Jocky Wilson’s place in the national consciousness was confirmed when his picture famously featured on Top of the Pops 40 years ago.
The pot-bellied Fifer was elevated to household-name status when he won the world darts title at the Jollees Cabaret Club in Stoke-on-Trent back in January 1982.
The crowd at Jollees Cabaret Club watched in awe as Jocky’s rough-and-ready talent defeated Englishman John Lowe to win the first of what would be two world titles.
“They’ll be singing, they’ll be Highland flinging, all over Scotland for this lad,” legendary darts commentator Sid Waddell proclaimed.
Jocky was the people’s champion
The wee man from Kirkcaldy with very few teeth and a passion for lager will forever be remembered as one of Scotland’s most unlikely sporting successes.
Jocky was different in many ways during an era when his sport was attracting regular terrestrial TV audiences in excess of eight million.
Up on the oche, he twitched, jerked and almost launched himself at the board.
Later that year Dexys Midnight Runners released a cover of Van Morrison’s song Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile).
Jackie Wilson was a dynamic soul performer during the 1950s and 1960s.
A picture of Jocky, not Jackie Wilson appeared behind them on Top of the Pops when they were introduced by David ‘Kid’ Jensen on September 30 1982.
The next morning Radio 1 Breakfast host Mike Read said: “Honestly, Top of the Pops!
“How could they mix up a great soul singer with a Scottish darts player?”
People would rather believe it was a mistake than think we might be having a laugh.”
Billy Adams of Dexys Midnight Runners
It was no mistake – they knew he would make people smile.
The decision to use a random image of the rotund Fifer during a song that’s nothing to do with Jocky Wilson, or indeed darts, was a hilarious masterstroke.
This “in-joke” was lost on virtually everyone who watched the show.
As guitarist Billy Adams later observed: “We were perceived as such a serious band few people expected us to have a sense of humour.
“People would rather believe it was a mistake than think we might be having a laugh.”
Lead singer Kevin Rowland broke it down further.
“As Billy Adams said, as if not one of the 11 of us onstage wouldn’t notice a 20-foot picture of a fat Scottish darts player? We asked for it!
“It was our nickname for the song in rehearsals.
“And I’d just got so bored with all the promotion I asked the TOTP producer for it, to amuse myself, because I thought it’d be funny.”
Jocky’s era was a golden one for darts with the likes of Eric Bristow, John Lowe, Leighton Rees and Bobby George also around.
His stout but diminutive build, crooked grin and ability to out-drink all-comers while consistently winning the big titles made him riveting viewing.
After defeat in the 1984 world darts semi-final he fell off the stage.
“Vodka has been Jocky’s downfall,” said Jocky’s manager, Mel Coombes.
“He’s been with me for a year now.
“I’ve taught him to eat, ‘cos he never used to bother.”
Other Jocky anecdotes include the time he kicked Bristow’s leg before they were due to play, forcing his pal to shake hands on stage with a bleeding shin.
Darts probably enjoyed its peak in 1989, when there were 11 televised tournaments.
That was the year Jocky secured his second world title, this time beating his greatest rival, Bristow, 6-4 in a classic final.
In the early 1990s, Jocky became one of the founder members of the breakaway professional darts championship, which over the next decade helped the sport shed its working-class image and attract a new generation of fans.
Jocky walked away from darts in 1995
After the game split, Jocky’s star began to wane and he was never able to recapture the form of the 1980s.
He only participated in two PDC World Championships and failed to win a single match in either.
He never formally announced his retirement from darts but simply departed from the sport after the 1995 World Matchplay and returned home to Kirkcaldy.
Jocky’s regular alcohol intake during his heyday at the oche – lager chased by “seven or eight vodkas to keep my nerves so that I can play my best” – had taken its grip.
He was declared bankrupt in 1998 and then survived on a disability allowance.
He died on March 24 2012, at his home.
The Dexys incident featured prominently in his obituaries.
Top of the Pops is now off air.
Jocky Wilson, like Jackie Wilson, is no longer with us, but the Fifer’s TOTP appearance guaranteed his place alongside the American singer in music folklore.
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