The Darkness

The Darkness formed in Lowestoft in 2000 around brothers Justin Hawkins (vocals, lead guitar) and Dan Hawkins (rhythm guitar), with bassist Frankie Poullain and drummer Ed Graham. In 2003, at a moment when indie rock and nu-metal had stripped the fun out of British music, Permission to Land debuted at number one in the UK — the first debut album to do so since Coldplay — and went quadruple platinum. The band won three BRIT Awards in 2004: Best British Group, Best British Rock Act, and Best British Album. Justin Hawkins plays white Gibson Les Paul Customs through Marshall 1959 Super Lead Plexi heads with near-zero effects, preferring to let amp volume and guitar dynamics do the work. His picking technique — a hard plectrum struck near the neck — produces what Dan describes as a luxurious tone, while Dan's own Gibson Les Paul Standards played with a soft plectrum near the bridge create a barking, aggressive counterpoint. The interplay between these two approaches is the foundation of The Darkness's layered guitar sound. Justin's five-octave falsetto range is one of the most extraordinary vocal instruments in modern rock — he can hit notes that most singers cannot reach in any register, and he does it while soloing and wearing a catsuit. On Permission to Land (2003), produced by Pedro Ferreira at Chipping Norton Recording Studios, the brothers layered their Gibsons through cranked Plexis with minimal studio processing, capturing the live energy and harmonic richness of two Les Pauls at full volume in a room together. The ProCo RAT was Justin's only real effects pedal during this era — a vintage whiteface unit with the LM308 chip, used sparingly for solos. After a split in 2006, rehab, and reunion in 2011, the band released their eighth album Dreams on Toast in March 2025 and remain one of the best live rock acts in the world. Justin launched the YouTube channel Justin Hawkins Rides Again in 2021, now one of the most entertaining and insightful music analysis channels online.