Why It Matters

Darts was a seventies fifties revival band of the sort that was popular in the eighties and nineties. I’ll wait here while you do the math on that.

They were the British Sha Na Na, with record sales totaling over one million. Fans loved their revival of doo wop and early rock and roll, and in fact they still do: the boys still play now and again for enthusiastic crowds.

So why don’t we know Darts in the US? I have no idea. Maybe they were just a bit too English, or maybe their peak was in the retro doldrums between American Graffiti and The Stray Cats. Everyone Plays Darts came out in 1978, after all, by which time Happy Days sucked and “Fifties Day” was ubiquitous in American junior high schools.

But they weren’t awful. Their cover of The Ad Libs’ “Boy From New York City” was a UK hit three years before the Manhattan Transfer’s version hit in the US. I can’t say I like either version, but the decision goes to Darts:

Break out your Euros if you want a copy – you aren’t going to find many in the States. You won’t need many, though: 5 bucks American ought to do it. And even if you don’t like the record, that’s not much for a cool chunk of art for your basement game room, is it? Happy hunting.