The Darkness exploded on the rock scene in 2003 with their international hit "I Believe In A Thing Called Love." The song had everything – a massive chorus, memorable riffs, and a ridiculous music video that I'm pretty sure everyone at the time saw. So what was the impetus behind writing such a huge hit? Mostly the idea to write a purposefully stupid song.
According to The Darkness guitarist Dan Hawkins in an interview with The Guardian, it all started when his brother and band frontman Justin Hawkins came up with the first riff.
"I can't remember who said it but we were having a conversation along the lines of: 'Why don't we just write the stupidest song ever?" It was probably Justin, my brother, who came up with the first riff: he and Frankie were sparring with that ridiculous chorus line very early on. I came up with the bridge and the back end of the chorus and tried to put it into some sort of semblance of a song.
"We took that arrangement into a dingy rehearsal room a few days later. I expected us all to feel embarrassed playing it. But everyone was singing along to the chorus the second time it came around. We looked at each other and thought: 'This is it. It's staying.' I was like: 'Oh fuck. It's staying."
Justin Hawkins later added that a lot of work went into the song, making sure that everything was perfect. Oh, and the crab in the music video is a reference to being on cocaine.
"The arrangement is super-tight. It's almost signposted – you know where it's going the moment it starts. You know what it's all about. A lot of the best songs are like that. I spent a long time in the studio getting the perfect tempo, making sure the drums were absolutely spot-on.
"The crab that features in the music video meant something to the band. It was a reference to when you've taken lots of cocaine and your eyes are basically on stalks. It has appeared on numerous occasions throughout our career. We've always had an affinity with sea creatures, possibly because we're from Lowestoft in Suffolk."
Now go get "I Believe In A Thing Called Love" stuck in your head all over again.
