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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Interviews by Ralph Jones

‘Why don’t we just write the stupidest song ever?’ How the Darkness made I Believe in a Thing Called Love

On a pathological quest for love … the Darkness.
On a pathological quest for love … the Darkness. Photograph: Mick Hutson/Redferns

Dan Hawkins, guitarist

I can’t remember who said it but we were having a conversation along the lines of: “Why don’t we just write the stupidest song ever?” It was probably Justin, my brother, who came up with the first riff: he and Frankie were sparring with that ridiculous chorus line very early on. I came up with the bridge and the back end of the chorus and tried to put it into some sort of semblance of a song. We took that arrangement into a dingy rehearsal room a few days later. I expected us all to feel embarrassed playing it. But everyone was singing along to the chorus the second time it came around. We looked at each other and thought: “This is it. It’s staying.” I was like: “Oh fuck. It’s staying.”

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