England's the Darkness centers around irrepressible frontman Justin Hawkins (vocals/guitars/keyboards), who, along with his guitar-playing baby brother Dan, bassist Frankie Poullain and drummer Ed Graham, single-handedly resurrected the rather unfashionable sounds and attitudes of late-‘70s hard rock for an unsuspecting generation. Following the demise of an earlier, conspicuously synth-pop-based outfit named Empire, the Hawkins brothers sowed the seeds of what would become the Darkness at an impromptu karaoke session on New Year's Eve 1999. Justin's rapturous rendition of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" showed them the way, and the suitably dramatic name of the Darkness was chosen shortly after the arrival of Poullain and Graham. With outrageous stage antics that included gaudy leotards stolen from Steven Tyler's wardrobe, leaps and splits borrowed from David Lee Roth, and an ear-piercing falsetto copped from Freddie Mercury himself, the multi-talented elder Hawkins led the quartet as they spent the next two years slogging it out in London's pub circuit. Though they were immediately singled out as a joke by the notoriously vicious British press, the Darkness' high energy sets, remarkably catchy material and unapologetic worship of old-school rock & roll bombast gradually earned them a fanatical following based on simple word of mouth.
The tide finally began to shift in their favor in August 2002, when the Darkness released their debut EP I Believe in a Thing Called Love through independent Must Destroy Music, won a major talent contest and also scored all-important opening slots with Deep Purple and Def Leppard. Their momentum carried through into the new year, starting with a knockout performance at Austin's SXSW music convention in January, continuing with the release of their "Keep Your Hands off My Woman" single in February (peaking at number 36 in the U.K. chart), and climaxing in their subsequent signing of a major-label contract with Atlantic Records in March. Nothing could stop the Darkness' snowball effect now, and a series of acclaimed festival appearances set the stage for their debut album Permission to Land to debut atop the British charts -- the first time a new act had achieved such a feat since Coldplay three years earlier.
Their debut album, Permission to Land, went straight 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.
Justin Hawkins The Darkness took inspiration for some of their work from the local north Suffolk area, including "Black Shuck" which mentions the nearby village of Blythburgh.
The success of this album led to heavy touring for the band, including European portions of the Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003. They then went on to headline the Carling Festival in 2004. The band won three BRIT Awards in 2004 in response to the album, Best Group, Best Rock Group and Best Album. They also won two Kerrang! awards in 2004 for Best Live Act and Best British Band. The third single from the album, "I Believe in a Thing Called Love", was a substantial hit in the UK as was their tilt at the Christmas 2003 number 1, "Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)", which only just fell short, both singles reaching No.2 in 2003.
By late 2004 the band's constant media coverage had started to lead to a general public backlash of antipathy, with the commonly-heard claim that they were no more than a novelty band.[citation needed] The band themselves seemed to show signs that they were disillusioned with their constant media appearances, infamously walking off of an episode of the U.S.-nationally-syndicated radio talk show Loveline (to the barely-concealed delight of hosts Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew Pinsky on April 19, 2004). Ultimately, the band responded to the criticism of over-saturation by touring the UK's top arenas on their Winter-National Tour. One part of the show included Justin climbing upon a life-sized tiger during "Love on the Rocks with No Ice" and being elevated above the audience whilst playing guitar. The majority of the shows on the tour had sold out.
On May 23, 2005 bassist Frankie Poullain left the band during recording of their second album, One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back, apparently due to "musical differences". Frankie has disputed this version of events, claiming he was "frozen out" and forced to leave the band. On June 13, 2005, The Darkness announced that Richie Edwards, formerly Dan's guitar technician, had replaced Frankie as bassist.
In October 2005, a month before the album was to be officially released, Justin Hawkins won an eBay auction for a copy of One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back for £350 under the username 'turbogunhawk'. He claimed he did this so that he could track down whoever sold the digitally-marked advance copy of the album and try to prevent it from happening again.
"One Way Ticket", the first single from their second album, was released on 14 November 2005, debuting and peaking at number 8 on the UK Singles chart. The album itself was released on November 28, 2005, to somewhat mixed reviews. The album was produced by rock producer Roy Thomas Baker, best known for his work with Queen. Early sales figures in the UK showed the album had not sold as well its predecessor, Permission to Land. The album debuted at number 11, and fell to number 34 in the second week of its release. Although it has since reached platinum status, this contrasts with their debut's five times platinum status.
The second single taken from their second album was "Is It Just Me?", released on February 20, 2006. The single gained a preliminary position of No. 6 all that week, but finally charted at number 8. Justin announced when on stage that their third single to be released from the album was "Girlfriend". Released May 22, "Girlfriend" charted at number 39, mainly due to the lack of radio play and promotion.
Justin HawkinsThe band followed up their second album with a tour of the UK and Ireland, consisting of 12 dates in the major cities. The tour opened in Dublin's Point Depot on 4 February and closed in the Nottingham Arena on 20 February. Few of the venues sold out, their appeal seemingly having become more selective. Their world tour, which followed, arrived in Australia and Japan after touring Scandinavia and Continental Europe in March.
In August 2006, lead singer Justin Hawkins was admitted to a rehabilitation clinic in concern of his health, which caused the band to cancel several concerts. Around this same time the band confirmed that they were to start working on their 3rd album to be released early 2007. However on October 10, 2006, The Sun newspaper reported that Justin Hawkins was leaving the band after completing his course of rehabilitation from alcohol and cocaine problems.The article, and ensuing rumours, stated that the band would continue without him, possibly with Richie Edwards as the front man. In response to the story being reported by the media, the following message was posted on The Darkness' official forum:
"We're sorry that you had to find this out through the newspapers, but we were hoping until the last minute that this - Justin's exit - wasn't going to happen. We - Dan, Ed and Richie - are still in total shock and can't say at this stage what the future holds. We would like to thank all our fans, partners and family for their continuous support. You will hear from us, once we know what we want to do..."
On December 24, 2006, it was reported by Yahoo! News that bass player Richie Edwards would become the group's new frontman, with Toby MacFarlaine to join The Darkness and take over on bass. In blog entries on MySpace, Richie Edwards, Dan Hawkins and Ed Graham said that they had started recording a new album with Toby McFarlaine, and that they had formed a new band together.
On March 2, 2007, The Darkness' official website was changed, showing a photograph of the new, and as yet unnamed band. Links to the members individual Myspace pages were included, confirming the line-up of Richie Edwards, Dan Hawkins, Toby MacFarlaine and Ed Graham. Richie later added a message to the site, categorically confirming that the band would not continue under the name "The Darkness", saying "we are literally days away from announcing our new name".
It was announced on August 25, 2007 that the band had finished recording an album but no release dates or names, of either the band or album, had been decided. Record label and support has yet to be decided.
On November 9, 2007, it was announced on The University of East Anglia's student union website that the new band would be called Stone Gods. This name was confirmed on the official website on November 21, 2007. The line-up has been confirmed as Dan Hawkins (lead guitar), Toby MacFarlaine (bass), Ed Graham (drums) and Richie Edwards (vocals/guitar).
Former members
Justin Hawkins
Richie Edwards
Ed Graham
Dan Hawkins
Frankie Poullain
Discography
All chart positions are based on UK entries.
Permission to Land (July 7, 2003) #1 UK (5x Platinum), #17 AUS, #36 US (Gold), #62 FRA
One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back (November 28, 2005) #11 UK (Platinum), #25 AUS, #58 US, #132 FRA
Official Website: http://www.thedarknessrock.com/
Listen The Darkness Music!
Watch The Darkness Video!
I Believe in The Things Called Love
Love is only a Feeling
Growing on Me
One Way Ticket
Friday Night
Girlfriends
It's Just me
Get Out Hand of my Woman
Justin Hawkins The Darkness took inspiration for some of their work from the local north Suffolk area, including "Black Shuck" which mentions the nearby village of Blythburgh.
The success of this album led to heavy touring for the band, including European portions of the Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003. They then went on to headline the Carling Festival in 2004. The band won three BRIT Awards in 2004 in response to the album, Best Group, Best Rock Group and Best Album. They also won two Kerrang! awards in 2004 for Best Live Act and Best British Band. The third single from the album, "I Believe in a Thing Called Love", was a substantial hit in the UK as was their tilt at the Christmas 2003 number 1, "Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)", which only just fell short, both singles reaching No.2 in 2003.
By late 2004 the band's constant media coverage had started to lead to a general public backlash of antipathy, with the commonly-heard claim that they were no more than a novelty band.[citation needed] The band themselves seemed to show signs that they were disillusioned with their constant media appearances, infamously walking off of an episode of the U.S.-nationally-syndicated radio talk show Loveline (to the barely-concealed delight of hosts Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew Pinsky on April 19, 2004). Ultimately, the band responded to the criticism of over-saturation by touring the UK's top arenas on their Winter-National Tour. One part of the show included Justin climbing upon a life-sized tiger during "Love on the Rocks with No Ice" and being elevated above the audience whilst playing guitar. The majority of the shows on the tour had sold out.
On May 23, 2005 bassist Frankie Poullain left the band during recording of their second album, One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back, apparently due to "musical differences". Frankie has disputed this version of events, claiming he was "frozen out" and forced to leave the band. On June 13, 2005, The Darkness announced that Richie Edwards, formerly Dan's guitar technician, had replaced Frankie as bassist.
In October 2005, a month before the album was to be officially released, Justin Hawkins won an eBay auction for a copy of One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back for £350 under the username 'turbogunhawk'. He claimed he did this so that he could track down whoever sold the digitally-marked advance copy of the album and try to prevent it from happening again.
"One Way Ticket", the first single from their second album, was released on 14 November 2005, debuting and peaking at number 8 on the UK Singles chart. The album itself was released on November 28, 2005, to somewhat mixed reviews. The album was produced by rock producer Roy Thomas Baker, best known for his work with Queen. Early sales figures in the UK showed the album had not sold as well its predecessor, Permission to Land. The album debuted at number 11, and fell to number 34 in the second week of its release. Although it has since reached platinum status, this contrasts with their debut's five times platinum status.
The second single taken from their second album was "Is It Just Me?", released on February 20, 2006. The single gained a preliminary position of No. 6 all that week, but finally charted at number 8. Justin announced when on stage that their third single to be released from the album was "Girlfriend". Released May 22, "Girlfriend" charted at number 39, mainly due to the lack of radio play and promotion.
Justin HawkinsThe band followed up their second album with a tour of the UK and Ireland, consisting of 12 dates in the major cities. The tour opened in Dublin's Point Depot on 4 February and closed in the Nottingham Arena on 20 February. Few of the venues sold out, their appeal seemingly having become more selective. Their world tour, which followed, arrived in Australia and Japan after touring Scandinavia and Continental Europe in March.
In August 2006, lead singer Justin Hawkins was admitted to a rehabilitation clinic in concern of his health, which caused the band to cancel several concerts. Around this same time the band confirmed that they were to start working on their 3rd album to be released early 2007. However on October 10, 2006, The Sun newspaper reported that Justin Hawkins was leaving the band after completing his course of rehabilitation from alcohol and cocaine problems.The article, and ensuing rumours, stated that the band would continue without him, possibly with Richie Edwards as the front man. In response to the story being reported by the media, the following message was posted on The Darkness' official forum:
"We're sorry that you had to find this out through the newspapers, but we were hoping until the last minute that this - Justin's exit - wasn't going to happen. We - Dan, Ed and Richie - are still in total shock and can't say at this stage what the future holds. We would like to thank all our fans, partners and family for their continuous support. You will hear from us, once we know what we want to do..."
On December 24, 2006, it was reported by Yahoo! News that bass player Richie Edwards would become the group's new frontman, with Toby MacFarlaine to join The Darkness and take over on bass. In blog entries on MySpace, Richie Edwards, Dan Hawkins and Ed Graham said that they had started recording a new album with Toby McFarlaine, and that they had formed a new band together.
On March 2, 2007, The Darkness' official website was changed, showing a photograph of the new, and as yet unnamed band. Links to the members individual Myspace pages were included, confirming the line-up of Richie Edwards, Dan Hawkins, Toby MacFarlaine and Ed Graham. Richie later added a message to the site, categorically confirming that the band would not continue under the name "The Darkness", saying "we are literally days away from announcing our new name".
It was announced on August 25, 2007 that the band had finished recording an album but no release dates or names, of either the band or album, had been decided. Record label and support has yet to be decided.
On November 9, 2007, it was announced on The University of East Anglia's student union website that the new band would be called Stone Gods. This name was confirmed on the official website on November 21, 2007. The line-up has been confirmed as Dan Hawkins (lead guitar), Toby MacFarlaine (bass), Ed Graham (drums) and Richie Edwards (vocals/guitar).
Former members
Justin Hawkins
Richie Edwards
Ed Graham
Dan Hawkins
Frankie Poullain
Discography
All chart positions are based on UK entries.
Permission to Land (July 7, 2003) #1 UK (5x Platinum), #17 AUS, #36 US (Gold), #62 FRA
One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back (November 28, 2005) #11 UK (Platinum), #25 AUS, #58 US, #132 FRA
Official Website: http://www.thedarknessrock.com/
Listen The Darkness Music!
Watch The Darkness Video!
I Believe in The Things Called Love
Love is only a Feeling
Growing on Me
One Way Ticket
Friday Night
Girlfriends
It's Just me
Get Out Hand of my Woman
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