In many ways, The Darkness represents a bygone era in rock and roll, when bombast, excess, brashness and unmitigated energy were the norm. Equal parts 1970s glam-rock sensibilities, 1990s alt-rock passion and 1980s over-the-top showmanship, the British quartet have stormed the charts on numerous occasions back in Ole Blighty, and have begun to make inroads in the North American market, thanks to regular extended tours and the critical and popular acclaim generated by their most recent album, Last of Our Kind, which was released in June of 2015.
After touring the United States last fall, The Darkness begins a spring jaunt of America on April 8 in California. The closest dates to Ontario will be at the House of Blues in Cleveland on April 24 and at The Waiting Room in Buffalo on May 3.
Band co-founder Dan Hawkins, who is also The Darkness’ lead guitarist, primary songwriter and producer of their last album, said he and his fellow bandmates, including vocalist/brother Justin Hawkins, bassist Frankie Poullain and drummer Rufus Taylor, are hell bent and determined to crack the large and lucrative U.S. market.
“The U.S. is slowly building for us. We made a loss each time we came for the first 10 years and now we break even. So we are heading in the right direction. We have streamlined how we tour and therefore can come back to the USA as much as [they] will have us. America likes to party, whereas certain parts of Europe like to observe. We have also played Japan a few times, but it hasn’t ever really happened there for us,” Hawkins told Music Life Magazine, emphasizing that The Darkness has been heartened by the response to Last of Our Kind.
“The fans loved it and the general response from the industry is that we are back to our best, so I’m very happy.”
The ‘best’ Hawkins is referring to is the band’s first few years as a recording act. After forming in 1999, the band became a much lauded concert attraction and by 2003 had signed a deal with Atlantic Records, which released their smash debut album Permission to Land. For the next three years, The Darkness rang up an amazing array of awards including three Brits (UK equivalent of the Grammys) for Best British Group, Best Rock Act and Best British Album in 2004, as well as numerous magazine poll victories.
A sophomore album, One Way Ticket to Hell … And Back, was released in 2005 did not fare as well critically or sales-wise, even thought it was produced by legendary rock producer Roy Thomas Baker, best known for his time working with Queen in the 1970s.
Singer Justin Hawkins left the band in 2006 and went into rehab to deal with his substance abuse issues and the band was shelved until 2011, when tentative steps were made to reform The Darkness. Being brothers, Dan and Justin Hawkins simply started spending time together as siblings again and that helped pave the way for a full-on reunion.
“I started hanging out with my brother again and the inevitable happened. We started playing video games (FIFA) and writing
songs, the same way we have done since we were about eight years old. I always felt that in The Darkness I had found the perfect home for my style of guitar playing,” Dan said, adding that it was similarly by hanging out together, and with long-time pal Poullain, that The Darkness came together in the first place.
“My brother, Frankie and I had played in various bands in London and finally realized we weren’t going to make it, so gave up trying. In the process, we decided to start a band together that wasn’t geared towards getting a record deal, making money and ‘making it.’ This band would only play weekends and parties and hopefully gain some sort of live following that would maybe one day support us financially. We would play what we want to play, wear what we wanted to and not give two hoots as to whether it was cool/signable etc. Eventually we got that following – we sold out a 2,200-seat venue called The Astoria in London and we were still unsigned. Our plan had worked!”
Hawkins said the focus on the band being an intensely entertaining live entity continues to this day.
“Basically, if something great happens live we do it again the next night – the headstands, behind the head solos, high fives, jumps, sing-backs, knee slides etc etc – all developed naturally. Nothing is planned but if something happens that improves the show, we keep it. I always suffered from stage fright until I realized one day that no one was looking at me – they were looking at my brother! Now, however, I try to be noticed. Since we were kids we have always been keen on raiding the dressing-up box,” he said.
As stated above, The Darkness reformed in 2011 and released the album Hot Cakes a year later. A plum opportunity to open for one of the biggest pop stars in the world delayed the release of new material until last summer.
“We were touring the comeback album Hot Cakes for a long time. We were about to tour the album when we were offered the worldwide support [slot] for Lady Gaga’s tour, which mean the main touring for Hot Cakes happened about a year after it was released, so everything took longer,” he said, adding that he is always writing and it was a matter of timing to bring the band together to hone the songs and record them for what became Last of Our Kind.
“There are always ideas on the go. I wasn’t planning on producing the album and was quite into someone else having a go but the guys liked the demos so much they insisted I did it. It’s the first record I have engineered/produced and mixed – I normally ship it off to a ‘name’ for mixing.”
On the creative side, while Dan Hawkins is the primary songwriter, he insists that every band member has a whack at adding to material before and even during the recording process.
“I write the music, Justin writes the lyrics but we all contribute musically to the arrangement, lyric concepts/titles. Basically, the riffs come first and then we finish the songs together. We rarely jam, but recently with Rufus in the band it has been a more spontaneous affair as he seems to be able to read my mind,” he said, making it known that the band already has a number of songs in the can for a follow up to Last of Our Kind.
“We are 23 songs into the next album, but need a lot more writing time to prepare. We are aiming for the next album to be released in early 2017.”
There has been somewhat of a revolving door behind the drum kit in recent years for The Darkness. Original skin basher Ed Graham left in 2014, while his replacement, Emily Dolan Davies, worked through the production of Last of Our Kind, before exiting just before its release. Taylor took over the position in late April 2015 and brings an interesting pedigree to the table, as he is the son of legendary Queen drummer Roger Taylor.
“Rufus was suggested to us by [Queen guitarist} Brian May’s guitar technician Pete Malandrone. I phoned Rufus and told him that there was a space ‘round the back of The Darkness that needed filling, to which he replied ‘that’s my speciality.’ I knew straight away we had found our man. He is an incredibly intuitive drummer; he can read the game so well. The only thing is he’s twice as loud as any of our previous drummers, so I’ve just started to wear earplugs live. Bastard,” Hawkins said, adding that even though he is the scion of rock royalty, there have been no issues with that as far as the rest of The Darkness is concerned.
“We have known the Queen guys for years. And anyway, we are the least sycophantic people you will ever meet.”
Hawkins also had high praise for both his brother and Poullain as people and as bandmates.
“Frankie is dedicated, generous, out there. He’s a talented all-round musician and writer – a very good guitarist. [He’s] the only person I’ve met whose level of ambition matches mine,” he said.
“Justin is a great dancer with an unbelievably high tolerance for pain. I think Justin is one of those underrated guitarists – he really is up there with the best of all time in my opinion. Justin is generally carefree and always up for a laugh, whereas I often worry too much and take myself far too seriously.”
To find out more about The Darkness, visit the band’s Facebook page or website: http://thedarkness.co.uk/
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for a quarter of a century. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
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