Scottish darts legend makes surprise appearance on BBC live Glastonbury coverage

IT’S one of rock music’s most famous in-jokes – and it involves one of Scotland’s all-time sporting icons.

And it re-appeared with a vengeance yesterday afternoon on the BBC‘s coverage of the Glastonbury festival.

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Younger fans who tuned into watch Dexy’s set on the park stage might have been surprised to see the image of a naked Scotsman in the bath with a pint in his hand.

Ones of an older vintage not so much.

That’s because Dexy’s, known back in the day as Dexy’s Midnight Runners, were performing their cover of Van Morrison’s Jackie Wilson Said.

This references a 1982 performance of the song on Top of the Pops – where producers famously put a picture of Scottish world darts champion Jocky Wilson as the backdrop instead rather 50s American soul singer Jackie.

It has since gone down as one of the most legendary cock-ups – but the truth is more complicated than that.

That’s because back in 2002 Dexy’s inscrutable frontman Kevin Rowland revealed that it was the band’s idea all along.

He said: “For a laugh, we told the producer to put a picture of Jocky Wilson up behind us.

“He said: ‘But Kevin, people will think we made a mistake.’

“I told him only an idiot would think that.

“The morning after, the [Radio 1] DJ Mike Read said: ‘Bloody Top of the Pops. How could they mix up one of the great soul singers with a Scottish darts player?'”

Jocky Wilson, from Kirkcaldy, was twice a world champion in darts – including a 1989 thriller in which he overcame Eric Bristow.

He passed away in 2012 – but with a little bit of thanks from Dexy’s his memory lives on.

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