|
Early
beginnings...
Justin
Hawkins grew up in the Suffolk town of Lowestoft. At a young age
he locked himself away and learnt guitar.
He
was pretty good, but his kid brother Dan was even better ("I'm
white hot," says Justin,
"but he's s**t hot").
Spotting
their own potential they started a covers band with Dan on lead
vocals.
In
1997, Justin departed to University in Huddersfield. Dan, meanwhile,
moved to London in search of a band to join. That's when he met
Frankie Poullain, an exiled Scot who came from a family of adventurers
(he claims his dad was a pirate in the West Indies, his brother
a soldier of fortune).
We know we've got a long struggle... but once we get unleashed,
we could change everything." |
| Dan
Hawkins |
They
shared a flat in Shepherd's Bush, where itinerant musos would pass
through and jam.
Justin,
and Dan's schoolfriend Ed Graham, a drummer, would visit on weekends.
The two brothers and Frankie formed an ill-fated progressive rock
band called Empire.
Under
Justin's guidance, they increased the
heaviness of the sound, and threw out the lead singer. The brothers
Hawkins had a talk. Was it worth carrying on?
Millennium
Eve...
The
answer came on Millennium Eve, when the pair went back to Norfolk
to their Aunty's pub.
Justin
entered a karaoke competition and performed "Bohemian Rhapsody",
acting out every line and doing spectacular star jumps.
Dan
beheld his big bro's flamboyant star quality, and saw the future:
"I know, YOU be the front man!"
The
first call they made was to Frankie, who left Venezuela to rejoin
them. The second call they made was to Ed, who left his band to
rejoin them. The Darkness was born.
Live
performances...
The
Darkness hit the live circuit in earnest, playing a series of now-legendary
gigs around North London, almost always on a Saturday night
A devoted
following grew show-by-show, purely by word of mouth. The thing
which set them apart, as much as the music, was their sheer showmanship.
"Everyone's
too uptight these days," reckons Frankie. "I hate the
arrogance of bands who think their petty emotions are interesting.
If you look at bands from 25 years ago, people have smiles on their
faces. We're bringing a bit of that back."
So
there's no ironic intent? "No," he says, switching into
sarcastic mode, "I'm just doing what's real and right."
"We
know we've got a long struggle," says Dan thoughtfully. "No-one
dares break any rules. But once we get unleashed, we could change
everything."
The
Darkness are:
- Justin
Hawkins - Vocals/Guitar/Synthesizer
- Dan
Hawkins - Guitar
- Frankie
Poullain - Bass
- Ed
Graham - Drums
Back
to The Darkness mini-site »
|
