The Darkness
Edinburgh HMV Picture House (Friday 11th November)
It’s hard to believe it’s been eight years since The Darkness bounded into mass public consciousness with their breakthrough hit single ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’. Following a bitter split, a cocaine addiction and a bizarre attempt to represent Great Britain in the Eurovision Song Contest, the band have defied their ever-vocal critics by reforming for a new album and comeback tour. A risky move considering they were widely written off as a novelty act, even at the height of their fame.
Strutting onstage to a surprisingly deafening welcome of cheers, The Darkness immediately burst into an energetic performance of ‘Black Shuck’ closely followed by ‘Growing on Me’, much to the delight of the largely black-clad and mullet-sporting crowd. The band’s fondness for parody is as evident as ever when lead singer, Justin Hawkins, yields his air guitar and parades around the stage with the same level of confidence as rock veterans such as Vince Neil and Axl Rose. With his skin-tight trousers, sleeve tattoos and long unruly locks, Hawkins physically conforms to every clichéd stereotype of an eighties rock star. That being said, what sets him aside from his ageing predecessors is his strikingly polished falsetto vocals, which are showcased perfectly during the fan-favourite and dance-inducing ‘Friday Night’.
Although the band consistently inject their set with a level of showmanship similar to that of early Queen and The Rolling Stones, it is slightly telling that they choose to play their award-winning debut album Permission To Land in full whilst only including rare pickings from the much less commercially successful follow-up One Way Ticket to Hell… and Back.
Not that the sold-out crowd seems to care. Singing along to every song and head-banging like they’re at a Metallica concert, they are visibly delighted to have the fun-loving foursome back and be able to revel in the nostalgia. This is most obvious when Hawkins emerges from a short break sporting his signature pink and white striped cat suit to perform the band’s infamous festive hit ‘Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End)’ against a backdrop of pyrotechnics and falling faux snow.
Gimmicks and showmanship aside, musically, the band sounds tighter than ever. Original bassist Frankie Poullain pulls everything together with his pummeling bass lines whilst Hawkins shines as he delivers a number of show-stopping guitar solos – proving that when he isn’t busy sharpening his tongue for another spat with The NME, he is actually an incredibly talented and underrated guitarist.
The most refreshing thing about The Darkness tonight is the fact that they aren’t trying to tamper with the formula that made them so successful in the first place; they deliver an unapologetically fun and camp performance complete with falling snow, pyrotechnics and even a striped spandex cat suit. The bottom line is that they’re every bit as over the top and glammed-up as they were eight years ago, albeit obviously on a tighter budget than they were the first time round. The excited reaction of the crowd is irrefutable – The Darkness have been missed, even if just as a little bit of light comic relief. Whilst their famed theatrics may be better suited to the arena shows they regularly played at the height of their success, it is undeniable that without them the rock world would be a much duller place.
Amy Anderson
