(thing) by squeezie Wed Jul 23 2003 at 15:48:03

The Darkness are a rock band who have been compared with AC/DC, Queen and Spinal Tap, and Kerrang! have dubbed them:

"the greatest rock'n'roll band of the last twenty years"1

The Band Members

The Darkness are:

Justin and Dan Hawkins are brothers from the Suffolk town of Lowestoft. The two of them formed a band at a young age each having taught themselves how to play the guitar. Justin went to university in Huddersfield in 1997 while Dan moved to London "to join a band"2. Dan met and shared a flat in Shepherd's Bush with Frankie Poullain, "an exiled Scot who came from a family of adventurers (he claims his dad was a pirate in the West Indies, his brother a soldier of fortune)"3. The flat became host to regular jam sessions, and they were joined at weekends by Justin and Dan's school friend Ed Graham. Richie Edwards has been a part of the Darkness' entourage since 2003, and while he hasn't the flowing locks sported by the rest of the band he does have 'rock' experience as "a former member of heavy rock legends Onion Trump".4

The Darkness were formed at the very beginning of 2000, with Justin as lead singer, following his karaoke rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody on New Year's Eve 1999. They began by playing Saturday night gigs in North London, and have since gone on to appear at numerous locations including the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2003, Knebworth Park, Carling Live Festival 2003, as well as playing in Germany, Holland and Dublin.5

"If we're talking classic rock prerequisites, The Darkness have got it all. Winged logo: check. Bassist with Charles Bronson moustache: check. Ludicrously, pathologically flamboyant frontman: check. His quieter, better-looking brother on guitar: check."

from The Independent on Sunday, 15 September 2002

The Look

"Justin Hawkins, the first man in 20 years to appear as true pretender to Freddy Mercury’s throne"

from http://www.virtual-festivals.com/festivals/article.cfm?articleid=710

While the general appearance of the members of The Darkness is that of a long-haired typical rock band, lead singer Justin has an unavoidable penchant for Spandex catsuits, often with tassles. In order to keep his garb in top condition, he has three catsuit tailors. During their live shows, Justin often disappears off into the wings to emerge moments later clad in new, different coloured, skintight spray-on-effect attire. For those tour based emergencies, Justin also has "a guy on call 24-hours for any repairs that happen on the road."6

The Sound

Adding to The Darkness’s stadium rock sound and Justin’s already flamboyant stage persona, he also has a striking vocal range which frequently rises up into falsetto. As well as making the songs that bit more memorable, this arguably contributed to the early auditors thinking that The Darkness were a joke band, in the vein of Spinal Tap.

"[Justin] claims that he's most comfortable singing falsetto. The rest of it is a struggle, he says, and reveals how every night his guitar tech helps him warm up in the lower registers, to coax out his masculine side."

from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts

Justin’s falsetto is perhaps best demonstrated in I Believe In A Thing Called Love and Get Your Hands Off My Woman.

The Discography

  • I Believe In A Thing Called Love - Début E.P., released 12 August 2002
    • I Believe In A Thing Called Love
    • Love On The Rocks With No Ice
    • Love Is Only A Feeling
  • Get Your Hands Off My Woman - Single, released 24 February 2003
    • Get Your Hands Off My Woman (clean radio version)
    • Get Your Hands Off My Woman (profane album version)
    • Best Of Me
  • Growing On Me - Single, released 16 June 2003
    • Growing On Me
    • How Dare You Call This Love?
    • Bareback
  • Permission To Land - Début Album, released 7 July 2003
    • 1. Black Shuck
    • 2. Get Your Hands Off My Woman
    • 3. Growing On Me
    • 4. I Believe In A Thing Called Love
    • 5. Love Is Only A Feeling
    • 6. Givin’ Up
    • 7. Stuck In A Rut
    • 8. Friday Night
    • 9. Love on The Rocks With No Ice
    • 10. Holding My Own
  • I Believe In A Thing Called Love - Single, re-released 22 October 2003 on CD, DVD and limited edition 7" picture disc
    • I Believe In A Thing Called Love
    • Makin' Out
    • Physical Sex
    • Video by Alex Smith (DVD only)
  • Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End) - Single, released 15 December 2003 on CD, DVD and limited edition, Justin Hawkins-shaped 7" picture disc
    • Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End)
    • I Love You 5 Times
    • Video by Alex Smith (DVD only) - also includes video of I Believe In A Thing Called Love (live at Knebworth)
  • Love Is Only A Feeling - Single, released 22 March 2004 on CD, DVD and limited edition vinyl
    • Love Is Only A Feeling
    • Planning Permission
    • Curse Of The Tollund Man
    • Video by Alex Smith (DVD only)

The Awards

Brit Awards 2004 - 17 February 2004

For more information about The Darkness, including their current tour dates, visit http://www.thedarknessrock.com
1from http://www.kerrang.com
2from http://www.thedarknessrock/biography
3from http://www.thedarknessrock/biography
4from http://www.thedarknessrock.com/news
5for a full list see http://www.thedarknessrock.com/live
6from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/3045718.stm
Special thanks to Just_Tom for his helpful comments

I like it! 6 C!s