The Darkness’ Dan Hawkins gives us a lesson in brevity
The Darkness // photo credit Simon Emmett
Multi-platinum UK rock band The Darkness released their debut studio album, Permission to Land, stateside in September of 2003. To celebrate, they’re releasing a massive box set featuring contemporaneous live shows, demos, and more, as well as touring the album in its entirety. That tour hits the Truman on Wednesday, October 11.
Ahead of the show, we spoke via email with the band’s guitarist, Dan Hawkins, about the band’s history, present, and future. He answered our questions in what can only be described as a near-heroic level of brevity.
The Pitch: How does it feel, knowing that you’ve crafted an enduring classic in “I Believe In A Thing Called Love,” which still evokes massive cheers almost two decades on?
Who’d have guessed! I guess people more than anything still appreciate the sound of pure joy! My job entails looking out at people smiling back night after night – mainly thanks to that song!
What did you discover, listening to all of the bonus material included in this new box set?
We did some amazing demos that are included on this release – recoded in rehearsal rooms etc that even challenge the finished recordings. I guess I’ve learnt that we knew what we wanted from day 1 really and stuck to it!
The reunited band has been together longer than it was the first go-round. What’s contributed to The Darkness’ longevity?
I think we are like a dysfunctional family really – we know each other so well now we know how not to push each others triggers!!
Your last album, Motorheart, feels like it’s as strong as anything from those early, heady days of the band. Where did that energy and verve come from? I’m assuming not just a little bit of Motorhead’s influence, yeah?
Well, it was made during lockdown and as producer of the record my main aim was to make something exciting and UP so that when venues opened we wouldn’t be playing a maudlin record – we would be coming back with an exciting bang!
The UK rock music scene is so very, very different from that in the States. How do you make the adjustments from playing massive venues to rather more intimate ones here?
No adjustments whatsoever. From day one when we were playing in pubs to 30 people we would play it like it was the Superbowl. Even if it was one man and his dog we would try to get the one man involved in a sing back- and if we weren’t getting anywhere with him, we’d try the dog.
The Darkness play the Truman on Wednesday, October 11. Details on that show here.
