When The Darkness roared out of England with its 2003 debut Permission to Land and the hit “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” the music world was slapped across the face. The band reminded people that melodic hard rock steeped in ’70s influences was supposed to be catchy, fun, and sometimes outrageous. Guitarist Dan Hawkins, vocalist/guitarist Justin Hawkins, bassist Frankie Poullain, and drummer Rufus Taylor have just released Dreams on Toast, The Darkness’ eighth studio album.
Vintage Guitar caught up with Dan Hawkins.
How did the songwriting work on Dreams on Toast?
Quite often, I have written the music, Justin the lyrics and melody, but we are all together when it happens, and soar musically and lyrically off each other, so even if Frank and Ru haven’t contributed chords, melody, or lyrics, we still split the songwriting contributions. Rufus many times has played a drum beat that has informed a riff or chord progression of mine.
Has the way you all write changed dramatically over time?
We are pushing each other to come to writing sessions with pre-formed ideas. We have all contributed solo contributions to this album with each of us taking a turn to be the vocalist on our offering.
You produced Dreams on Toast and produced or co-produced previous albums. What goes into that decision, and is it easy or difficult to step back and just be a guitarist?
Producing has been an obsession of mine since a young age. I wanted to go to London when I was 17, with the aim of being a sound engineer, but things didn’t quite go to plan. I built a commercial studio in Norfolk when the band got big and had many established acts record there.
From the start of The Darkness, I was in the role of producer. I wasn’t credited, but I produced the first album with Pedro Ferreira. Halfway through, Frankie thought I was taking too much control away from the band, so I stepped down. But when it came to dishing out credits, Pedro conveniently forgot that I was his co-producer for half of the album. I knew it was wrong at the time, but didn’t say anything, as I just wanted the band to do well and not rock the boat.
I’ve been on a mission to prove myself as a top producer and not rely on engineers or mix engineers ever since! I have produced everything I’ve recorded, apart from our Pinewood Smile album, which was produced by Adrian Bushby. It was magnificent fun and Adrian is amazing, but it was just for one album, as I’d had a baby and was exhausted. It was really fun just being a guitar player, though!
Dreams on Toast has a variety of styles. “Rock and Roll Party Cowboy” and “I Hate Myself” rock out. “Hot on My Tail,” with its acoustic-guitar strumming and catchy piano, is like country rock. The straight pop influences are evident on “Don’t Need Sunshine” and “The Longest Kiss.”
My agenda as producer was not to make music for our audience, but to follow the song no matter what style it was. We had upward of 70 songs on the cutting room floor before we even thought of entering the studio. The (Beatles’) White album was quite an influence on us this time – the freedom to explore rather than supply our fans with more of the same.
A new documentary, Welcome to The Darkness, covers the band’s highs and lows. How do you think it turned out?
It was a massive pain in the arse. Cameras on us for seven years! I don’t really think it came across, how much fun we have as a band. It was more about picking out the drama. Still, director Simon Emmett did a great job. I think of it more like a wildlife documentary. We didn’t have a say in much.
What guitars did you play on Dreams on Toast?
I used a 2000 Les Paul Standard, a 2024 355 – my new fave – a ’64 Epiphone Casino, and Atkin and Brook acoustics. My 355 is a beautiful guitar I got from the Gibson Garage last year. It sounds quite aggressive but with so much personality. I can’t wait to play it live on the next tour. Justin kept nicking it for solos, as it just sings! It’s the sound of this album for sure. – Bret Adams
This article originally appeared in VG’s April 2025 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
