The Darkness review: ‘Time of the audience’s life’

Last night’s riveting performance marked the second time I have seen the four-piece in the flesh following their 2023 performance at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena, where the fire alarm went off and sliced a significant chunk of their set away. Thankfully, there was no repeat of the fire alarm this time around, and we all got to see The Darkness in all of its glory.

Launching into the hard-rocking, Judas Priest-esque anthem ‘Rock and Roll Party Cowboy', Rufus Tiger Taylor’s hard-hitting drumming, Dan Hawkins’ signature riffage, Frankie Poullain’s driving bass line and the swagger we’ve come to love from Justin Hawkins were on full display in a frenetic but fitting opener that set the tone for an explosive performance. The punchy ‘Growing on Me’ is a moment of pure euphoria as Justin Hawkins’ falsetto vocals soar on a track that leaves the audience in a state of ecstasy before a fiery rendition of ‘Get Your Hands Off My Woman’, where the frontman did a handstand whilst clapping his ankles together.

In Hawkins, the four-piece has a frontman who is the perfect showman. He is witty, athletic, engaging, charming, comedic and oozes personality. Throughout the evening, Hawkins made numerous comedic quips, including the moment where he joked that Mumford & Sons make terrible music after revealing The Darkness had missed out on a UK No.1 album due to ‘Rushmere’ and joked how he “couldn’t wait to tell his grandchildren” about reaching No.2 in the charts. Later in the evening, the frontman dedicated and climbed into the crowd to sing ‘Friday Night’ with a fan who was upset about the cancellation notice. On an unrelated note, if you haven’t seen Justin Hawkins Rides Again, I truly recommend it. Hawkins’ level of insight is nothing short of marvellous, and it’s a must-watch for any music fan.

As the night unfolded, the opening notes of ‘Motorheart’ kinda sounded like an eerie alarm of sorts in a live setting on a track that brought a spell-binding solo from the frontman. A stunning bit of live narration leads into the hard-hitting ‘Barbarian’, and you couldn’t help but be mesmerised by the masterful display from four seasoned professionals, with a heavy drum outro bringing a drumming masterclass from Taylor before a rendition of the power ballad ‘Love Is Only A Feeling’ sees Dan Hawkins’ signature fretwork stand out.

‘Walking Through Fire’ and the catchy ‘The Longest Kiss’ provide excellent moments for audience engagement as Justin encouraged the crowd to participate in the choreography on the former before inviting the audience to scream “Justin” in the middle of a guitar solo on the latter – similar to AC/DC’s approach to solos before Rufus takes over lead vocals on ‘My Only’, which features an impeccable solo from Justin.

Requesting the audience to put down their phones, ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’ is a timeless classic and is knocked up another notch with Ian Norfolk playing the synth parts. As the band returned to the stage for the encore, Poullain performed a snippet of Queen’s ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ before Rufus delivered the opening monologue for ‘Weekend in Rome’. The acoustic-led rendition of the track saw Justin harmonise with the drummer on a track that was raw and scaled-down before the joyous anthem of self-loathing ‘I Hate Myself’ closed out the night.

Sadly, with a catalogue as deep as what The Darkness has, tracks such as ‘One Way Ticket’, ‘Happiness’, ‘Givin’ Up’ and ‘Last of Our Kind’, to name a few, were absent, but it mattered not. The Darkness could have played ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’ for 90 minutes, and it would have been compelling viewing. As Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes’ ‘Time of My Life’ was fittingly played out by the PA, you couldn’t help but feel that The Darkness’ set was truly the time of the audience’s life.