The Darkness

It`s fair to say The Darkness are one of those bands that had it all, top selling album, sell out tours, festival headline slots, talented musicians, unique vocalist, the world was literally their oyster and the glory was theirs for the taking.

Unfortunately that was nearly 8 years ago back in 2003 when they had captured the public's imagination with their infectious riffs and falsetto vocals that would have made Freddie Mercury proud.



However when a band achieves that much in a short amount of time, there is only one way for them to go. They certainly hit the ground with an almighty splat. Kicking out band members and developing drug addictions only accelerated their journey to self-destruction.

For the fans of The Darkness it was a bitter sad end to a band that brought a bit of life back to the British rock music scene.

In 2011 the original band members decided to have one last attempt at regaining their place as one of Britain's finest rock bands. An appearance at the Download Festival gave them a platform to show that they were back with the same passion and energy that they had 8 years ago.

Rock City was overflowing with people as soon as you walked through the main hall doors; there was nowhere to move to as it was so crowded. So at least that was evidence that the bands popularity was still as good as it ever was.

The intro music of Thin Lizzy's 'The Boys Are Back in Town' and a five minute display of green and blue strobes prepared the audience for the arrival of The Darkness.

The band opened with 'Black Shuck' and wasted no time in making the crowd sway and sing along. Frontman Justin Hawkins still wears the same stage attire consisting of many weird and wonderful catsuits.



Justin and co stepped it up a gear by playing 'Growing on Me' which whipped the crowd into a frenzy. The band belted out all of their fan favourites such as 'Get Your Hands off My Woman', 'Love Is Only a Feeling' and 'Friday Night'.

The pace only slowed down when Justin put a top hat on to do a solo rendition of 'Holding My Own'.

They even decided to include their Christmas hit 'Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)' along with obligatory silver confetti falling from the ceiling.

Like most bands, they saved their biggest hits for the encore. Hits such as 'I Believe in a Thing Called Love' and 'Love on the Rocks with No Ice'and a cover version of Queens 'Tie Your Mother Down' brought the night to a close.

Admittedly the Darkness have lost none of the sparkle and razzmatazz and talent that made them a success many years ago, and they seem to have regained that hunger to be the best once again, hopefully next year will see them capture the glory they once had.

When it comes to live shows the Darkness are still one of the best.

FUTURE GIGS