Dance movie a Step Up from the usual
Mike Alexander.
We could be on another planet. Dan Hawkins, lead guitarist from rock jokers The Darkness is on the phone, but we are talking over each other and there is no light to this darkness.
I’m early and he’s slightly late as he crosses Putney Bridge on his way towards his favourite cafe in London for our chat, but the three-second delay on the phone line isn’t helping and I’m feeling stranded at the a... end of the world.
‘‘Well if you are the a....,’’ comes the reply. ‘‘Then I’m the arse of the world, so we are pretty close.’’
At that, the skies clear and I can hear Hawkins loud and clear.
Hawkins and his bandmates have been in New Zealand before, for the late and lamented Big Day Out Festival, but it was all such a blur.
‘‘We basically, just flew into Auckland for the gig and then flew out again,’’ he says. ‘‘That’s the reality of touring though.
‘‘From what I did experience, it felt like home. I don’t know much about the geography of New Zealand though.
‘‘We are playing Wellington this time around. Where’s that? Is it part of the undergrowth? Do you have a mountain? Unless you have a mountain we are not interested.’’
Ah, New Zealand was where Lord of the Rings was shot, so yes, we do have a mountain or two. He blethers for a moment about his inability to grow a beard, then says: ‘‘Sorry, I know this isn’t much of a music interview but I can’t help myself.’’
The Darkness, if you are of an age to recall their beginnings, broke out big in 2003 with their hit single I Believe In A Thing Called Love and and debut album, Permission To Land. Fronted by Dan’s brother Justin – a former jingle writer who had a soaring falsetto that recalled the ghost of Freddie Mercury – the band were one part seriously comical, one part comically serious.
Their videos were weird, humorous and often p...-takes of themselves – this is a band that has never quite learned how to take itself too seriously.
‘‘Yeah, a lot of our videos are a bit mental,’’ he says.
‘‘You can forgive people for asking us if we are a serious band, which they have throughout our career. We like to amuse ourselves and have a bit of fun. We are just big kids, who like to dress up and do weird things.
‘‘In many way, all bands really are comical versions of bands that have gone before them. We are