In 2003, British rockers The Darkness took the world by storm with their smash hit single ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’ and the award-winning, chart-topping, multi-platinum debut album Permission to Land. Then, at the height of their fame in 2006, the band split up and fell off the music radar.
Nine years later, director, and renowned celebrity portrait and beauty photographer, Simon Emmett (Underhill) followed The Darkness on their long, rocky and hilarious comeback trail. From a small pub gig in the middle of nowhere with the ambition of performing at packed arena shows once again, Welcome to The Darkness shows the stark reality of a ‘cult band’ struggling to recapture former glory.
20 years on from their platinum-selling debut, Justin Hawkins, his brother Dan Hawkins, eccentric bassist Frankie Poullain, and new drummer Rufus Taylor tell their story, in their own words of The Darkness’ comeback tale.
With unprecedented access, unseen archive footage, and intimate interviews filmed over six years, Welcome to The Darkness is a tongue-in-cheek reflection on fame, failure, friendship and forgiveness. At its heart, this is a unique account of a band of brothers who are still haunted by the demons that ripped them apart. A band who can defiantly laugh in the face of adversities in their ultimate quest for happiness and redemption.
Ahead of the documentary release there is also a very special expanded Permission To Land deluxe album release out on October 6th via Warner Music. It comes as a 5 LP package, a 4CD+DVD package, a double CD package and of course it will also be across all of your digital streaming platforms in its full glory. To pre-order one of these magnificent formats, simply click HERE
Permission To Land was originally released in 2003 via Atlantic Records and stormed to the top of the UK Albums chart, where it remained for four weeks, and spent 53 weeks in the Top 100. It achieved the band three BRIT Awards, including British Album Of The Year, British Group and British Rock Act, where they fended off competition from the likes of Blur, Radiohead, Sugababes, Muse, Primal Scream and more. The record has sold over 3.5 million copies to date, with 1.8m in the UK alone.
The celebratory year is topped off with a sold out tour of the UK in December, part of the Permission To Land anniversary world tour which kicks off next week in the United States. Full tour dates can be found here - https://www.thedarknesslive.com/tour-dates/
Welcome To The Darkness, a feature-length documentary about the band, will be in cinemas for ONE NIGHT ONLY on November 9th (+ encores), and available on digital download and Blu-ray from December 4th.
Notes for editors:
Director Simon Emmett is renowned for his celebrity portraits and beauty photography and his work regularly appears across a broad spectrum of publications such as Beauty Papers, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Esquire, Icon and numerous others. Constantly working between his personal, editorial and commercial projects, Emmett is also a dedicated filmmaker. His first feature documentary ‘Underhill’ about Barnet FC’s old home was met with critical acclaim. Welcome to the Darkness is his second feature - https://simonemmett.co.uk/
Christine Cowin (Creation Stories, Buena Vista Social Club: Adios) serves as producer.
