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THE DARKNESS
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Karaoke
has a lot to answer for. Following
the demise of his synth-pop band
Empire, singer-guitarist Justin Hawkins
found himself belting out a version
of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" at
his local pub on New Years' Eve,
1999. Watched by his younger, guitar-playing
brother Dan, the seeds of The Darkness
were planted.
The brothers were soon augmented by drumming schoolfriend
Ed Graham and bassist Frankie Poullain and the newly-christened
The Darkness proceeded to plunder the deeply unfashionable
sounds and looks of late 70s hard to unleash on an unsuspecting
public.
Draping himself in Aerosmith-style leotards, copping moves
and high-kicks from Van Halen's Dave Lee Roth and the high-frequency
falsetto of Freddie Mercury, The Darkness hit London's pub
circuit with a vengeance. Dismissed by certain sections of
the music press as a joke band, The Darkness nonetheless
developed a loyal and devoted following through a combination
of devastating live shows, accessible material and feverish
word of mouth amongst gig goers.
Having struggled to secure a deal, The Darkness put their
money where their mouths were and in August 2002 independently
released their debut EP "I
Believe In A Thing Called Love" . Coupled with
all-important support slots with Deep Purple and Def Leppard,
The Darkness rollercoater began to gain momentum and, following
the release of the single "Keep
Your Hands Off My Woman", secured a major label
deal with Atlantic Records in March 2003.
Following legendary performances at the Glastonbury and T
In The Park Festivals, their debut album "Permission
to Land" entered the charts at Number 1. Just
over a year later, The Darkness found themselves headlining
Friday night at the Reading Festival and embarked on a major
UK tour at the end of 2004.
At the beginning of 2005, it was announced that bassist Frankie
Poullain had left the band due to the time honoured reason
of "creative differences" but the futue of the band was never
in any doubt as proved by the soon-to-be-released sophomore
album.
Download The Darkness now or subscribe to Wippit.
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NICKELBACK |
Self-belief
is an amazing thing. Borrowing $4,000
from his step-father, singer-guitarist
Chad Kroeger took his guitarist brother
Mike and bassist Ryan Vikedel to Vancouver,
Canada in 1996 and recorded their debut
EP, "Hesher". Through tireless self-promotion
and solid gigging, Nickelback soon
moved up to the next level.
Their debut album, the post-grunge "The
State" was picked up on the strength of the
single "Leader
of Men" which garnered unprecedented Canadadian
radioplay. Nickelback toured the album relentlessly and after
200 or so gigs found themselves playing stadium-sized crowds.
Such was their pulling power that the album went on to sell
500,000 copies.
Nickelback's next album, "Silver
Side Up" was a more direct affair, largely
due to the nature of Kroeger's lyrics which dealt with the
pain of growing up. The lead-off single "How You Remind Me" was
a global hit and raised the band's profile in Britain and
Europe.
Taking a break from Nickelback, Kroeger worked with Saliva
vocalist Josey Scott on the Spiderman soundtrack before returning
in 2003 with the album
"The
Long Road" , a meditation on the presssures
of touring.
Nickelback are now poised to strike again with new album "All
The Right Reasons".
Download Nickelback now or subscribe to Wippit.
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