Every once in a while, a group will come out of nowhere and give rock music the good kick up the arse it desperately needs. In 2003, that band was called The Darkness, and it was their debut album Permission To Land that took the sound of Les Pauls and cranked Marshalls to the very top of the UK charts.
It is often said the greatest twin-guitar bands – from Thin Lizzy and AC/DC to Aerosmith and Guns N’ Roses – boil down to the chemistry shared between both players, which is something The Darkness have always excelled at. On stage right, there’s Dan Hawkins, the rhythmic engine and occasional soloist at the very heart of the noise. And centre stage is where you’ll find his older brother Justin, the quartet’s unflinchingly flamboyant singer/guitarist who is typically responsible for their more technical, Eddie Van Halen-inspired leads. With a newly expanded reissue of the album, Permission To Land… Again, released in October, the siblings join TG for a deep dive through the creative relationship and arena-conquering anthems that helped establish them as one of the most important British rock bands to emerge in the 21st century
When did it first become apparent you would have different roles when working together musically?
Dan and I played in our very first bands together. Dan was either the bass player or the drummer. I guess that would end up being [early band] Vital Signs. We often came as this guitarist and bassist combo. We started playing in a band called Fish
