Andy ‘The Hammer’ Hamilton is good but are these five ‘Hammers’ even better?

In the build-up to the first ever McCoy's Premier League Darts night in Dublin on Thursday 22 March, we've come up with a series of darts nickname-inspired JOE Fives. Today: Andy ‘The Hammer’ Hamilton.

1. MC Hammer

Stanley Kirk Burrell wasn’t such a great name for a rapper. MC Hammer was. Hat tip to Stanley for the name and a second one for deciding to wear such ludicrous trousers.

Those two things, plus a little help from Rick James’ song Super Freak, propelled U Can’t Touch This to be one of the most recognisable songs of the last century. You may not like it but we guarantee you know it and who hasn’t done the old ‘Stop... Hammer time’ joke. It never gets old.

Unlike the man himself, that is, who has been declared bankrupt, become huge on Twitter (over 2.5million followers), launched a rival search engine to Google (called Wiredoo, it is still in testing) and become a Christian Minister. He now claims the MC stands for Man Of Christ.

An oldie but a goodie

2. Thomas Hitzelsberger

Lots of sports people are called The Hammer but we went for the German international because he really, really deserves the moniker. Just look at some of his goals.

3. Hammer Horror

Never mind your John Carpenters, Wes Cravens and Alfred Hitchcocks, the best horror films ever made were made by Hammer Film Productions. From around the mid 1950s the British studio churned out every conceivable combination of Frankenstein, Dracula and werewolf films, making legends of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee along the way.

Looking at them now most of the movies can seem a little bit rubbish, and by the 1970s the films became fairly trashy, but any studio that made films like The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas and the classic One Million Years BC starring Raquel Welch is okay by us.

An oldie but a goodie, Mark II

4. Sledge Hammer!

If you have never experienced the televisual treat that is Sledge Hammer! you don’t know what you’re missing.

Running for just two years, only 41 episodes were made but this piss-take of a big dumb Dirty Harry-style cop was one of the funniest shows back in the dim, dark 1980s. It's well overdue a remake.

5. Hammer of the Gods

Taken from the epic Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin, the tell-all book about the band released under this name is probably the most famous rock biography of all time.

Written in 1985 by Stephen Davis, the book tells of the debauched sex and drugs and rock ‘n' roll lifestyle of the band during their '70s heyday. The band members themselves have called the book largely fiction but even if only a fraction of it is true, then Spinal Tap had nothing on these lads.

Andy "The Hammer" Hamilton is one of eight stars on show at McCoy's Premier League Darts, which visits Dublin for the first time ever when it takes place at the O2 Arena on Thursday 22 March. Here are our pieces on Wizards and Artists. For McCoy's Premier League Darts at the O2 ticket details, click here.