In a new in-depth Guitar World feature, The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins reveals the 14 guitarists that shaped his sound. Following is an excerpt from the list.

Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin)

Hawkins: “I don’t think I’ve listened to anything more than Led Zeppelin. They’re the band I’ve heard more than anything else in my whole life. When I listen to Jimmy Page, I kind of know that he’s an economical player and a lot of the trick to understanding how he approaches stuff is to do with the tunings.

Since Covid, I’ve had to transition into something like a guitar teacher at times, and when someone asks me to look at a Led Zeppelin thing, it’s like, ‘Okay, I’ll do it,’ but I’ve never done it before because I know that the mystique will vanish for me. He’s got a way of sounding otherworldly in a really economical way. You see people who can do that in traditional tuning and, yeah, it’s really impressive, but it stops you from wanting to play because it’s like, ‘Ah, okay. This guy’s nailed it. There’s no need for me to be here with this guitar at this point.’ Page never has that vibe.”

Angus Young (AC/DC)

Hawkins: “I think when you’re trying to do a band and you’ve got two guitar players, there are two bands that you need to look at: AC/DC and Guns N’ Roses. 

I love everything about Angus’s soloing. I love the way it’s got a distinctive vibrato – it’s almost like a B.B. King vibrato – and people dismiss him as a Chuck Berry plagiarist, but it isn’t that. He’s got his own thing and you can hear him a hundred miles away. He’s operating mostly in pentatonic scales doing blues soloing and yet he’s still distinctive, and he’s one of the people that sort of makes you want to do it. You can talk about the merits and how brilliantly accomplished certain virtuoso players are, but if they don’t make you feel like you want to grab a guitar and do it, then they’re not as important as people like Angus.” 

Read the complete rundown here.

July 6th marked 20 years of The Darkness’ debut album, Permission To Land. To celebrate, Warner Music are set to release a 20th anniversary reissue, Permission to Land… Again, on October 6.

This is a special 4CD/1DVD release including the full original album, rare B-sides, bonus unreleased demos, as well as live albums from their iconic shows at London’s Astoria (2003), Knebworth (2003) and Wembley Arena (2004). As well as a 2CD edition with a reduced tracklisting.

Permission To Land… Again will also be released on 5LP vinyl, which mirrors the 4CD tracklisting. The original 1LP vinyl, which has long been out of print since the original pressing in 2003, has now been made available to purchase once again, alongside a new special blue/black marbled limited edition colour variant.

Pre-order here.

This year finds Britain’s beloved rock band The Darkness - singer/guitarist Justin Hawkins, guitarist Dan Hawkins, bassist Frankie Poullain, drummer Rufus Taylor - celebrating 20 years since they birthed Permission To Land, the multi-platinum, chart-topping debut album that changed the face of rock music forever.

To celebrate the anniversary of Permission To Land, The Darkness will embark on the global Permission To Land 20 tour, with North American dates kicking off on October 3 in San Francisco and wrapping on October 22 in Washington, D.C. Tickets here. VIP Experience ticket upgrades will be available across all shows.

Frontman Justin Hawkins shares, “When Permission to Land landed, twenty short years ago, we were bathed in shock and awe. As if by magic, rock wasn’t dead! Fun wasn’t banned! And Spandex was almost acceptable again…Well, guess what? Twenty years on, the same rules apply. So please to squeeze yourselves into those inappropriate leggings, back-comb your mullet, splash on a big handful of attitude, and come celebrate with us! We promise everything and we deliver, every time. Bring on the next twenty! The Darkness. The best. For you. Forever.”

The shows promise to be a grand spectacle with the band playing the much-lauded, award-winning, foot-stomping, guitar-wailing, groove-making masterpiece in full. Kicking off with the splendid rifferama of “Black Shuck” they’ll blast their way through all of Permission To Land’s eleven tracks, including “Growing On Me,” “Love Is Only A Feeling,” “Giving Up,” “Love On The Rocks With No Ice,” “Get Your Hands Off My Woman” and of course the iconic “I Believe In A Thing Called Love.”

In addition to Permission To Land’s splendid confection of rock brilliance, the band will pump out a bonus “Best Of The Rest” set stuffed to the gills with all the hits and fan favorites from The Darkness’ six subsequent studio albums: One Way Ticket To Hell…and Back, Hot Cakes, Last Of Our Kind, Pinewood Smile, Easter Is Cancelled and Motorheart. It’s enough to make any music fan go weak at the knees!

Tour dates:

October
3 - San Francisco, CA - The Masonic
4 - Sacramento, CA - Ace of Spades
6 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
7 - Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theatre
8 - Las Vegas, NV - Brooklyn Bowl
10 - Denver, CO - Summit Music Hall
11 - Kansas City, MO - The Truman
13 - Chicago, IL - The Vic Theatre
14 - Indianapolis, IN - The Vogue
15 - Detroit, MI - Saint Andrew’s Hall
17 - Boston, MA - Big Night Live
18 - New York, NY - Terminal 5
19 - Philadelphia, PA - Franklin Music Hall
21 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom
22 - Washington, D.C. - 9:30 Club