Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I don't know why I am liked. I think it's probably because I've just been normal, not been flash or tried to hurt anybody. I'm not one for going out and going to nightclubs. I'd rather stay in and watch a good movie.
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.
After I left school at 16 I had three jobs: I worked in a ceramics factory, where I made toilet handles, I repaired cars for people and in the evenings and weekends I worked in a bar. I had to do them all to make ends meet.
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.
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.
When we play in the Pro Tour there's no crowds in, so you can concentrate better. The others play better as well, there's players who can't play too good on TV but on the floor when it's nice and quiet they can bang them in, let me tell you.
You can't know the dedication it takes to win 16 world titles until you do it yourself. I didn't know what John Lowe had to do before me. I respected him because that's how I was brought up - but I respect him more now that I've done it myself.
I'm good friends with Robbie Williams because we both grew up in Stoke and our dads went to the same pubs. His dad, Pete, is like my second dad, I can talk to him about anything and I see him most weeks. And Rob is brilliant, a really generous, lovely bloke.
I think we've got every chance of being an Olympic sport and, if they did put us in, I know they'd sell a lot of tickets and the atmosphere would be fantastic. I would love to see it, I really would. If you want to sell tickets and get thousands of people there, then do it.
I can sit down and watch the Discovery channel and see something on nuclear submarines that gets me thinking about torpedoes and darts . Or I can see a documentary about someone preparing for a big challenge and I'll use the same techniques. You always need to aim to get better.
We had this little yard, and during the summer holidays, when my mum and dad were working, I spent hours bowling a golf ball at a stick. Just bowling, bowling, bowling. And I got to where I could hit the stick every time, repeating the same action. That's where the darts came from.
I'm a little like Roy Keane. Mentally I'm very strong. I'm very hungry. I'm very dedicated. You can't throw me off my stride. That's how I break people. I just don't care what they do. They can throw 180, 180 and 180 again and I'm like, 'so what?' They've got to keep it up to beat me.
We've tried to create something that's much more like being at a mountain resort. Many of these types of facilities done in the past paid little regard to structure or the environment and just focused on the sport of skiing. We've gone a step further and provided an immersive environment.
We get what we deserve. When we allow dirty players to be sanitized and called "intense competitors," when we accept classless gestures and taunting as healthy enthusiasm, when we cheer for the barbaric, eye-for-an-eye mentality of players throwing baseballs at each other, we get what we deserve.
That first world title has to be the most wonderful moment and to beat Bristow, the No 1 in the world, was the ultimate. There's not many matches I remember, but I do remember that one, remember playing really, really well. Bristow was so upset he wouldn't talk to me for a few weeks after I beat him.
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.
When it comes to spending, I don't splash out on fancy cars - I never have. I'm not a car man and, in fact, don't even drive. Although I own a vehicle - it only cost £3,000, and I can't even tell you the make - friends are kind enough to drive me around. It doesn't make sense to waste lots of money on cars.
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.
With darts it's just one against one, it's blow for blow. The only thing I could compare it to is boxing. It's dead exciting. You're reacting to each other, the adrenaline's pumping. You don't feel calm at all. But it's all about being able to win when you're pumped up. People say you don't play the player; I play the player every time.