stuff out of empty flightcases and tables that were lying around. As far as the outfits, it was generally ladies wear from Camden Market. I think we just wanted to stick out and make an effort - we all hated the fact that all the bands at that time looked like they worked in Burtons - nothing wrong with that by the way. It wasn't cool to make an effort but we didn't care! How did it make you feel that some people thought you were a bit of a joke band? You must’ve felt vindicated when your debut album went straight to number 2 in the charts and you got to tour with Metallica! It bugged me that the labels wouldn't touch us because they couldn't work it out. Shows you how many idiots work in the music industry! Yeah we've toured with the best - Metallica, the Rolling Stones, Alice Cooper, Deep Purple the list goes on and on. People have forgotten that rock 'n' roll is very much about kicking arse and having fun, which we still do on a nightly basis. Te people who don't get this - will never understand rock 'n' roll. It must have been really tough for you when Justin suffered from substance abuse and had to go to rehab. How did you cope? I gave up drinking, and smoking and tried to clear my head over a period of a year. What I didn't realise until I had sobered up was that we were all in a pretty bad way. I am so proud of Justin and what he has achieved - he is living proof that you can fight your demons and beat them - in style. I know you have a song called Black Shuck, but in what other ways has your home county of Suffolk influenced you as a band? Wow, too many to mention. As mentioned before, the local music scene in Lowestoft helped Jus and I develop hugely. We have written about Te Tollund Man, Sutton Hoo, and more recently about the Viking Invasion of East Anglia. We feel that Lowestoft's literal 'end of the line' location has made us feel like underdogs from day one…
“People have forgotten that rock 'n' roll is very much about kicking arse and having fun”
which has served us very well! What’s your writing process as a band? Currently we all play in a circle and I will record us as we do. I will shout out the title or theme of the song and then we all have to improvise on the spot. It generally starts with a riff or chord sequence…where those come from is anybody's guess! We do this in weekly intense sessions - we try to do it in a different country each time. Te last one was southern Spain and it spawned 23 songs! Do you sometimes just want to wear jeans and a sweatshirt onstage? Tell me about it! My current outfit is essentially a three piece suit! It’s so bloody hot onstage! You gotta suffer for your art. Your debut album Permission to Land went quadruple platinum and you won three Brit awards. Did you feel like anything was
possible at that stage? Mmm..I think at that point it was like, shit it's downhill from here! Te Darkness got back together in 2011. How was it being back together again after that break, and who initiated the reunion? Justin and I started hanging out a lot and the inevitable happened really. We have been in bands together since we were eight! For me, it was truly great when we ran through those old songs for the first time in years. Te Darkness is my first love. Your latest album Last of our Kind came out in June this year. You had a new drummer, Emily Diolan Davies, who has since been replaced by Rufus Taylor, son of Queen’s drummer Roger Taylor. Do you think he’ll stick around for a while?
Rufus is a keeper and is now a permanent member of the band. My god he can play. Someone on the socials said it was the best TD line-up so far. Te Fans have been patient with the changes but I can safely say Rufus is going nowhere. Dan, you produced Te Darkness’ latest album. What was it like for you, wearing two hats so to speak? Two hats? I produced, engineered and mixed the last album so it's more like four! I've found a good system that works for us - I basically completely detach from the band once all the arrangements are in place. Rehearsal is definitely the key. What sort of vibe were you looking for with this particular album? I wanted it to be riff based - we are basically working toward making the most out and out hard rock album we can - which will be next one. You supported Lady Gaga a couple years ago. What was that experience like? Great; loads of stadiums all around the world. Unfortunately it meant we couldn't tour the last album when we wanted to, and it made the album whole cycle last about three years! We really want to get an album out every year and a half if we can from now on. We are so sick of coming back... Are Te Darkness back for good? You’re playing two dates in Norwich in November, one of which has already sold out, which bodes well! We’re here to stay. OK, maybe we are turning into more of a cult band but that suits us just fine. We are misfits and we know it, luckily there are enough kindred misfits out there to keep us on the road. Tank the lord for Te Darkness Army!
Lizz Page
INFORMATION Te Darkness play UEA on 28th November, and OPEN on 30th November. Tickets available from
ueaticketbookings.co.uk
outlineonline.co.uk / November 2015 / 41
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