Welcome
Welcome to TheDarknessRock.com, the official website of the nation’s leading rock combo – The Darkness. Keep it here for all the latest news and updates, or for the view from across the pond, check out our US offshoot, the Forces of Darkness! Latest updates include new live shots in the PHOTOGRAPHY section, and exclusive news from the band in the TOUR DIARY section!
Following its successful conquest of the United States of America, the good spaceship Darkness recrossed the Atlantic to bring its unique brand of rock rampage to Europe. Having taken a well-earned rest the band are now in the studio working on the eagerly-awaited follow-up to ‘Permission To Land’.
Don’t forget you can buy OFFICIAL ringtones of all The Darkness’ megahit singles for your mobile exclusively from this site, for the bargain price of just £3. Both polyphonic and monophonic tones are available. Click here for more information.
The Darkness are arguably the most talked-about rock band in the world. The past year saw them cement their reputation as the hardest rocking band in the country, with live appearances the length and breadth of Britain, Europe and America. Next stop? World domination. The band’s latest UK single, power ballad ‘Love Is Only A Feeling’ was released March 22 2004 on CD, DVD and limited-edition vinyl through Must Destroy/Atlantic Records and made its chart début at #5. Its epic, award-winning video – filmed in the Blue Mountains of Australia – can be viewed here. The band recently went into the studio to begin work on the follow-up to “Permission To Land”.
Their début album, ‘Permission To Land’ (released on 7 July 2003 through Must Destroy Music and Atlantic Records) entered the chart at number two and went on to enjoy four weeks at the top of the hit parade in September. Featuring the singles ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’, ‘Growing On Me’ and ‘Get Your Hands Off My Woman’, it moved Kerrang! to dub them “the greatest rock’n'roll band of the last twenty years”. Each of the band’s three UK tours in 2003 was an all-date sell out. Check the NEWS section for all the latest updates, and the LIVE section for tour and ticket information.
The Darkness began 2004 just as they meant to go on with their début album ‘Permission To Land’ confirmed quadruple platinum in the UK with 1.2 million copies sold. The band have toured Europe extensively, and they’ve been making waves across the pond in the USA, where Permission To Land has rocketed to 36 on the Billboard Chart and has been certified gold with half a million sales to date. You can help the cause by joining their online street team the Forces of Darkness – click here to find out how.
The Darkness won three Brit Awards – Best Act, Best Rock Act and Best Album – at this year’s ceremony. Having made “quite possibly the best entrance ever” in a Ford Mustang V8 surrounded by a phalanx of Hell’s Angels, the band went on to close the ceremony in their own unique style. See rock photographer Scarlet Page’s exclusive behind-the-scenes shots from The Brits by clicking here. These have been added to their already-heaving trophy cabinet which features Kerrang! awards for Best Album and Best Live Act, Metal Hammer ‘Golden God’ awards for Best Single (Get Your Hands Off My Woman, 2003) and Best Video (Love Is Only A Feeling, 2004), an MTV Europe Music Award for Best MTV2 UK & Ireland Act, a Mercury Music Prize nomination for Album of the Year and the BASCA Ivor Novello award for Songwriters of the Year – not to mention manager Sue Whitehouse’s Music Week gong for Manager Of The Year!
The Darkness’ début was the ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’ E.P. Released 12 August 2002, it was an unprecedented success, finally selling out after three repeat pressings (re-entering the chart on each successive pressing) and 2000 copies. The press finally realised what the kids had known all along, and the band appeared on the cover of Britain’s biggest-selling rock weekly, Kerrang!, not to mention Classic Rock, Dazed&Confused, Metal Hammer, Rock Sound, The Fly and Trash. Radio wasn’t slow to catch up, and the single received heavy rotation on both Xfm and Radio 1.
Nothing, though, could have prepared The Darkness for the success of their second single, ‘Get Your Hands Off My Woman’ – released 24 February 2003 – which flirted with the Top 40 before crashing in at #43, beating a number of established artists into the bargain. Having built live support with a string of high-profile support slots, their headline tour of the UK in April – which culminated with them ‘rocking the fuck out of the stage’ at a sold-out Astoria in London – was an unmitigated success. The band were voted best band at music industry conference In The City in Manchester – and succeeded on the football pitch, too, kicking corporate arse to win promotion to the Music Business 5-A-Side League’s Premiership by securing second place in Division 2 (read about their exploits here) and beating all comers to reach the semi-finals of last year’s (2003) Soccer Six tournament.
Their next single, ‘Growing On Me’ – also released through Must Destroy Music – appeared on 16 June 2003 and it raised the stakes again. Narrowly missing out on the fabled top ten, it débuted at #11 (“like having two number ones”) and stayed in the top 20 in its second week. It also heralded the band’s first DVD release, featuring the single’s now-classic video. The CD and 7″ were backed with set opener ‘Bareback’ and blues rocker ‘How Dare You Call This Love’.
The Darkness re-released ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’ for their fourth single and it was unleashed on this sweet nation on 22 September 2003. The band’s most successful single to date, it landed at number two in the hit parade. It was released on CD, DVD and 7″ picture disc and backed with ‘Makin’ Out’, ‘Physical Sex’, ‘Out Of My Hands’ and the single’s Alex Smith-directed video.
The band’s seasonal effort, ‘Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End)’ went on to match that success, narrowly missing out on the #1 slot last Christmas. Released on CD, DVD and limited-edition vinyl, the package this time featured a shaped picture disc featuring Jim FitzPatrick’s unique artwork. Additional tracks on this release were the tear-jerker ‘I Love You 5 Times’ and a live version of ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’ from the band’s triumphant appearance at Knobwerth.