tar heroics by brothers Justin and Dan Hawkins , and cheeky fun . Debut album Permission to Land followed suit with the heavy pop hooks and two-ton rhythm of ensuing songs like “ Get Your Hands Off of My Woman .” Trips to Chicago venues beginning with the Double Door established a loyal local fanbase that has embraced material from the band ’ s seven albums , including

It ’ s taken us a while , but that ’ s the journey we ’ re on .

IE : What are the tried-and-true things about a Darkness tour that you love the best ? FP : The things I can ’ t remember – elusive and intangible moments that dissolve into the past . IE : Will this tour lean heavily into

Motorheart , or will it skew toward the 20th anniversary of Permission to Land ? FP : This set will skew towards a barbecue , precious and unplayed gems skewered on a kebab stick and fired until succulent to the taste . There will be the inevitable gooey marshmallow encore , but this time you won ’ t burn the roof of your mouth – and that ’ s a promise .

IE : I remember reading that during the time leading up to your record deal before

Permission to Land , the Darkness wasn ’ t taken seriously because the music was so over the top , the show was so bombastic , and the lyrics were so cheeky . Music businesspeople must have been avoiding the Darkness because you were just too much fun . It seems like the band ’ s spirit and presence would be such an easy sell . FP : Not in the UK . They couldn ’ t sell a wet bag of cement . Wait , that doesn ’ t make sense … We were against the grain . The UK is , in fact , a small island that is consensus-