The Darkness is heading to Southampton’s O2 Guildhall on the 23rd November in an attempt to resurrect their rollercoaster of a career. Enduring a series of magnificent highs and rather excruciating lows, the Suffolk based band have also had to deal with being labelled as a ‘joke’ band, with humorous lyrics and a tendency to frequent the falsetto in a perhaps comical fashion. But on this return to the live stage, The Darkness are endeavouring to dispel these labels and show audiences that they can once again reach the pinnacle of rock-stardom.
Lead by frontman Justin Hawkins, The Darkness exploded onto the music scene with ‘I Believe in a Thing Called Love’ in 2003, with their debut album Permission To Land not only going to number one in the UK charts but also achieving the outstanding triumph of going four times platinum. Clad in spandex and epitomising the clichéd ‘rockstar’ look, Hawkins and co. soon fell off their peak. After a series of misfortunes including a massive flop for the album One Way Ticket to Hell… And Back, and a trip to rehab for Hawkins in 2006, the band have been entirely removed from public consciousness with the exception of popping up around December in typical Michael Buble fashion, with the Christmas classic ‘Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End)’.
Despite all this, The Darkness is well and truly set on getting back to the big time, with a new album Pinewood Smile recently released on the 6th October this year, and UK headline Winter tour.
The Darkness wraps up their extensive UK Winter tour at Bristol Colston Hall, Bristol on the 14th December.
