Barry Twomlow: the man who taught the world to play.

Saturday, May 29th 2004 was one of the saddest days of my life and yet it was one of the proudest, my good friend Barry Twomlow passed away, he was travelling with his wife Margaret to see friends in Scarborough when he took ill and died en-route. Joe Mooney another close friend of Barry’s rang to tell me the sad news. I was truly saddened and for a few hours my mind was muddled and confused thinking of all the many hours we had spent together over the last 40 years, all the great times we had enjoyed, all brought about by one common denominator, the sport of darts.

My sadness turned into pride as I remembered the Barry Twomlow I had grown to like, listen to and more than anything respect.

The friends who knew Barry, and there are many thousands of them, will all have their own way of remembering him. There is one thing they will all remember, his famous one line saying at the end of any meeting: “just one more for the road”. Boy have I shared just one more for the road with the big guy. I remember well one evening in the Bridge Inn on Hollis Lane in Chesterfield. I was having just a couple of drinks with Barry, we were talking as usual about some trip we had shared abroad for Unicorn, a couple turned into three, maybe four. Anyway it was well past midnight, it was a warm night and the door of the Bridge Inn was open. About 12.45am two policemen walked into the bar, they looked at Barry and myself both with full pints and said hello. We returned their welcome and carried on talking and drinking oblivious to the time. They asked the landlord to step outside, after a few minutes he returned with a big smile on his face.

“What’s wrong?” asked Barry. It appeared they had come to ask about the man who lived next door; his car had been stolen. “Oh nothing to bother about”, said Peter, “well, the inspector did mention it was 12.45am and that Barry Twomlow and John Lowe were still drinking at the bar almost two hours after closing time. “It’s ok” said the landlord, “they did not mind you having a drink, they just thought you should have made an attempt to hide it or put it down”. Barry looked at me and I knew what was coming, “John Lowe, you have kept me out late again, we will just have one more for the road”.

I could tell stories about Barry for hours on end, but would prefer to tell you my thoughts about the Barry Twomlow I knew. Barry came to a crossroads in his life when he won the News of the World Championship in 1969. He had a choice to make, join Unicorn Darts in full-time occupation or join up with his brother in law, Billy Newton, in the office furniture business. Barry chose Unicorn. For the next 30 years he tirelessly preached the Unicorn gospel worldwide, it did not matter whether he was on official Unicorn business or not, the conversation would always contain the word “Unicorn”.

Barry was proud to be associated with Unicorn and genuinely believed and meant every single word he used to promote their fine products. Barry was just as dedicated to promoting darts to the masses, from the townships in South Africa to Poolsbrook in Derbyshire, he was a never-ending supporter of Derbyshire darts. At the end of his competitive playing years he became their President, he believed in promoting darts at all levels. His lifetime in the sport covered many organising bodies, the NDAGB, the BDO, the WDF and the PDC. Barry would sit for hours and discuss each organisation on merit, never once did he put one in front of the other, to Barry each was contributing to the promotion and expansion of the sport of darts. Needless to say, we did not always agree, but then again that’s what friendship is for, to be able to disagree and still remain the best of friends.

Barry Twomlow was the man who discovered John Lowe. We played in local leagues and would meet up occasionally in knock-out cups and the like. He kept a watchful eye on my progress and eventually asked me if I would like to be a member of team Unicorn. He became my mentor as well as my friend. The people who knew Barry know he was capable of playing and beating anyone on the planet, his darting skills were quite brilliant. He was always willing to come out and practice with me before a big competition, he would always say he was trying to improve his game, I knew different, he was trying to inject confidence into me, he liked nothing better than when I won, especially on television.

I could fill this website talking about the life and times of Barry Twomlow. I have received hundreds of messages from around the world all asking me to relay their respect for Barry. I think it is fitting that one such message says everything for everyone that knew and loved this great man:

B J Clark, an American who now lives in Thailand with his family, wrote: ‘”Barry will be missed by everyone in darts, but most of all those who considered him to be their friend”.

On behalf of the many thousands of friends of Barry, I offer a thank you for your friendship, hospitality, honesty and passion for the sport of darts, I ask everyone to raise your glass and have “just one more for the road”.

Good bye great friend.
John Lowe.