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MusicRadar
MusicRadar
Entertainment
Amit Sharma

“A lot of the floor plan for any Darkness gig is amps. We don’t use simulators because we’re a real band making proper noise”: Why Justin Hawkins and The Darkness like to rock the old-fashioned way

Justin Hawkins.

No-one does arena rock quite like The Darkness – and in 2026 the band will be embarking on their biggest headline tour in 20 years, with seven arena dates across the UK ending with a night at the 20,000-capacity O2 in London.

Frontman Justin Hawkins tells MusicRadar: “We’ve never done the O2 Arena, not even as a support act. It’s certainly a fabled room.

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