60 Songs That Explain the '90s The Darkness — “I Believe in a Thing Called Love”
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Mar 4, 2026 Jill Hopkins, journalist and civic events producer, recalls seeing The Darkness live and the band’s over-the-top glam-metal showmanship. She describes Justin Hawkins’s falsetto theatrics, costume changes, and raucous crowd energy. The conversation jumps between 2000s rock context, the joy of guitar solos, and karaoke culture where people gleefully belt out their anthems.
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Glam Rock Revival As Intentional Anachronism
- The Darkness rebooted 70s glam and 80s hair metal for the early 2000s with full theatricality.
- Justin Hawkins' Freddie Mercury/David Lee Roth–style falsetto and naked catsuit visuals made their sound and image unmistakably anachronistic and joyful.
Rock Scenes Are Plural Not Sequential
- The Darkness' success shows rock in the 2000s wasn't monolithic; nostalgia and theatricality coexisted with garage and alternative scenes.
- Rob argues grunge didn't erase hair metal; many non-alternative rock strands persisted into the 90s and 2000s.
Performance Comedy Can Coexist With Musical Craft
- Humor and showmanship don't preclude seriousness; The Darkness were both funny and deliberate about craft.
- Rob emphasizes their songs are well executed despite jokey lyrics and flamboyant presentation.