The Darkness - Live 2019

Turning on BBC1 at 8.30pm on a Saturday night to find Michael McIntyre doing a gotcha on Justin Hawkins from The Darkness was not on my 2025 bingo card. The Darkness going on to bring an energy not seen on national TV for many years was to be expected. They are a phenomenal live act as I discovered seeing them live in December 2019 as my last pre COVID gig. My over riding thought was “what are the kids going to make of this?” Songs like I Believe In A Thing Called Love just aren't made anymore. If they are they don't get this kind of airtime. Although Taylor Swift being caught “rocking out”to the song with her her superstar boyfriend American footballer Travis Kelce at the tennis US Open clearly didn't do any harm… I'll be listening to Permission To Land again along with seeking out their new music and looking out for The Darkness gigs near me.

This review first appeared in The Afterword

The Roundhouse, Camden

Date: 20/12/2019

Starting a night like tonight with “Rock n Roll Deserves To Die” from their new album “Easter Is Cancelled” could have been seen as a self full filling prophecy by some. Not it seems by Justin Hawkins and his band. They flew into this raucous blast at the hand that feeds them with tongue as always firmly in cheek. Justin, brother Dan, Frankie and Roger Taylor’s (Queen) son kicked off a two hour rampage of lights, fireworks, sweary backdrops and heavy metal drama and didn’t take a breath. Doing “Easter Is Cancelled” in full was another brave step but they know their craft, know their audience and just fucking know. It’s a collection of new but familiar songs straight from the heavy metal handbook. Just brilliant fun with Justin’s truly astonishing operatic voice leading the way. The crowd loved it but the anticipation for the second half of hits was everywhere.
It duly kicked off with “One Way Ticket To Hell and Back” and the metal levels went up to twelve. Thirteen songs in before they dipped into “Permission To Land” with a storming “You’re Really Growing On Me”. A cover of Radiohead’s “Street Spirit” was followed followed by my personal highlight. “Get Your Hands Off My Woman”. It ended with Justin vs the audience in a “fuuuuuucker” battle which could only have really been followed by “I Believe In A Thing Called Love”. What a night, a hot, sweaty, metal night. But there was more, of course there was. The encore with Justin stripped to the waist but in a Santa hat gave us their Christmas classic “Bells End”. We all went home delirious and delighted that we’d brought some Darkness into our lives….

The audience:

A broad mix from metal heads to bald heads and everything in between. A mix of head banging and head shaking

It made me think..

It’s not a foregone conclusion that The Darkness teeter into Bad News parody territory. They come perilously close but real musicianship, showmanship and brinkmanship keep them firmly in the Rock God category. They’re the band Bon Jovi could never be.