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The Cologne cult singer found the darts via Florian Hempel. At the weekend he tries himself – at Sport1 he talks about it.
The darts boom in Germany is moving more and more circles – and has also sustainably recorded the Rhine metropolis of Cologne.
On Saturday, the great event of Köllepally, in which mixed teams from amateurs and celebrities in the Gloria Theater compete with each other, will compete, among them Eko Fresh, Janine Kunze (caretaker Krause), Jana Wosnitza – and Peter Brings.
Peter Brings discovered the darts through Florian Hempel
The Cologne cult singer-who is also preparing for the large open-air concert “Shift am Schacht” in the former Zechenstadt Hückelhoven on September 5-met Sport1 in advance in the band’s studio for an exclusive interview.
Sport1: Mr. Brings, when did you come to the darts?
Peter Brings: Of course I noticed that in the pub when people played, but that wasn’t my thing. I really noticed darts when Flo Hempel ran in London at the 2022 World Cup and our “Kölsche Jung” was his enema song. Then my heart opened – and my cell phone was no longer quiet.
Sport1: How did you react?
Brings: I gave myself a heart and called Florian to thank you. The greatest thing was: he is an Ossi who came to Cologne. And that he chose our song – that’s the greatest thing that a band can happen. It connects with our song of home. I was totally proud and then he was also a super affirmative guy. I thought that was nice.
Sport1: Now they have been invited to the Köllepally. How did it come about?
Brings: You want to replay Ally Pally in a small scale – I’m looking forward to it. It is a mix of carnival, party and a little sport. Depending on how late I am on, someone has to keep my eye so that I meet.
Sport1: By the way, Florian Hempel runs at every tournament with “Kölsche Jung”.
Brings: Very cool! He once came into our rehearsal room and had extra T-shirts made by his sponsor, on which the silhouette of Cologne was seen at the back. And “Brings” stood over it. He gave each of us a T-shirt. That was great.
Sport1: What fascinates you about darts?
Brings: I will see it very relaxed on Saturday evening, because the sporting event is not that important. It is a social event – and that counts. You come together and that’s just nice. I’m not a real football fan and I still like to go to the stadium. Experiencing the two fan camps with their passion is great. In the meantime we also know a few people at FC. It’s just fun going to the stadium.
Darts in Cologne: “Maybe I’ll win that thing”
Sport1: Do you regularly play darts yourself?
Brings: No. And I wouldn’t practice that in front of the Köllepally. You just have to do it. You can win 3000 euros that evening and the organizer wanted my account number. I just said: “You don’t need a account number from me, I will never win that.” But we play as a team for two, and my partner is doing really well. If I am lucky, drank reasonably target water and he tells me how I have to throw, then I may win that thing. Last time a woman would have won (Mirja Regensburg, i.e. editor) – nobody had expected that.
Sport1 reporter Reinhard Franke with singer Peter Brings
Sport1: What do you do with the possible profit at the Köllepally?
Brings: I have given the table in Cologne to get the money. They are really difficult. And you can buy a lot of food for 3000 euros. Now we all want to pray that I meet a lot.
Sport1: “Kölsche Jung” will run safely – that should push that properly, right?
Brings: My inlet song will be our number “bacille” and not “Kölsche Jung” because I didn’t want to steal it to my colleague.
Sport1: Are there parallels between darts and music, for example in terms of concentration and stage presence?
Brings: I can imagine that this is similarly exciting. I’ve never done anything like Köllepally. I am a person who is quickly excited anyway. I am often asked why I’m so much yawn before concerts. In the meantime I know: If you yawn, you pump full with oxygen. The boys always ask me if I’m tired. No, I say, I’m excited. It will be similar on Saturday.
Sport1: Is darts a good balance to music life for you?
Brings: I think it’s good that our music penetrates into areas that we did not expect before. Our songs even run on ski huts. People from Germany, Austria and Switzerland come together there. Some are in their ski lamotes in the hut, although they didn’t ski at all – they just want to celebrate. It is great for us that our name now appears at darts. The mere thought that Cologne’s young event runs in London is cool, isn’t it? And the people in the Ally Pally have not done as if they couldn’t do anything with our music. They don’t understand the text – but I don’t understand the rest of them either ( laughs loudly ).
Sport1: Is darts actually a topic within the band?
Brings: The Mr. Engel ( Keyboarder Kai Engel, editor’s note ) can mostly. There is always a dart pane in his main pub. He also likes to look at darts on television when he gets stuck on it while zapping. Darts is a mood event, and on television it comes across well with the clothes that are worn there. Maybe I should read through the rules.
Darts World Cup? “That would be an absolute flash”
Sport1: Would it be a dream to play with Brings at the Ally Pally in London?
Brings: That would be an absolute flash. I’ve never been to London. Driving there, moving through the city and playing there in the evening – we don’t have to talk about that. This is sacred soil. For every rock musician.
Sport1: Where is your own darts strength on a scale from 1 to 10?
Brings: I’ll find out on Saturday. I say five now. (laughs)
Sport1: If you could play a match against a celebrity of your choice, who would be?
Brings: Eko! He is my buddy and we would both make a lot of effort so that nobody loses. I’ve known him for a long time and he has never said: “I can’t.” Eko is such a guy who always says: “Let’s look.” The guy has the sun in the heart. So he would be my favorite celebrity on the disc.
Good friends: Peter Brings and Eko Fresh
Sport1: Is there a Brings song that could be described with a darts metaphor?
Brings: difficult. Usually they say: “Amor shoots his arrow in the heart.” Maybe it would be “I give you mi hätz” from our first album in 1991 (“I give you my heart”). I would have something like that in my head now.
Sport1: If you had the opportunity to organize an exhibition match with the best darts players in Cologne, who should be there except Eko Fresh?
Brings: Florian Silbereisen, of course, he is the superstar. Then I would also like our former FC goalkeeper Toni Schumacher – I really like him. He used to be at our concerts with his wife. And of course Tommi Engel – he is still one of my heroes in Cologne. He stays that too. He has such an aura, that is incredible. These are the right boys who always speak for the city.
Sport1: What is your wish for Köllepally?
Brings: It would be amazing if I win there and donate the coal. And as an outsider to rock the thing, it would be totally beautiful for everyone involved.
Sport1: Is there a darts song together with Florian Hempel soon?
Brings: good idea. I haven’t thought about that yet, but believe that Flo is open to everything. I don’t know if he can sing. But Lukas Podolski couldn’t do that in the video for “Kölsche Jung” either. And we managed that at the time.
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