The Darkness hit the live circuit in earnest, playing a series of now-legendary gigs around North London, almost always on a Saturday night (The Darkness are, in so many ways, the ultimate Saturday night band). A devoted following grew show-by-show, purely by word of mouth. The thing which set them apart, as much as the music, was their sheer showmanship.
"Everyone's too uptight these days," reckons Frankie. "I hate the arrogance of bands who think their petty emotions are interesting. If you look at bands from 25 years ago, people have smiles on their faces. We're bringing a bit of that back."
So there's no ironic intent? "No," he says, switching into sarcastic mode, "I'm just doing what's real and right." And they're not taking the piss out of Heavy Metal? "No way! Fuck that!"
"We know we've got a long struggle," says Dan thoughtfully. "No-one dares break any rules. But once we get unleashed, we could change everything."
