The Darkness consists of Dan Hawkins (guitar), Ed Graham (drums), Frankie Poullain (bass guitar), Justin Hawkins (vocals, guitar, synthesizer).
For the comic book, see The Darkness (comics).
The Darkness is a British rock band often mistaken for being glam rock by the general public, while touting themselves as classic hard rock. Their highly retro style of music seems to be influenced by 1970s rock bands like Queen, AC/DC, Elton John, Def Leppard, Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy, Cheap Trick, T. Rex and Led Zeppelin, and 1980s rock bands such as Van Halen. Lead singer Justin Hawkins' soaring falsetto makes them immediately distinguishable from other present-day rock bands.
Originally from Lowestoft in Suffolk, brothers Justin Hawkins (Vocals and Guitar) and Dan Hawkins (Guitar) found themselves in London where they met up with childhood friends, Frankie Poullain (Bass) and Ed Graham (Drums), and thus The Darkness was born. Playing at first only in pubs, their catsuits, pyrotechnic guitar solos, and over the top attitude soon brought them fame. They have always insisted that they take their music seriously, despite popular opinion that the whole getup is a joke.
Achieving major success in the UK in 2003, The Darkness received considerable radio airplay of their singles, including I Believe in a Thing Called Love and the Christmas hit Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End). Their debut album, Permission to Land, reached number one in the UK charts and went on to sell one and a half million copies in the UK alone.
