Words and pictures by Jus Forrest

British glam rockers The Darkness, swing by Nottingham – Lowestoft style.

Earlier this year, news hit that The Darkness would reform to play the Download Festival at Donington. Add to that, news regarding the recording of a brand new album and already you have the faint stirrings of excitement.  At the time, front man Justin Hawkins was said to have been “gobsmacked” by fan response to such news. The Darkness are back and these days, lets just say there’s a pretty impressive paper trail to follow.  Take their debut album, Permission to land, which was released in 2003 and sold in excess of 1.5 million copies in the U.K. Consider their three Brit awards in 2004 – Best Group, Best Rock Group and Best Album. Lets not forget their Kerrang! Awards, also in 2004, giving them Best Live Act and Best British Band.  Perhaps you are now seeing a colourful pattern.

Tonight, stationed within perhaps a more modest sized venue than what they might have played just a few years prior, they dispersed the same level of electrical current experienced during those adrenalin fuelled days of arena shows and life sized creatures, but then all you need is….. Permission - to tour the world that is. It’s a full house – the crowd growing more anxious by the minute as the stage awaits and Thin Lizzy’s Boys Are Back In Town blasts out over the speakers.  It feels like mere seconds, but suddenly, the unmistakable opening chords of their huge anthem - Black Shuck, hit the audience like a sledgehammer. Already, it’s notoriously loud, which is everything you’d expect from such kick ass rock ‘n’ rollers, complete with full on glam tightness and charm. The scene is now set.  A star spangled, colourful creation.

One tightly coiled spring that is The Darkness, unfolds before an appreciative crowd, with singalong rock quests that hit the spot nicely – One Way Ticket, Nothing’s Gonna Stop Me, Love is Only a Feeling – all of which explore every flamboyant avenue on the map. Yes, the guys may sport tight pants – but equally as ball crushing are their hot guitar riffs that are laden with edgy hooks, twin leads and not least, just as we witnessed at this years Download Festival, every razor sharp cut slicing dangerously below belt lines – but don’t tell Justin that.

He flaunts a vocal that’s tuneful and precise with endless range, or so it would seem, not to mention at least one costume change that makes way for a cat suit, cut to the navel and clinging as desperately as a man on the edge of a cliff.  But there is nowhere to fall here – only the crazy highs of rocktastic extravaganza to experience. There’s no stopping when it comes to Justin’s super fast stage moves, mostly brandishing the trademark white Gibson Les Paul, or occasionally, just posed blissfully upon the drum riser – mic in hand.

The band, as a unit, equate to a hugely spirited force, speaking of which, lets not forget the festive variety. Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End) – which just fell short of the Christmas No. 1 slot in 2003, impresses its cheerful glow, complete with a pretty sprinkling of fake snow that tumbles from the rafters. It’s all rather serene at this point, but later, there comes the big closing numbers – those that were always impossible to ignore I Believe in a Thing Called Love and Love on the Rocks (with no ice) – a very suitable nightcap indeed. If that little lot just succeeded in wetting your appetite and you’re looking for a little more – check out The Darkness at Thetford Forest, Suffolk-Saturday 14th July 2012 – tickets on sale Friday 25th November.