London Games Festival – Trafalgar Square 1.11.08
Justin Hawkins, formerly of the Darkness, chats to Mirror.co.uk about his split from the band, his battle with drug addiction and his latest project, Hot Leg. The group also show us what they’re capable of… on Rock Band 2.
Justin Hawkins is speaking at the Launch of Rock Band on the Wii and PS3 for more information please visit www.rockband.com
Darkness star plays in Swindon
Darkness star plays in Swindon
7:26am Tuesday 28th October 2008
Former Darkness singer Justin Hawkins is performing a sell-out gig in Swindon this evening.
Hawkins and his new band Hot Leg, are set to perform a sold out gig at Swindon’s 12Bar tonight.
The band have already had two releases, Heroes and Trojan Guitar which are thought to be potential hot favourites on their soon-to-be released debut album.
Hawkins, famed for his high voice is expected to make the 12Bar’s windows shake.
The quartet will be supported by Swindon-based classic rock trio The Love Rockets.
The tour continues around the country up until the end of November.
Exeter’s guitars melt
The Mansons Guitar Show not only produced heavyweight rock stars in its line-up at the Riverside Leisure Centre, but gave fans a glance at some of the latest technology in the music world.
Jim Marshall, who founded the namesake amplifier company in 1962, was one of those in attendance and signed posters for visitors.
He said: “This has been a great show and it is good to see lots of people of different ages here too. I’ve signed hundreds of posters and it’s been great.”
Perhaps one of the most savoured moments for guitar fans was hearing Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones answer questions, followed by his jamming session.
Then one of rock’s more flamboyant stars, Justin Hawkins, former lead singer of The Darkness, signed posters along with the members of his new band, Hot Leg.
The band were in town for a gig at the city’s Cavern Club and had photos taken with fans at the Rotosound stand, the company who provide them with their strings.
Jason How, from Rotosound, said: “It has been great fun having Hot Leg here. The band uses our strings and as they were in town we were able to get them here.
“We have also had John Paul Jones here and JJ Burnell from The Stranglers.”
Justin Hawkins said: “Rotosound has kindly sorted us out with strings for our tour so we thought we would come down and support them. We have a gig at the Cavern and are looking forward to it.
“I’m sure it will be fantastic.
“The guitar show has had a great atmosphere and everyone has been so kind and there is a surprising level of interest.”
Lewis Parker, 14, from Exeter, managed to make his way to being one of the first to see Justin Hawkins and Hot Leg.
He said: “I got my guitar signed by Justin and I am so pleased. I’m not sure many people will have a guitar signed by him — it has made my day.”
Other artists appearing during the course of the weekend included Jas Morris of Newton Abbot, a former Guitarist of the Year winner; Jethro Tull’s Martin Barre; and Aziz Ibrahim of the Stone Roses.
The show is making something of a comeback, having last been staged in 1999.
Steve Harvey, one of the show’s organisers, said: “The show has gone even better than we had hoped for.
“We hoped it would be a fun show but everything has been better than planned and we are absolutely delighted.
“It has been slightly surreal watching John Paul Jones jamming and then seeing Justin Hawkins walk in to do a signing and having people waiting ages to see him and his new band. It doesn’t happen every afternoon in Exeter that’s for sure. We are just delighted.”
And traders at the show also spoke highly of the event. Joe Moretti, from Vox Amplification, said: “I think the show is good, especially in terms of size and venue. I will definitely do it again.”
He added: “People here are getting a first glimpse at some of the technology now on offer and the reaction has been fantastic.”
Trojan Guitar hits Singapore!
Getting high on some Hot Leg. This song is fast becoming my favourite rock-out track of the year. It’s highly anthemic, with a killer riff, and Justin Hawkin’s infallible falsetto. Glam-metal is so back! 😀
EXCLUSIVE – Justin Hawkins Interviewed
This site has a lot of good stuff, including some Extreme interviews. Link is at the bottom.
Here at rushonrock we like to remember Justin Hawkins as a fresh-faced hair metal God in his pomp rock prime, playing to a sell-out crowd at Newcastle University’s sweaty underbelly of a live venue. And it seems the old boy hasn’t really changed. With new band Hot Leg ready to give Extreme a run for their money at Newcastle City Hall next month we caught up with Mr Darkness himself.
rushonrock: When did you decide to put Hot Leg together and was there ever any doubt about the type of band it would be?
Justin Hawkins: The decision about what kind of band we were going to be was never an issue. We’ve been working on the album for a while now and it was always going to be a straight rock record. It’s always been my thing and I won’t change. Finding the right guys to do my thing with has been a challenge. I found our drummer Darby in January. He’s inhumanly good and he recommended Sam and he, in turn, recommended Pete. Everybody’s got the same sense of humour, everybody’s into the same kind of thing and it’s been really lovely.
rushonrock: Has there been obvious scepticism in the wake of your comeback?
JH: I think even if I’d stayed in The Darkness the scepticism would have been there. It’s not something that I worry about. It just becomes your duty to silence it. You show people how good you really are and do the biggest and best shows you possibly can. Hot Leg is sweatier and more fun and I’m loving it. But for a band like The Darkness to get to arena level – that was the natural conclusion. Along the way the best work we did was in the smaller venues where we could really connect with the audiences. The big stuff is a lot harder to pull off and we never really nailed the big arena shows. If you went to see Bon Jovi they would deliver the perfect arena concert. In The Darkness we couldn’t quite do that.
rushonrock: The scepticism apart has the rock world otherwise welcomed you back with open arms?
JH: Overall it’s been really positive. I’ve been quite surprised in fact. Everybody told me I’d get a real slating when I returned with Hot Leg and that would have been totally expected. So absolutely everything positive that I see or read is a total bonus. There’s no bitterness. The new material is the strongest that I’ve ever written and everyone is excited to be playing the songs live. We can’t afford to get bogged down in what people might think of me or my past. That would really deflect from the Hot Leg experience – four men rocking as hard as possible. We’ll be doing proper rock shows. There are bands in the world who seem to be having fun to amuse themselves – we’re having fun to entertain our fans.
rushonrock: How excited are you to have the chance to tour with Extreme?
JH: Pete our guitar player is having kittens. They’re one of his favourite bands of all time. Before we nabbed the support slot we saw that they’d reformed and they were going to tour the UK. We said just imagine if we got that gig? And we did! We’re totally over the moon about it. Nuno is one of the best guitarists in the world and I’m really keen to see how he works and lives his life. He’s such a talented guy and a great role model.
rushonrock: Is there any way The Darkness could have continued?
JH: Creativity, or a lack of it, is the main reason I quit. Everyone just assumes I took lots of drugs and jacked it in. In fact I knew the second record wasn’t as creative as the first. The Darkness had run its course and I had run my course with The Darkness. Had my brother not been in the band I would have quit sooner.
rushonrock: Talking of Dan are you still close and what do you think of Stone Gods?
JH: I love my brother dearly and I think the Stone Gods’ record is an awesome album. My brother co-produced it and I’m really proud of what he’s done. He’s a very talented musician and I’m glad those talents have been acknowledged.
rushonrock: So do you see Hot Leg outlasting The Darkness?
JH: Lasting a little bit longer than The Darkness is inevitably what will happen. The problem with my old band was that a lot of people were pulling in too many different directions and the whole thing just snapped. Hot Leg won’t suffer from the same thing at all. It’s not about me and a cat suit – it’s a much more focused unit. In terms of longevity I don’t think there’s an end in sight. It’s a very exciting time for me.
Cavern Club Exeter 26.10.08
Hot Topic
In less than 48 hours you can get your sticky mits on former
Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins’ return to form. And you’d be foolish
to miss out on the first single from his new band Hot Leg.
Trojan Guitar clocks in at a mighty five minutes-plus and
features all the multi-layered vocals, convoluted lyrics and guitar
hooks you’d expect from the man who made classic pomp rock cool again.
It’s not exactly catchy – and you’d probably call it a grower – but
there’s definitely something special about Hot Leg’s preamble to 2009’s
debut album.
Those of us counting down to Extreme’s Newcastle City Hall gig are
well aware that Hawkins and co. are providing the support that night.
And he told rushonrock: ”I think
the last time I played there was when The Darkness supported Def
Leppard and it’s a venue I just love. As soon as we wrap up our set
I’ll be in the crowd picking the best spot to check out the mighty
Extreme so seek me out and chew the rock fat.”
Justin, we’ll do just that! Trojan Guitar is released on Monday via Barbecue Rock Records and a full interview with Hot Leg’s Hawkins will appear here soon.
This has the release dates wrong – Panther
Interview: former The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins
Because with the heady, Number 1 selling days of The Darkness behind him, Justin is now channelling his rock ‘n’ roll spirit into new band Hot Leg.
Rave reviews of the band’s first few shows have grabbed the band media attention, and Peterborough gets the chance to see a fully revitalised Justin when Hot Leg play The Park next Friday.
The Guide spoke to Justin ahead of the October tour:
He said: “Creatively and musically, Hot Leg is much more focused than The Darkness. That’s not to say there aren’t similarities, there is, but previously everyone has wanted different things from the experience. This is more serious.
“I’m proud to say these are the best songs I’ve ever written. The band I have with me are all guys I’ve for a while, and we are all reading off the same page.
“With The Darkness it happened so fast, so the main aim of selling records was on us quite quickly. This time it will be about making really good albums, which don’t have to be the biggest.”
Justin rose to tabloid fame in a matter of months after his band, The Darkness, outgunned all opposition during the summer of 2003.
Their debut album, Permission To Land, spent four weeks at Number 1, and went on to sell a staggering 1.4 million copies.
This worldwide fame meant Justin spent the next two years touring constantly, as well as having the nagging pressure to write a follow-up which would reach the heady heights of Permission To Land.
By autumn 2006, Justin was admitted to a rehabilitation clinic to deal with his alcohol and cocaine addictions. The Darkness was over.
Even last year, Justin had an unsuccessful attempt to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest, but now all his attentions are focused on Hot Leg.
Single Trojan Guitar is out now, and an album is expected in January, all released through his own Universal-distributed label, Barbeque Rock Records.
He added: “All the feedback I’ve had from the shows we did in the summer has been positive.
“I love the new gigs being in small venues. It is slightly more difficult to connect with the audience in large halls or arenas, so this tour is perfect for us to begin with.
“We keep it lively, embrace ’80s fashion, and if we get a good crowd response I may even throw in a Darkness song.”
Tickets for the Halloween night show are available from www.thepark4music.com, or by calling 
01778 380048
. They cost £10 in advance, or £12 on the night. Doors open at 7pm.
Wedgewood Rooms Portsmouth 23.10.08
Sezzles’ Video
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![Hot%20Leg%20Single%20a7[1]-1](https://live.staticflickr.com/3270/3077361749_743052b4bc_s.jpg "Hot%20Leg%20Single%20a7[1]-1")
Hot Leg's Hot Press 