Many prayers were answered in 2011 when UK rockers The Darkness announced their reformation after a six-year hiatus. Their brand of glam rock had won over the hearts of millions, especially thanks to platinum-selling debut album Permission To Land.
In support of the release of their third LP Hot Cakes, the Hawkins brothers and Co. embarked on a world tour, which originally included Australia. However health issues with drummer Ed Graham have now seen those gigs postponed.
Speaking to Graham in the lead-up to the tour, the drummer notes his exhaustion. “We’ve been on just one tour after another really,” says Graham, on the line between shows. “Having said that though, I didn’t really do much for six years, so it’s good to be back doing it all again.”
After touring Australia in early 2012 with sell-out shows all over the country, the former Stone Gods drummer recalls it being quite surreal. “I remember thinking ‘this is crazy!’, because we hadn’t had a record out for years, yet we were still able to sell out the place.”
Original plans saw the spandex-loving rockers opting to play stadium shows for a 2013 Aussie tour, alongside Joan Jett & The Black Hearts and Melbourne cock-rockers Jackson Firebird, which was eventually postponed.
One of the key differences between the tours however, would have been the inclusion of more Hot Cakes material. “We’ve played almost all of those tracks live now,” remarks Graham. “During our recent US tour we tried to slip a few new ones into every show,” pointing towards the likes of ‘Living Each Day Blind’ and ‘Everybody Have A Good Time’. “We went from playing pubs in England to playing arenas very quickly, it was just a lot to take in…” – Ed Graham
Hot Cakes also contains a cover of Radiohead’s classic closing track from The Bends, “Street Spirit (Fade Out)”, a song the Lowestoft natives have been playing live for years. It was first covered on BBC 1’s Radio Live Lounge, after deciding not to go with the original plan of covering Nirvana’s ‘Smell Like Teen Spirit’.
A big Nirvana fan himself, the soft-spoken Graham reveals the Nevermind opener is a song he’d love to cover should the opportunity arise. “Well I loved the Nevermind album, but playing “Heart-Shaped Box” would be really good.”
Now approaching his late-30s, Graham explains why birthdays aren’t always a celebration in recent times. “Last year Dan [Hawkins] bought me dinner, a lobster actually because I really love lobster. However I think it poisoned me, so that was a pretty bad present,” he laughs, looking back on the situation.
There have been of course other things that have damaged the band’s health besides dodgy crustaceans.
Any true fan of The Darkness would be well aware of the drug and alcohol issues that derailed the band during their initial run. “We went from playing pubs in England to playing arenas very quickly, it was just a lot to take in,” Graham defers in a parlayed defence. Wanting to skip the darker chapters in which the antics of helium voiced frontman Justin Hawkins landed him in rehab and out of the band.
Reformed and refreshed however, nowadays the band has exchanged a life of addiction for a life of sobriety. “I know it’s a cliché, but we really were a heavy drinking band. Obviously we are a lot older now, so if we were still touring like that these days, well, we just couldn’t do it, you know?” “We don’t want there to be another six year break. Dan’s built this little travelling studio so that we can record demos in the dressing room before shows.” – Ed Graham
Besides needing to outgrow those demons, another setback was Graham being diagnosed with a blood disorder called osteonecrosis, resulting in him having both hips replaced.
“When we first reformed, I didn’t know whether my bones were gonna be up for the job,” he reveals. “I remember when I was in Stone Gods when I was first starting to sick and started limping, I actually found it difficult to get onto a drum riser.”
Health issues haven’t been the only obstacles in the past. As comes with the life of being a rock star, hearing strange requests from fans are a regular occurrence. A notable one came when a woman asked all four members to sign her stomach, so that she may have it tattooed over.
As Graham reveals, encouraging others to permanently have his name on their body isn’t really his thing. “Someone asked us to do it again in American! I remember saying ‘surely you don’t really want my name on your back forever?’ It just seems wrong to me.”
Although many Australian fans may have felt discouraged by the apparent cancellation of The Darkness’ Joan Jett-abetted tour, if there is any way the band can make up for it, it’s with the announcement of new material.
“I think we’re all very aware of the fact, that we don’t want there to be another six year break. Dan’s built this little travelling studio so that we can record demos in the dressing room before shows.”
How exciting. So when does Mr. Graham expect to release the new album? “I really don’t know to be honest,” he laughs. Rock stars, eh?
