Heavily influenced by '70's Hard-Rock and Glam-Rock, The Darkness was formed in 2000
by two brothers from the Suffolk town of Lowestoft, ENGLAND: falsetto-voiced + guitarist
& keyboardist Justin Hawkins and guitarist Dan Hawkins. After relocating to
London they put together a band which included bass player Frankie Poullain
and drummer Ed Graham and started playing local gigs.
In the summer of 2002 the quartet released their first independent EP,
eventually winning opening slots for arena gods like Metallica,
Alice Cooper, Deep
Purple and Def Leppard.
When their debut full-length disc, "Permission To Land", finally
arrived in July 2003, it blew away all expectations, the album shot to
#1 in the U.K. spawning three smash singles including the #2 "I Believe
In A Thing Called Love", the top 5 hit "Love Is Only A Feeling"
and the top 20 entrant "Growing On Me". Upon its American release, "Permission
To Land", cracked the top 10 in Canada, reached the #36 position on The Billboard
Top 200 Albums chart and the main single, "I Believe In A Thing Called
Love", peaked at #9 on The Modern Rock chart.
Poullain left the group in March 2005, during the recording sessions for
the band's sophomore release, claiming he was “forced out”;
his replacement was bassist Richie Edwards.
November 2005 saw the release of the band's second album, "One
Way Ticket To Hell ...And Back"; the set went a bit beyond the top 10 in U.K. and made it only to the #58 niche on the U.S. Billboard
Top 200 Albums chart. It included two British top 10 hits: "One Way Ticket" and "Is It Just Me?".
The Darkness dried up in 2006 when frontman Justin Hawkins left the band to attempt a recovery from drug and alcohol abuse.
After a 5-year hiatus, The Darkness regrouped with their original line-up of Justin Hawkins, brother Dan, Frankie Poullain and Ed Graham. Following three warm-up shows and an appearance at 2011's Download Festival, the band released a free digital single entitled "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us" which is expected to feature on their 2012's as-yet-untitled come-back album.
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