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Guitar World
Guitar World
Entertainment
Jenna Scaramanga

“That was the first time I’d ever listened to one and gone, ‘What is that? I want to learn how to do that’”: Justin Hawkins is known for his rock chops – but a soul and reggae legend inspired him to break the rules

Justin Hawkins of The Darkness performs at the The Halls Wolverhampton on March 15, 2025 in Wolverhampton, England AND Photo of Johnny Nash Photo.

Justin Hawkins is known to all as a man of rock, but, perhaps surprisingly, he is also a lifelong reggae fan. In fact, he credits one reggae legend in particular with expanding his chord knowledge.

“My childhood, the sort of music that I was exposed to from my parents, was always rock, namely dad rock, and a lot of reggae as well,” he tells BBC Radio 2’s Tracks of My Years. “My mum was massively into reggae.”

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