Rewind to the early noughties and The Darkness were struggling to get signed to a record label, the business considered them ‘uncool’ and some people were saying that the band were a joke…..Fast forward to 2021 when they released their 7th studio album and stuck two fingers up to the naysayers, some joke eh?

Their journey could be described as ‘a rough ride’ over the years, the band has split up, reformed, members have come and gone (and come back again) but you cannot deny that The Darkness are a force to be reckoned with on the UK rock music scene and continue to be so to this day.

Currently midway through their UK tour to promote their recently released #1 album Motorheart (culminating in two dates at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire) tonight saw them stopping off at Exeter for a show at The Great Hall.

Opening the show were Lancaster rockers Massive Wagons (named after a local barmaid….she sounds scary!), these guys belted out some classic rock which kept the audience engaged throughout their set. They cite classic acts such as Rainbow, UFO and Status Quo as key influences and with their tight riffs, intricate solos and a very enigmatic frontman, they drew heavily upon these to put on a killer show.

I read that they landed themselves in hot water in their home town of Lancaster by erecting a large mural of their new album cover on the side of a pub wall, initially condemned by the local council due to not having the relevant planning permission, public outcry led to the council reversing their decision and allowing the artwork to stay, that my friends is the power of rock n’ roll!

Massive Wagons are signed to Earache Records and have 4 studio albums under their belts, proving to all that this bunch of super talented musicians are no one trick ponies.

After a bit of a re-shuffle on stage, we were ready for the main act….

The Darkness walked on stage to a jaunty tune, waved their hello’s and kicked straight into their career spanning set which took us on a journey back to the early noughties and up to present day.

They opened with ‘Welcome to Glasgae’, the opening track from their recently released #1 album Motorheart which set the scene perfectly for the rest of the show.

What followed was a rock n’ roll roller coaster of a set, spanning their entire back catalogue, no less than 6 from their debut Permission To Land including ‘Friday Night’, ‘Love is Only a Feeling’ and of course ‘I Believe in a Thing Called Love’ which dropped just before they left the stage after act 1.

6 was certainly the key number here this evening as this was the amount of tracks they played from Motorheart, no surprises there I hear you cry as this WAS after all a tour to promote the new record. The title track from the album kicked off and sounded like the love child of Metallica and Motorhead, with its metal tinged intro and heavy riff, you’d easily have thought you were at a speed metal show!

I enjoyed the little things that happened throughout the set, Justin Hawkins planting kisses on the head of the guitar tech that came to bring him his guitar or when he ran away from him and had him running around the stage after him.

It might be 21 years since the band formed in Lowestoft but looking around the stage, they could have easily passed for a band much younger than their years. The Hawkins brothers looked spritely, youthful and full of energy, Frankie looked like he’d just stepped off the catwalk of a GUCCI show in Milan whilst I couldn’t really see much of Rufus as he was tucked away nicely behind his drumkit on a raised stage.

The set came to a close with a tremendous full on version of ‘I Believe in a Thing Called Love’ which really tested Justin’s vocals but he did it justice and put his falsetto to good use during the track which had everyone dancing along.

After what seemed like an eternity, the band took to he stage once again dressed in Christmas outfits, Dan opted for a classic festive sweater, Justin in a very cheeky santa themed jumpsuit, I really don’t know what Frankie had on, maybe it a turkey costume but I’ll leave that open to interpretation. The sound engineer came on dressed as a lobster carrying his ‘jingle bells’ whilst the crème de la crème was Rufus who was wearing a full sized Christmas Tree outfit, how on earth he even managed to sit on his drum stool and play the final song was beyond me, but he did and it went down a storm. As far as Christmas songs go, ‘Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End)’ isn’t as bad as most, it is actually quite good and after giving it another listen the other night I was starting to get into the festive spirit a little more!

As the band took a bow (well, as best as they could in their costumes), the audience showed their appreciation for a band that have struggled through thick and thin and come out rockin’, let’s see what the next 21 years bring!

Words and Pictures by Steve Muscutt