The Darkness (band)
The Darkness is a British rock band that formed in Lowestoft, England in 2000. The band consists of Justin Hawkins (lead vocals, lead guitar), his brother Dan Hawkins (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Frankie Poullain (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Rufus Tiger Taylor (drums, backing vocals).
The Darkness
- 2000–2006
- 2011–present
- Hot Leg
- Stone Gods
- British Whale
- Puppets to the Supreme Commander
- Ed Graham
- Chris McDougall
- Richie Edwards
- Emily Dolan Davies
The Darkness came to prominence with the release of their debut album, Permission to Land, in 2003. Backed by the singles "I Believe in a Thing Called Love", "Growing on Me", "Get Your Hands off My Woman", and "Love Is Only a Feeling", the album was certified quadruple platinum in the United Kingdom, with sales of over 1.3 million.[1] In 2004 the band won three Brit Awards: Best British Group, Best British Rock Act, and Best British Album.[2] After extensive touring in support of their debut album, Poullain left the band in 2005, and was replaced by former guitar technician Richie Edwards. The band's second studio album, One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back, was released in November 2005. The following year, Justin Hawkins departed from the band after successfully completing a course of rehabilitation from alcohol and cocaine abuse.[3] This, combined with the poor sales of the album, resulted in Atlantic dropping the band in October 2006.[4] After the split, the remaining members formed Stone Gods, and continued to perform and record without Hawkins, who subsequently fronted his own project, Hot Leg.
In March 2011, the Darkness announced reunion shows, with original bassist Frankie Poullain, including Download Festival 2011, and the Isle of Wight Festival 2012. Their third album, Hot Cakes, was released in August 2012. Original drummer Ed Graham then left the band. A fourth studio album, Last of Our Kind, was released in 2015. A fifth album, Pinewood Smile, was released in 2017, followed by a live album, Live at Hammersmith, in 2018. Their sixth studio album, Easter Is Cancelled, was released in 2019. After the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to their world tour in 2020, the band ended the year with a one-off streamed live show titled "Streaming of a White Christmas", which was also recorded as a new live album. Their seventh studio album, Motorheart, was released in 2021, followed by an extensive UK tour through November and December.
History[edit]
Early years[edit]
Justin and Dan Hawkins played together as teenagers in a band which, according to Dan Hawkins, "did a lot of Marillion covers, Bruce Springsteen, Genesis" and were "a bit prog-y". Justin Hawkins had been initially inspired to play guitar by Brian May of Queen, as he loved his tone and vibrato.[5]
Originally known as Empire, the band generated some music industry buzz through their manager Sue Whitehouse, who was based at Savage & Best in Camden. Whitehouse had managed them since Justin Hawkins' time as a creator of music jingles.
Renamed the Darkness they became renowned for their live show, and such was the popularity of the band, they had a Carling Homecoming gig booked for the London Astoria before they had even signed a record deal.
Joe Taylor, Aled Jones and Paul Scaife at The Tip Sheet first heard about the band through a post on The Tip Sheet message board, and featured Love Is Only a Feeling in January 2002. They started Record of the Day, and featured the song again around the time of SXSW in March 2003. They wanted to feature Friday Night too but they were told the band was saving it for an album.[6]
According to A&R Nick Raphael in an interview with HitQuarters, there was no initial clamour to sign the band, "There couldn't have been less of a buzz, and only two record labels showed any interest in them."[7] He believes the reason for lack of interest was that "The business as a whole thought they were uncool. In fact, people were saying that they were a joke and that they weren't real."[7] Raphael continued: "Now, 3.5 million records later, they're one of the greatest of all bands in the world, and that's because what they did was real; they weren't copying anyone. If they were copying, then they were copying someone from twenty years ago, and no-one else was doing that."
Throughout their career, critics around the world would label them as a "joke band".[8][9][10] As part of Sony Music UK, Raphael had attempted to sign them, but the band instead opted to go with Atlantic Records.[7] The band were hired to open for Disturbed on 1 December 2002 at Brixton Academy in which Justin Hawkins recalled numerous fans of Disturbed who threw bottles, shoes, and trash out of disgust at their stark contrast of Disturbed's music. Singer David Draiman later attacked the band for their handling of the ordeal, with Hawkins recounting the issue on his youtube channel in 2022. Draiman later apologized for the incident, and to Hawkins following the video.[11][12]
Permission to Land and commercial success (2003–2005)[edit]
Their debut album, Permission to Land, went straight up to number two in the UK charts upon its release on 7 July 2003, before going to number one and staying there for four weeks, eventually going on to sell 1.5 million copies in the UK.