Nathan Aspinall opens up on Mr. Brightside walk-on and reveals biggest problem with epic entrance

Darts is not only about three arrows and a board. The sport has become and entertainment giant, with players often treated like gladiators going out to battle in a raucous colosseum.

Entrances have been a major part of the sport for many years, and fans often have their favourite walk-out songs and gimmicks.

One walk-on which stands above the rest belongs to Nathan Aspinall. The world number four comes out to The Killers’ 2003 hit Mr. Brightside – a song which turns up the atmosphere in arenas across the globe.

In recent events, Aspinall has garnered the biggest ovation during his entrances and fans regularly sing along to the song.

When asked what made him choose Mr. Brightside, Aspinall told Planet Sport: “I’m known in the darts world as a bit of a party animal. I’m like the Jack Grealish of darts.

“I was trying to think of a song a few years ago and I was out. It was New Years Eve, I just got beat in the 2019 semi-final [of the world championship] against Michael Smith.

“I went out that night and I was trying to think of a new song. Mr. Brightside came on and everyone went mental. I was like ‘that’s the one’.

“It’s worked wonders for me. My popularity just from that song has been massive.”

Aspinall often engages with the crowd as he makes his way to the oche. This, however, doesn’t leave him with too much time to settle.

The Asp added: “It’s so hard to be focused at the start of the game because as you saw at the worlds this year, the atmosphere when that song comes on is different to everyone else’s walk on.

“I try so hard to not get involved with the crowd but it’s hard. There’s five thousand people screaming and singing that song to you. You can’t help but join in.

“What that does, your adrenaline levels are so high that it takes me a couple of minutes to come down. A lot of the time I might lose the first one or two legs.

“It’s something I’m working on to be fair in the new year. Trying to think of new tactics to try and clam myself down before throwing.

“It’s amazing, I would never change it. But it does have an effect on my game.

“But also, when I play in other countries, I get a lot of support purely down to the walk on song. If they like the walk on song, they like the player.”

With Aspinall playing in all the major televised PDC tournaments, he has no choice but to hear the song on a regular basis.

When asked whether he is bored of hearing it, the 32-year-old joked: “It’s amazing. But with the greatest of respect, I absolutely f*****g hate the song. I used to love it but now, everywhere I go, they put it on.

“But the fans love, so long may it continue.”

The Killers are set to perform in the United Kingdom later this year. However, Aspinall is not expecting an invite from the American band anytime soon.

He added: “The Killers are touring this year and I keep getting tagged on social media saying they should let me walk out when they’re performing at Manchester.

“I don’t think the Killers know who I am. I think that’s the problem.”