People, rejoice! The saviours of rock n roll, The Almighty Darkness are preparing to run riot in Australia this April following the announcement of their first ever headlining Australian Tour.
Australia missed out on The Darkness on their last world tour, so The Frontier Touring Company fought tooth and nail to bring them downunder for their second world tour. And all the work has paid off – The Darkness have finally agreed to perform shows in each mainland state! In addition to these dates, they will also be performing at the 2006 Australian MTV Video Music Awards, which will be held at the Sydney SuperDome on April 12.
There’s a lot of healthy buzz surrounding The Darkness and reviews of their live shows prove that it’s right on the mark.
“The Darkness are a living, breathing touring machine with a reputation for explosive gigs… The concert was as much a visual spectacle as it was musically… All that was missing was a Christmas tree, for which Justin is the star twinkling on top… All in all, they fully lived up to their reputation and I challenge anyone to go to their gig and not have a good time.” BBC.co.uk
“The Darkness are a new national institution. And no wonder, because The Darkness understand the very British art of good camp: to have fun when you’re being serious, to be serious about fun.” NME
“The Darkness are entertaining from the word go, as the sheet drops, Justin leaps and thumbs ups loads, the campest moustache action plays bass, and fun, fun, fun agogo… Check out the smile on the faces as every single metal and poodle rock cliché is hammed up to the full. Fabumouse.” Leeds Music Scene
“Lead singer Justin Hawkins reincarnates Freddie Mercury – prances, catsuits and all… They are bringing joy back into music and putting smiles on people’s faces with their pure indulgent excess, over the top stage moves , and a ‘rock out with your cock out’ mentality.” Atlanta Music Guide
The Darkness’s accolades are too many to mention in full, but here’s a teaser anyway. Their debut EP I Believe In A Thing Called Love sold out three repeat pressings; their highly-acclaimed earth-shattering first album Permission To Land (Warner) entered the charts at an impressive second place and sold in excess of 1.5 million copies in the UK alone. In Australia the album quickly went platinum, landing a Top 60 position in 2004’s End of Year ARIA Charts.
Add to that a host of Top 10 singles, a spectacular sold-out world tour, high profile support slots (think Aerosmith, Metallica, Robbie Williams and The Rolling Stones) along with a trophy cabinet bursting with Brit Awards, Kerrang! Awards and MTV Awards and The Darkness prove they are a full-blown rock force to be reckoned with!
Their latest album One Way Ticket To Hell…And Back (out now through Warner) has also been receiving rave reviews downunder with The Sydney Morning Herald including it in their “Best Album to Rock With” list for 2005!
“The most unashamedly over-the-top and sonically ambitious album of the year.” Herald Sun
“The best thing to come out of the current English phenomenon of bands reliving the ‘80s.” Blunt Magazine
Clearly, The Darkness are putting the rock back into rock n roll! These are going to be some top-notch shows, full of brilliance, flamboyance, showmanship and style. (Yep, just the way we like ‘em!) As main man Justin Hawkins himself says, “What have we got that other bands haven’t got? Balls. No scrotum. Just balls.”
So muster up all the animal print you can find, get out your big hair, squeeze yourself into some tight jeans and get along to see The Darkness in all their glory on their first headlining Australian Tour.
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