The pattern continues! Another new band! The first this year! This time, it's The Darkness! How they wound up here is a bit different from the others. There's this one song of theirs that was on Planet Rock last week, and I thought it was another. When I realised it was going to be a challenge, I weeded through their short career. I always knew that they were trying to be the new Queen, as the press pointed out regularly. Many Darkness songs do remind me of Queen. They even got former Queen producer Roy Thomas Baker to produce their last album!
The band came to an end four years ago because brothers Dan and Justin Hawkins were becoming the new Liam and Noel Gallagher (oasis), if you know what I mean! Also, Justin fell into the rock 'n' roll clichés and was admitted to the clinic. He started the spinoffs British Whale and Hot Leg, while Dan and remaining members Richie Edwards and Ed Graham started over as the Stone Gods. These offshoots are indie-signed as Atlantic/Warner UK couldn't handle the sum of the parts.
I might go lightly on this one this time, as there's not much to work with. There are a few bootlegs out there to fill the void, but I'm afraid The Darkness will stay dark, although the rumour mill is on again. Watch this space! (UPDATE: Band are back together. More to follow!)
