(well very nearly!)
By Rockbabe. (aka Donna Butler.)
Sexy Dave is probably The Darkness's biggest and longest-following followers and is admiringly referred to by
"The Darklings" as "The very nearly legendary Sexy Dave."
So Sexy Dave, how did you first hear about The Darkness and when?
First time i ever heard about the darkness was when justin came up to me giving out gig flyers (see, all great bands have to start somewhere!). It was about 4am on the Caladonian Rd in North London, after a club nite called Stay Beautiful, which various members of the band used to frequent in the early days. As organised as ever, these flyers were printed four to a page and no-one had any scissors, so everyone was getting four flyers at a time! As i remember, we spent some time with him carefully tearing the pages into four to give out these individual flyers....
When was the first time you saw them performing live and where was it?
It was the same day as i got the flyer actually! i got the flyer at 4am on the saturday, and then went to see them on the saturday night. it was at the Monarch in Camden, or The Barfly club as they insist on calling it now, at the end of september 2001. there were no catsuits or pyros back then, as there was no money, but the essense of the band was there. justin was leaping all over the place on this tiny stage, taking his shirt off and throwing it into the crowd, dan was riffing away and playing off of his brothers madness, and ed & frankie were contentedly standing there being cool. i liked them as soon as i saw them. so i went to see them again the next week.
What was the set list?
like the sad fanboy i am, i still have it as well! it went thus:
-Bareback
-Nothings Gonna Stop Us Now
-Black Shuck
-Live Til I Die
-The Best of Me
-Out of My Hands
-Love is Only a Feeling
-I Believe in a Thing Called Love
-Love on the Rocks
as you can see, the bones of the live show are there. There are a couple of songs on there that have been abandoned as time has passed, which is a shame because i really liked them. Perhaps they didnt work outside of a live context, who am i to judge? Also, note theres no growing on me or get your hands off my woman, they both came at later gigs.
Can you tell us any amusing "Spinal Tap" like stories that may have happened during their early gigs?
Well obviously the one that immediately springs to mind is the first ever catsuit (apologies if you've heard this one before, its been in a couple of magazines i think). Basically, the band were playing a gig in a pub in south london (which was far from home for them at the time! it also turned out to be a nazi pub but that thankfully wasnt a big problem). In the kebab shop beforehand justin explained his plan to me - he had the catsuit on underneath his jeans and during the show he was gonna whip off the jeans, pull the catsuit on all the way up and he'd be there, a shining vision of rock. This wasnt quite the case, as when the time came he couldnt get the jeans past his trainers, leaving me and rob down the front tugging his jeans off, to the bemusement of many casual punters!
Have the guys changed all that much since their humble beginnings?
Not really. They thought they were huge fucking rock stars back then too.
Justin invited the Darklings to come along to appear in the "Get Your hands off my woman" video shoot.
How was that?
That was great fun that one. I dont know how many people have actually seen that video, but its basically live footage with little scenes in the crowd, y'know like this stuff is happening while they play. The catfight scene over the band was fun to do, these two girls tearing each others clothes off in mock fighting, then we have to jump in and pull them off each other, great stuff. And the girl dancing on the table in just knickers and a feather boa was fun too. The main scene where they're on stage took about a dozen takes though, we were all getting a bit sick of the song by the end of that one, i can tell you!
What do the guys like to drink when chilling out at one of their after show parties or backstage?
you know what, im not sure these days. they were generally beer or vodka drinkers back in the day, but you know, that was probably cos thats the cheapest way to drink when you're skint. There was a time when justin was on the cider, under the illusion it wasnt at all fattening, though that didnt last very long. id like to think they're drinking a lot of bourbon these days. i know i am.
How many shows have you seen to date and which ones have been the most memorable?
Not that many actually, only 21 shows, and some of those were tv shows or recordings and stuff. I know quite a few people who've been to more, but i've always suffered from living in the middle of nowhere and being skint, so i dont always get to travel the way some people can. As for the most memorable one, i really couldnt tell you! some of the early shows were amazing, as it was all so fresh and new to me. but equally some of the recent shows like the brixton dates have been great now they're on the big stage and have this immense audience clapping in time, you know how things like that can just take your breath away.
Do you think we've heard the best of them first? Or are there even greater things to come from them?
I'd like to think of this first album as a statement of intent. Then the second album will be rock's assault on the kingdom of bland music. And the third album will be rocks victory parade through the decimated lands of the plastic pop fakes, and all the people will cheer, and the darkness will be crowned rulers of this once again green and beautiful land. But then again, i've been known to talk a hell of a lot of bollocks in my time.
Thank you for your time Dave. It's a real pleasure to know you!
And you! ROCK ON PEOPLE!
December 2003.