Bobby had won the coveted News of the World Championships, and he was equally determined to put some fun into the game.
‘In those days darts was more of an old man’s sport where everyone played in shirts and ties,’ he says. ‘I was a good looking guy back then, I had overcome my shyness and I was enjoying being a showman and making sure the supporters had some fun. Most of the outfits, like the cloak and candelabra started as a joke and in a get up like that you ran the risk of being laughed off stage, but the audiences loved it.’
As Bobby recalls though, the British Darts Organisation didn’t take such an enthusiastic view, and worried he would be putting unnecessary pressure on himself.
‘I was playing in the 1980 Embassy World Championships, and as I walked past Olly Croft on my way to the stage, he said, “Are you really going to play looking like that?” I replied, “If I play bad at least they won’t forget me!” We changed the face of darts and soon the television cameras were following almost every big match.’
There is no doubt that as well as his talent, Bobby’s tenacity has forged his 30-year career. After collapsing during the 1981 British Professionals, he was rushed to hospital with a ruptured spleen and almost bled to death, but he was back on stage almost as soon as he was able to throw a dart. A decade later a jubilant celebration jump at a competition resulted in a back injury. Undeterred Bobby carried on into the finals in intense pain wearing a steel back brace. It was later discovered he had broken his back.
‘I’ve been told that I should be in a wheelchair by now,’ he says after a morning spent gardening and digging out concrete posts at his home. ‘I just keep going, and try to keep active and not give in to it.’
For all the showmanship and achievements, there is no doubt that Bobby’s greatest love is his home and family. In Bobby Dazzler, his recent autobiography, Bobby talks candidly about his first meeting with the future Mrs George; the woman he describes as, ‘the love of my life’. Seeing Marie across the room he pointed her out to his friend and announced that she was the woman he was going to marry. It didn’t come that easily, even by Bobby’s standards, but eventually they married and had sons Robert and Richard. Richard is now emerging as a talented darts player in his own right.
In 1994 Bobby defied the boundaries once again to realise a lifelong ambition to create his ultimate family home.
‘I am passionate about fishing and for years I had been on the lookout for land with water. A friend told me about a plot in Ardleigh which was being advertised in the local paper. When we arrived it was in a terrible state; a huge, boggy site that was being used as a rubbish tip. I thought it was perfect. We sold our home in Halstead and the whole family including Marie, six-year-old Robert and four-year-old Richard moved into a Portakabin on the site. We ended up living in that Portakabin for two-and-a-half years.’

In between darts appearances, Bobby worked long days on the 12-acre site.
‘Before we could start building the house I had to create the lakes from nothing,’ he says. ‘We diverted the water supply and drained the land and then I used Roman building methods, a spirit level and a lot of graft. To this day I look outside and I am so proud of what we have achieved here; it was always my dream to have my own lakes.’
Bobby then turned his talents to almost singlehandedly designing and building the house that became a mansion. ‘I wanted George Hall to be special, but I never intended to build three floors and 18 bedrooms. I just started building and then thought why not. I had to include a bit of a darts theme, and if you look at the house from the air it is shaped like an arrow flight.’
Astonishingly, Bobby and Marie don’t employ any household staff and do everything from the housework to the gardening themselves as well as maintaining and running the fishing lakes, hosting corporate events and taking care of a menagerie of cats, dogs and birds.
‘We do everything here because we love our home,’ explains Bobby. ‘I was away working until midnight last night but I was up at 5am cutting the lawns. This chap was fishing and said to me, “You’re always working mate; I hope he (pointing to the house) pays you a decent wage”. He couldn’t believe it when I told him I wasn’t the gardener.’

Far from over
There is no doubt that Bobby Dazzler is a true rags-to-riches story; and it is far from over. The 62-year-old is still a darts legend, and a respected television commentator and pundit, but his diverse career has so far included a flirtation with pop music, roles in movies and appearances on countless television shows.
‘I never know what I’m going to be doing next, but I never take it for granted,’ he says. ‘When I was a young boy with a stutter, hardly able to read or write I couldn’t have imagined, even in my wildest dreams that I would be the star of a film or a face on the BBC. But nothing beats being at home – every day at George Hall is like Christmas day.’

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