Hot Leg may need an introduction, but their frontman’s former band The Darkness surely does not.
So Hot Leg is Justin Hawkin’s new band. Do I need to say more? It’s just as good, if not even a little better than The Darkness; it sounds way more refined than The Darkness, which can be good or bad depending on your mood (or the decibel count on your speakers). lots more falsetto. lots more rocking.
This is Justin Hawkins’ new band. You may remember him from the metal revivalist outfit known as The Darkness. We haven’t heard much, but it would probably be a show worth checking out, at least to hear him hit one or two of those insane metal crescendos.
Wednesday
I went to pick up a picture of me riding a horse that I have just had framed. On the way back, some kids threw sludgy snowballs at me. Later on, Pete Rinaldi, the guitarist in Hot Leg, came over to my house in north-west London and we started work on the band’s third album. Even though our first album has just come out, we’ve already written the second one – we just had too many songs. The third one is going to be a concept album, probably a three-hour epic rock opera, but at the moment we’ve just got the opening riff, which sounds like Guns N’ Roses.
Thursday
A lot of the day was spent doing promotion and talking to some radio shows in Ireland. I don’t mind doing it; when our first single came out last year it was a bit more tedious because I had to talk about the past with the Darkness and all the bad things that have happened. It’s quite exciting for Hot Leg to be treated as a band in its own right. In the evening I worked on a cover version of the Proclaimers’ 500 Miles that my friends have asked me to perform at their wedding. If I cook in the evening it tends to be simple food. Chili con carne is my speciality.
Friday
I was producing an album for a young band called Saving Amy. The six of them were all pulling in different directions, so they wanted me to give them some shape. My basic approach is to make songs simpler, especially the drumming. All great songs, from Michael Jackson to AC/DC, have really simple drums. To thank me, the band bought me a lovely leg of cured ham. I’ve got nowhere high to hang it, so it’s being used as a punchbag by the cat.
Saturday
Usually on a Saturday I’d stay in bed for the day, but we’ve got a tour coming up so the whole band went over to the rehearsal studios to prepare. We play high-intensity man‑rock – basically everything is loud. I’m not sure what costumes we are going to wear, but I am getting quite into frilly shirts. In the evening I went home to read my favourite book at the moment, Frank Tallis’s Mortal Mischief. I’m not a big reader, but I love Agatha Christie.
Sunday
I worked on a soundtrack for my friend’s film. I used to write music for adverts and it’s a very similar process to that. You learn a lot about music by trying to reproduce sounds. I was trying to recreate the sound of Benedictine nuns singing by overlaying me singing falsetto and then putting some reverb on it, but it didn’t sound right. I might have to record myself singing in a real church. I do music all the time, even in my leisure time. I suppose I am a bit of a workaholic.
Rating: 7
The more cynical among you will wonder why Justin Hawkins continues to create music after no one really cared about The Darkness’ second opus, but frankly ‘Red Light Fever’ should be listened to, embraced and make you remember what you liked about The Darkness in the first place. Mr Hawkins and his new pals have created an absurd, infectiously catchy (even if you don’t want it to be) and good-time rock album. It’s not perfect – with ‘Cocktails’ and ‘Gay In The 80s’ being a bit too Flashdance for their own good – but when you find yourself repeatedly humming and singing songs like ‘Trojan Guitar’, you know Justin hasn’t lost any of his musical talent.
For fans of: The Darkness, Queen, Aerosmith
Editor rating 5.8
Artist Hot Leg
Title Red Light Fever
Label http://www.barbecuerock.com
The strangest thing happened to me the other day. I had a nightmare during which I got the debut album from Justin Hawkins’ new band ‘Hot Leg’ and the chorus of the first song was Justin screaming something about poultry…. Holy shit! It’s not a nightmare, it’s real! He really IS screaming “Whoa, if I just get some chickens!” Now I have absolutely no idea what he has been on, but I definitely want some. As an opener this is surrealness itself, banshee wailing over a ‘Hocus Pocus’ soundalike mess of a song that also includes the wackiest keyboard section. Either the band have a secured a deal to provide the soundtrack for the next KFC advert or this is a deliberate attempt at the bizarre. Either way, it’s the strangest thing I have ever heard. Meanwhile back on planet earth, I’m left wondering what’s next? Many had predicted that this project would be simply Darkness part 2, Hawkins high pitched delivery of tongue in cheek sounding lyrics presented in a Queen-alike production backed up by the occasional catchy riff and guitar solo. To some extent this is true, but on repeated listens there is a bit more going on under the surface. Despite the comedic nature of the presentation, there are some real pieces of social commentary, not least within ‘Ashamed’ on which Justin duets with former Eurovision collaborator Bev Brown, whose excellent voice gives this damnation of televisual trash it’s soulful edge. As an album I think this will have it’s fans (many of whom will be Darkness devotees), but like all good parties it’s time this one ended. I met Justin Hawkins once while we were both very drunk and I totally loved the man, but for me he is wasting his talent as a guitar player on such throwaway material. Don’t get me wrong, I think these songs will be the life and soul of any party and probably go down a storm live, but apart from ‘Trojan Guitar’ I honestly wouldn’t complain if I never heard them again. People often ask me what the lineup of my fantasy supergroup would be, and Justin Hawkins would definitely be one of the guitarists. Anyone who can replicate the orchestral nature of Brian May and solo like Dave Meniketti will always find a place in my heart. I loved ‘Permission To Land’ as an album, but it’s time to move on. I pray for the day when Justin decides to lend his axe to a real out an out rock band because that will truly be something to shout about. Musically as watertight as a ducks fart, Hot Leg are no doubt going to have their moment in the sun, but like the man said; “The sun shines on every dog’s arse once”.
Current Lineup : Justin Hawkins(lead vocals, guitar) Pete Rinaldi(guitar, backing vox) Samuel SJ Stokes(bass,vocals) Darby Todd(drums,vocals)
His new band reiterates Justin’s love for energetic, theatrical rock.
The group’s debut album, Red Light Fever, out this week, is punctuated by driving rhythms and memorable hooks, the latter a throwback to his days penning advertising jingles.
A knack for melody that produced Darkness classics such as I Believe In A Thing Called Love is still intact.
Hawkins stresses that Hot Leg – whose line-up is completed by guitarist Pete Rinaldi, bassist Samuel Stokes and drummer Darby Todd – are not merely the Darkness Mark II.
His one regret? Justin (centre) with the other hopefuls wanting to represent Britain in the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest
But, having spent the past three years working on solo projects — the novelty electronic act British Whale plus a failed attempt to become the UK’s candidate in the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest (‘We don’t talk about that,’ he says, sheepishly) — he is thrilled to be fronting a band once more.
‘I had written a lot of songs and I put some of them up on MySpace as a solo artist,’ he says. ‘But I always get more from collaborating with others. There’s nothing as magical as alive band.
‘Some of the new songs were written while I was still with the Darkness, but they weren’t right for that time. The Darkness was built on fragile foundations and it wasn’t going to last for ever.’
With Red Light Fever released on the singer’s own independent label, Barbeque Rock, the expensive special effects that were an integral part of a typical Darkness show are on hold — at least for now.
‘I’m going to bring the catsuits back, but it might be some time before I can put all my new ideas into action.
‘With The Darkness, the stuffed white tiger was a drawing on a napkin that became a reality. Now, the sketches on the napkins might just stay on the napkins.
‘But if we ever have the money, I’ll spend it on the live show again. You don’t often see rock singers flying twice during a single gig, but I never felt ridiculous up on the stuffed white tiger. To me, that’s all part of the rock ‘n’ roll dream. If you want to be in a stadium band, you have to do it properly.’
This was a pretty long article. For the rest, see www. dailymail.co.uk
Hot Leg Red Light Fever Barbecue Rock Records, £10.76
His previous band the Darkness having imploded, Justin Hawkins is back with different musicians but essentially the same music: shrill metal guitar and even shriller singing, every last bar of it winking with camp. It can be gratingly gimmicky, but it contains not a gram of gloom, and right now that should count for a lot.
Michael Deacon
Download this: Chickens
The rushonrock postbag might have been lighter than Axl Rose’s workload this week but what we lack in quantity we can certainly make up for in terms of quality.
Yes it might be cold but this week it’s all about getting Hot. Hot Leg. And we’re rubbing our inner thighs with excitement after listening to Hawkins and his new band rip their way through a short and impossibly sweet debut album.
Hot Leg – Red Light Fever (Barbecue Rock)
Hands up everyone out there ready to give this record a right old slating just because it’s Justin Hawkins and you had enough of his overblown rock histrionics when The Darkness were at their peak? Great. Well you’re going to be bloody disappointed as the Hawk has not only bounced back from the days of drugged up depravity and bouts of depression – he’s trampolined right over the opposition and landed with the best pomp rock album since Permission To Land.
Yes those critics sharpening their knives as we speak will find their favourite tools horribly blunted by what has to be one of the finest returns to form since Michael Jordan came out of retirement and reminded fellow sports stars everywhere just who put the ‘L’ in legend. It’s chock full of ’smile-on-yer-face’, ‘tingle-in-your-pants’, ’sing-in-the-shower’ goodness guaranteed to warm even the iciest of frozen wastes at a time when the only hot legs around are those encased in themal leggings.
And talking of leggings it’s as if every one of the 10 tunes on this tremendously uplifting affair belong in glittery spandex. Whether the Hawk is poking fun at himself (Ashamed, featuring fellow Eurovision flop Beverlei Brown), the nation’s true believers (I’ve Met Jesus) or a hair metal generation forever in his debt for reviving a passion in the music we love (Gay In The 80s) this is a record which was made for the proverbial wry smile.
Lead single Trojan Guitar tries to slow the tempo and kill the groove midway through as the ’song most likely to accommodate drum solos, guitar solos and just about every other solo’ during the band’s forthcoming headline tour. And if you’re trying to be picky then this is probably the low point on a record which just hammers home the highs. But it’s not as low as Ronnie James Dio. Or a drum stool. It just doesn’t reach the Eiffel Tower heights of You Can’t Hurt me Any More or the aforementioned Gay In The 80s.
That tongue-in-cheek anthem is so typically Hawkins with the hilarious chorus ‘Oh in the 80s/They weren’t the gayties/They were the straighties/Oh in the 80s’. Pure genius. But then that’s the bloke all over. And if Britain doesn’t warm to one of the nation’s finest singer songwriters again in 2009 then we deserve to be stuck under seven foot of snow and freezing our bollocks off in the midst of a recession. Which, of course, we don’t.
rushonrock rated: 10/10 Justin Time
Like it says up there! Go to musicglue to get yours!
HL – just keeps on giving and rocking. Greatly.
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