The Darkness: Where Are They Now?

Here's what The Darkness has been up to since releasing their biggest hit "I Believe in a Thing Called Love"

Image
Photo: Slaven Vlasic/Getty

Taylor Swift took us all on a trip down memory lane with her latest Apple Music commercial, in which she rocked out to the Darkness‘ 2003 hit “I Believe in a Thing Called Love”.

The British band – which includes Justin Hawkins, his little brother Dan, Frankie Poullain and Rufus Taylor – rose to popularity in the early 2000s. Their smash 2003 hit helped land the Darkness’ first album, Permission to Land, the number one spot on the U.K. charts for at least four weeks, according to Billboard.

Despite the fact it’s been 13 years since the band released their most famous song, both the tune’s catchy hook and classic rock-style music video are still fresh in our minds.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BFTrGZRDvNk/

Here’s what the Darkness has been up to since 2003.

New Members & Brief Departures

Shortly after achieving mainstream success in the U.S., bass player Poullain left the quartet in 2005 citing “musical differences,” according to the BBC. He was replaced by Richie Edwards before rejoining the group in 2011, according to Billboard

The elder Hawkins split from the band in 2006 when the group’s sophomore album, One Way Ticket to Hell And Back, underperformed compared to their initial hit – the album peaked at number 58 on the Billboard 200 chart. He too rejoined in 2011.

The band saw yet another change in lineup in 2014 when their original drummer Ed Graham “departed under mysterious circumstances,” the band told Rolling Stone last year. Emily Davies did a stint as the band’s drummer before the group welcomed Rufus Taylor months later.

Rehab & Solo Projects

During his time away from the group, Hawkins entered rehab for cocaine and alcohol abuse in August 2006, according to Billboard. After completing his treatment, the singer began a solo career and dabbled in acting. (The remaining members formed the group Stone Gods in Hawkins’ absence.)

He released a single called “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the Both of Us” and appeared in the 2008 film Telstar: The Joe Meek Story.

New Music

After the group’s original lineup reformed in 2011, the band released their third studio album, Hot Cakes in September 2012, which peaked at number 43 on the Billboard 200 chart. Between drummers, the band released their latest project, Last Of Our Kind in June 2015 along with an animated video for the album’s first single “Barbarian.”

And Hawkins gushed to Rolling Stone that the song is “classic Darkness.”

“[It has] not one but two dramatic monologues, a guitar solo that has been declared ‘irresponsible,’ a riff that weakens lady-knees and a chorus that makes grown men s— directly into their pants,” he said.

U.S. Tour

The Darkness wrapped up their “Back to the USSA Tour” on May 4, less than a month after their first stop in Santa Cruz, California, according to the band’s website.

“The Back to the USSA tour was simply amazing! From Santa Cruz to Boston we literally had the time of our lives,” the band wrote alongside an Instagram photo of Hawkins hovering over a crowd

The post also stated that the band is slated to hit several festivals across the U.K. and Europe during the summer.

The group described the 20-city journey as a “small but perfectly formed tour.”

The group seemed pleased with Swift’s latest Apple Music commercial. The band retweeted the video and wrote “Or better yet, dance like EVERYONE is watching.” “

Related Articles