The Darkness Have A Queen Kid For A Drummer And A Singer With Queen Tattoos

The Darkness singer/axeman Justin Hawkins is "in the middle of England" during a break from recording album number five. The more modest studio circumstances described seem far removed from the exorbitant budget and rampant excess which surrounded the creation of the retro hard rockers' 2005 second LP, One Way Ticket to Hell... And Back.

"[The] second album we spent a lot of money and time on it. But there's really no need to do that, because if you're tight, well-rehearsed and the songs are good then it's better to make an album quickly, because then it's more of a snapshot of where the band's at. I think we're quite proud of where we're at, at the moment. Even if we spend a month or so on drum tracks, it'll still sound the same," the jovial main-man laughs. "It'll still sound just as awesome I think. This is definitely a cheaper option. The [new] stuff's more progressive, it's a bit harder, the riffs are getting bigger. We don't feel like old blokes yet anyway, let's just say that."

"I had to hide the tattoo of his father's face to avoid any embarrassment."

Hawkins waxes lyrical about recent recruit, "super talented" drummer Rufus Tiger Taylor, son of Queen sticksman Roger. "We did most of the writing at one of his father's properties, so it's like a dream come true for me. I had to hide the tattoo of his father's face to avoid any embarrassment. Everyone used to say Queen and AC/DC, those were always the two bands we were most often compared to. Some people said we were the gay AC/DC, and other people said we were the straight Queen. I'm happy with either of those. We're somewhere in between I think."

In one of their first Aus outings, their 2004 Big Day Out appearance; their flamboyant, glammed-up delivery and aesthetic visibly confounded many festival-goers. Nowadays, the reactivated British outfit's self-awareness and sense of humour still seems to continue straddling a fine line with some rock fans who ponder if they're an outright piss-take.

"I'm glad about that," Hawkins says of this reaction, "because when you think about AC/DC, you're talking about a bloke in a school uniform, you know? I can imagine that they inspired the same response in the early days. And I think the longer you do it, the more obvious it becomes that you're taking it seriously," he laughs. "If anything we take it too seriously. I think we take ourselves more seriously than a band like Coldplay. Actually, I don't think that's true at all - Coldplay are right up their own arses. I think when you get to five, six, ten albums, that sort of thing will stop hopefully.

"I think a lot of rock is just really average... There aren't that many extraordinary rock bands that are doing something totally different. So there's always a chance, there's always an opportunity. You've just got to be the best that you can be. It would be nice to think we were household names," he laughs again. "I think we've got a bit of work to do to get that back really. But I'm up for it."