''My wife has cost me thousands'' - Jonny Clayton had popular walk-on song choice vetoed

Jonny Clayton is currently in top form, but according to himself, he would have competed in Premier League Darts more often in the past had his wife not intervened in a crucial musical decision.

The 50-year-old Welshman revealed in the podcast Tops and Tales that he originally had his eye on another walk-on song: Mr. Brightside by The Killers. That hit has since become inextricably linked to Nathan Aspinall, but Clayton once had his eye on that song as well.

“Well, right, you couldn’t believe this or not, but I think Ellen, my wife, has cost me thousands in the Premier League because the walk-on song I wanted was Mr Brightside," he said.

"Serious to God. So I blame Ellen. “Yeah, it was Mr Brightside, and she said ‘No, I think something else. I don’t think that would be good. So it’s her fault. So yeah, that’s true. Mr Brightside.”

'The Ferret' couldn't even keep his disappointment to himself in front of Aspinall, the man who now does take the stage with the popular song. I have told Nathan. Yeah, he just laughs. He goes, ‘Thank you, Ellen.’”

Instead of Mr. Brightside, Clayton now walks on stage with Chuck Berry's Johnny B. Goode, a rock 'n roll number that references Clayton's first name.

"It’s still iconic in its own way, you know. It’s got my name in it.”

Despite his absence from the Premier League since 2022, the Welshman is enjoying a true resurgence on the ProTour this season. In April he triumphed at Players Championship 14, and in May he added his third European Tour title by taking the win at the Dutch Darts Championship.

Meanwhile, the Welsh darter has moved back up to fifth in the world rankings. In July, Clayton does need a final place at the World Matchplay. He lost that final to Aspinall in 2023, of all places.