The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins recalls stripping naked while recording the band’s classic hit I Believe A Thing Called Love.
Hawkins got his kit off in 2001 when recording the song, which would reach no.2 in the UK Singles Chart in 2003. As he struggled to hit the high notes on the song, he thought being naked would ease his nerves – and wind up former drummer Ed Graham.
Hawkins tells Classic Rock: “I was naked in the vocal booth. At first I did it as an experiment to see if it would help, because I was struggling with the vocal. Then I just started doing it because it made Ed a bit uncomfortable, then it became a tradition.
“Perhaps I was just showing off. But that is part of my job, I suppose.”
Hawkins insists that the band remain proud of the song and the album Permission To Land.
He adds: “I think some of these chancers in the charts nowadays would kill for a song like that. If it came out now it’d be a hit. If it came out in the 80s it would be a hit.
“And I’m not saying that because I’m showing off. I’m telling the truth. I realise that song is bigger than us, and that’s fine.”
The Darkness perform at the Stone Free festival in London on Jun 18, as well as at Nottingham’s Wollaton Park on July 23 and Perranporth Watering Hole on August 18.
