“We’re here to stay.”


explosive stage shows and their fair share of rock n roll escapades. Teir home town of Lowestoft not able to contain their power, they’ve toured with Metallica, Lady Gaga and the Stones amongst others. Tey’re back with their fourth album Last Of Our Kind. And they ARE the last of their kind. Rock n roll heroes that pull no punches. Tey play two Norwich venues in two days this month, and I spoke to guitarist Dan Hawkins about coping with his brother Justin’s substance abuse, how influential Suffolk has been to their music and their incredible stage outfits.


F 40 / November 2015/outlineonline.co.uk


rom believing in a thing called love to not letting the bells end, Te Darkness have given us many sing-a long classics, all accompanied with flame red catsuits,


Did you and Justin grow up listening to rock music? Well, our parents were really into everything from Bowie, T Rex, Rolling Stones to Blondie and ABBA. Our education in that respect was pretty cool - in particular I would say there isn't anything in my Dad's record collection back then that isn't in mine today! We both listened to and played in local Lowestoft rock covers band from as early as age 12. Te Darkness first got together 15 years ago. What was the Lowestoft music scene like back then? Did you often come up to Norwich for gigs and nights out? Even after I'd moved to London I would return to Lowestoft regularly - nearly every weekend for the first year in fact! Norwich would be the go-to for the bigger gigs at the Waterfront and other venues but generally there were always bands playing at the Lady Of Te Lake, Forbes Brewery and not to forget the indie disco at the Claremont Pier! Actually my first gig as a guitarist was playing a Squeeze cover with Justin and his pal Tree Frog at Forbes Brewery. We went under the name Some Enchanted Evening. What was the moment when you realised you might be able to have a career in music? I think it was when I saw Queen live at Wembley Stadium show on VHS in 1986 or '87. I was about 10 years old and there were 90,000 people, a Queen helicopter and the whole show was just phenomenal. I was very shy at 10, but even back then I thought this is what I want to do when I grow up. Your stage show earned you a lot of fans early on, before you’d even been signed. What was the inspiration behind your glamorous rock n roll performance on stage? It wasn't all glamour back then! We just used whatever we could get our hands on. I remember selling out the Astoria (RIP) in London unsigned and with no budget at all and building ramps and


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