Released on DVD – featuring the video for the single (directed by Alex Smith) and a few choice out-takes – as well as the now-customary CD and limited-edition 7″, the featured tracks are ‘Growing On Me’, blues rocker ‘How Dare You Call This Love?’ and legendary instrumental set-opener ‘Bareback’.

It was their biggest success to date, narrowly missing out on the fabled top ten at #11 (“like having two number ones”) and remaining in the top 20 in its second week.

it moved Kerrang! to dub them “the greatest rock’n'roll band of the last twenty years” and immediately shot to #2 in the UK Album Chart, sandwiched between Beyonce and Delta Goodrem. It hit the top of the hit parade on September 1 2003 and stayed there for 4 weeks. It’s now a permanent fixture in the Top Forty.

The band completed recording late in 2002 at Chapel Studios in Lincolnshire, after pre-production at a rehearsal studio in East London. The album was mixed at Roundhouse Studios in London and mastered at The Exchange in London. Additional vocals were recorded at Paul Smith Music Studios. Pedro(ck) Ferreira produced, engineered and mixed all tracks, including b-sides.

Released on CD and limited-edition shaped picture disc – featuring tear-jerker ‘I Love You 5 Times’ – and on DVD, featuring the Alex Smith-directed video and the band’s performance of ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’ at Knobwerth in August.

Released on CD and limited-edition 7″ – featuring ‘Planning Permission’ and ‘Curse Of The Tollund Man’ – and on DVD, featuring the single’s epic Alex Smith-directed video – filmed in the Blue Mountains of Australia – behind the scenes footage and a live performance of ‘Get Your Hands Off My Woman’ filmed at London’s Astoria.

Birthday: 15 April

Favourite The Darkness Song: ‘Friday Night’

Favourite The Darkness Gig: T In The Park, Kinross, Scotland (2004)

3 Desert Island Discs: The Pogues – Rum, Sodomy & The Lash, Prince – Dirty Mind, Tom Waits – Swordfishtrombones

Additional Information: The Darkness’ bassist Frankie Poullain once had a promising future as a tennis player, until he was barred from his tennis club for urinating into an opponent’s flask. The unwitting racketeer swigged heartily from his freshly diluted blackcurrant cordial and promptly vomited over the umpire. Such behaviour was ‘NET’ allowed, and Frankie was given the ‘ELBOW’. Were it not for this incident, Frankie could have ‘RIBENA’ contender.

Quote: “It is better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness.” (Confucius)

Birthday: 25 September

Favourite The Darkness Song: ‘Bareback’

Favourite The Darkness Gig: Oxegen Festival, Dublin, Ireland (11 July 2004)

3 Desert Island Discs: Queen – Sheer Heart Attack, Queen – A Night At The Opera, Queen – Jazz

Additional Information: While Birmingham – or perhaps more accurately the Black Country as a whole – has fair claim to the monicker “home of rock” due to its status as a melting pot for rock’n'roll popular culture, Richie’s home town of Lichfield has itself a little-known role as the cradle of heavy metal. For it was in a small rock club in Lichfield called The Pokey Hole – don’t look for it, it’s not there anymore – that a jazz-blues band called Earth debuted a new song, one that foreshadowed an auspicious new musical direction. The song? “Black Sabbath”. Their names? Tony, Bill, Ozzy and Geezer. The year was 1969.

Quote: “Let’s have a look at what you could’ve won.” (Jim Bowen, Bullseye)

Birthday: 20 February

Favourite The Darkness Song: ‘Stuck In A Rut’

Favourite The Darkness Gig:

3 Desert Island Discs: The Knack – Get The Knack, The Cult – Spirit Walker, XTC – Drums & Wires

Additional Information: The Darkness’ drummer Ed Graham was often taunted at school, because he bears a remarkable resemblance to the internationally reknowned snooker prodigy Ray “Dracula” Reardon. Which is probably why he always cocks up his ‘COUNT-INS’. And he often seems reluctant to begin his drum parts ‘ON CUE’. When Ed’s fame eclipses that of his lookalike, the ‘TABLES’ will have been turned.

Birthday: 12 December

Favourite The Darkness Song: Get Your Hands Off My Woman

Favourite The Darkness Gig:

3 Desert Island Albums: AC/DC – Live, Fleetwood Mac – Rumours, Thin Lizzy – Jailbreak

Additional Information: The Darkness’ guitarist Dan Hawkins was once hailed as East Anglia’s youngest soothsayer. Dan could accurately predict the gender, weight, and distinctive markings of unborn cattle some five weeks in advance of their birth. The simple rural folk of East Anglia struggled to come to terms with Dan’s gift, and sadly he was unable to ‘CALF’ out a career in fortune telling. Suggestions made in the Regional Press that Dan had descended from an ancient family of witches were dismissed by the Hawkins family as ‘UDDER’ rubbish.

Favourite The Darkness Song: ‘Friday Night’

Favourite The Darkness Gig: The Monarch, Camden Town (6 February 2002, first time wearing furry trousers!)

3 Desert Island Discs: AC/DC – Powerage, Aerosmith – Pump, Queen – Jazz

Additional Information: The Darkness’ vocalist Justin Hawkins became an amphibian midwife during an educational visit to the Norfolk Broads. Whilst urinating behind some bushes, a spherical object fell from a leaf and rested on the shaft of his man-member. To his horror, the object wobbled before what appeared to be a frog-like creature with a long tail hatched from within it. The reptile accepted Justin as her mother, and denied the Hawkins’ family’s attempts to introduce her to the wild. The scaly infant would look at Justin and exclaim “You are the one that I want.” Probably because he had ‘DELIVERED THE NEWT ON JOHN’.

Quote: “Dancing is the vertical expression of a horizontal desire legalised by music.” (George Bernard Shaw)

“PERMISSION TO LAND” – which was nominated for Britain’s prestigious Mercury Music Prize – was released in the UK in July 2003. It made an extraordinary #2 debut on the UK album chart and quickly rose to #1 – marking the first debut album by a British artist to hit the top spot since Coldplay in 2000. Kicking off with the rifftastic “Black Shuck,” and blasting through a trio of remarkable singles – “I Believe In A Thing Called Love,” “Get Your Hands Off Of My Woman,” and “Growing On Me” – the album positively explodes with a no-holds-barred spirit that hasn’t been displayed in aeons.

“It’s good-time stadium rock,” singer/guitarist Justin Hawkins avows. “Bombastic, undeniable music that connects with people.”

Hailing from the coastal town of Lowestoft – the most easterly town in the United Kingdom – Justin, guitarist brother Dan eventually found themselves in London, where they met exiled Scot bassist Frankie Poullain. Ed Graham was enlisted to pound the skins, and The Darkness was born. The band began playing North London’s pubs, week in and week out. While the venues were tiny, the band’s spandex jumpsuits, pyrotechnic guitar solos, and over-the-top persona made the dank barrooms feel more like Madison Square Garden.

“A good live show is about having confidence in what you’re doing and getting that across to the audience,” Poullain says. “It’s basically about having good songs, a flamboyant frontman, and a tight rhythm section. That way there’s something for everyone. People who are new to your show will never forget you.”

“Image is important,” Justin says. “I much prefer to see a band with a bloke in a catsuit than someone standing there in jeans and T-shirt like they’ve just walked off a bus. You have to be prepared to entertain people.” As Britain’s music scene became weighted with faux Strokes and Radiohead-wannabes, The Darkness remained true to their initial vision, never worrying about fitting in. “We had lots of A&R people walking out after two songs,” remembers Poullain. “Of course, what was totally ridiculous and laughable then is now genius.”

“All we know is what we were brought up with and what we like,” Justin says. “It’s important to be fulfilled in what you’re doing, and you won’t get that if you’re copying someone else or trying to fit the current trend. I’ve seen bands go from being Blur to Oasis in the space of a fortnight. That isn’t fair to your audience, and you can lose people by not believing in what you’re doing.”

With their wit, charisma, and brilliant showmanship – not to mention a setlist full of mouth-watering, pants-wetting good tunes – The Darkness soon grabbed the attention of an audience hankering for a band offering something different. Their fanbase began blossoming in classic grassroots fashion, via the band’s hard work and a steadfast online following.

“Word about us spread through our website,” Poullain says. “There would be information about our gigs and we’d get mentions on other peoples’ sites. We had a big e-mail list we sent flyers out to. Everything just snowballed and eventually we developed enough of a following to make people sit up and take notice. There were too many people interested in us for us to be ignored.”

After two years slogging it out on the toilet circuit, The Darkness began getting gigs supporting arena gods like Metallica, Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, and Def Leppard. When “PERMISSION TO LAND” finally arrived this past summer, it blew away all expectations. Fuelled by triumphant festival appearances at Glastonbury, T In The Park, Carling Weekend, and Robbie Williams’ massive Knebworth extravaganzas, Darknessmania soon swept the nation. It had taken sweat and blood, time and energy, but The Darkness’ vainglorious rock’n'roll dreams had come true in the grandest of fashions.

In addition to stealing the hearts of the fans, The Darkness has won over the UK’s notoriously hard-to-please critical establishment. “Glory will be theirs,” wrote Simon Price in The Independent. “A year of non-stop gigging has seen them build a following that means every show is a lock-out, and a reputation as the best live band in London. At last, the world is waking up… As someone once sang, it’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock’n'roll. The Darkness have the legs for the journey.”

“(The Darkness) have everything nu-metal doesn’t,” wrote The Guardian’s Alexis Petridis, “including a wry sense of humor and an appeal that stretches beyond surly 14-year-olds.” Kerrang! – which recently recognized the band’s accomplishments with two awards: “Best Album” and “Best Live Act.” – summed it up, hailing The Darkness as “absolute genius. No, scrub that. Beyond genius and out the other side… Bold, brilliant and built to last, The Darkness are the greatest rock’n'roll band of the last twenty years.”

“For many moons, we braced ourselves for a shift in the public’s perception of The Darkness,” Justin declares with no small modicum of pride, “From underdogs to world-beaters. Our debut album proved the ideal catalyst for this transition. About time, to