Viva Brighton Issue #58 December 2017
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MUSIC<br />
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The Darkness<br />
On rock and roll and Christmas jumpers<br />
Is it good to be back<br />
on tour? You know<br />
what, it feels like we’re<br />
never off the road, but<br />
it’s more enjoyable<br />
than it’s ever been.<br />
We’ve finally got the<br />
line-up of our dreams<br />
with a new drummer<br />
called Rufus Taylor,<br />
son of Roger [from<br />
Queen]. There are<br />
no raging hangovers,<br />
everyone’s taking care of themselves and it’s a<br />
non-destructive environment. Which is a relief! It’s<br />
tough being away from the family, but that’s the<br />
only downside.<br />
How does your family life work? I’ve been doing<br />
this job ever since I met my wife, so it’s always been<br />
the same. In a way, I think I miss my family more<br />
than they miss me! It can be pretty tough when the<br />
kids are looking round the back of the computer<br />
trying to give you a hug. The fact is, when I’m at<br />
home I see more of my kids than most parents. I get<br />
home sometimes for a couple of months and I can<br />
be superdad.<br />
Does superdad wear a jumpsuit? Of course, I’m<br />
never out of my stage gear... Unfortunately it would<br />
be covered in puke if that was the case. And not my<br />
own for a change!<br />
The new single Solid Gold is hilarious, how did<br />
that come about? It’s a good example of the typical<br />
Darkness thing where we shoot ourselves in the<br />
foot. We had a great backing track, really great riff,<br />
the whole arrangement was rocking. So Justin sat<br />
down to work out what the song was about and I<br />
basically said I’m going down the pub. When I got<br />
back he sang the chorus to me, and I thought ‘for<br />
f**k’s sake! Another<br />
potential single down<br />
the drain.’ Unbelievably<br />
the label put it out,<br />
even though it would<br />
never stand a chance of<br />
being played on radio.<br />
What’s it like being<br />
in a band with your<br />
brother? It’s weird:<br />
Justin and I bickered<br />
and argued and fought<br />
right up until he<br />
moved out when he was 16. And ever since then<br />
we’ve been really close. We’re very different, almost<br />
polar opposite characters, and that makes it easier<br />
as we’re not fighting for the same things I suppose.<br />
We really didn’t like each other when we lived<br />
together, but I guess we kind of live together now.<br />
Is it true you’re both in an episode of Pointless?<br />
Yeah, we’re doing a Christmas special that goes out<br />
on the 23rd. I wouldn’t hold out any hopes though!<br />
So many people I’ve spoken to have just gone wild<br />
about it, but I had no idea what it was. The last time<br />
I watched one of those gameshows it was probably<br />
Blockbusters – a long time ago.<br />
What’s Christmas like for The Darkness? We<br />
tend to tour a lot in the UK because it’s a time<br />
when anything cool goes out the window and the<br />
silly jumpers come out. It’s something that resonates<br />
with the band. I’d be lying if I said that when<br />
our Christmas song comes on my kids don’t go<br />
mental and start singing along. A lot of artists who<br />
were one-hit-wonders have ironically been handed<br />
longevity from Christmas singles. Absolutely<br />
bizarre, but hey that’s Christmas! It’s the gift that<br />
keeps on giving... As told to Ben Bailey<br />
<strong>Brighton</strong> Dome, 11th <strong>December</strong>, 7pm<br />
Photo by Simon Emmett<br />
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