It was a packed to the rafters Civic Hall that welcomed back The Darkness for their first show in Wolverhampton since 2013. A decade later and Lowestoft’s finest are out in support of the 20th anniversary of their landmark debut album Permission To Land, the record that sent them on a rollercoaster of a ride over the past two decades with plenty of ups and downs and twists and turns along the way. Thankfully, the past few years have seen the band release a couple of very strong studio albums in Easter Is Cancelled and Motorheart and backed this up with some captivating live performances, including a terrific set at Hyde Park earlier this year when they warmed the crowd up for Guns N’ Roses.

Tonight, however, it was all about that debut album with the the band bursting on stage to ‘Black Shuck’ which immediately got the party started. With Justin Hawkins his usual cocky, eccentric self, he was soon getting a male member of the audience on stage to join in the fun for ‘Growing on Me’, taking the place of the lady from the album cover and mirroring the singer in leaping from the drum riser. Leaving the over-the-top flamboyance to his brother, and still sporting his signature Thin Lizzy shirt, Dan was his usual no-nonsense, heads down self and Frankie Poullain remains as reliable as always on the bass. It also has to be said that Rufus Taylor is a fine fit indeed for The Darkness, and although he wasn’t there twenty years ago it is hard to imagine anyone else behind the drum kit.

‘Love is Only a Feeling’ remains a mid-set show stopping highlight, albeit tonight there was no Ed Sheeran on hand to join in the fun as was the case earlier in the tour at Camden’s Roundhouse. ‘Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End)’ is surely a contender for one of the most entertaining festive songs of all time, and tonight was no exception as it raised the atmosphere in the Hall even further, only to be followed by a joyous romp through ‘Immigrant Song’ and frantic ‘I Believe in a Thing Called Love’. For the encore, it was time to swap things around as Dan took to the drum stool and Rufus handled bass for ‘I Love You 5 Times’ before Justin rounded things off by going walk-a-bout in the crowd during ‘Love on the Rocks With No Ice’. Having now celebrated both the 10th and 20th anniversaries of Permission To Land, there is every chance The Darkness will be back in a decade to do it all over again. And judging from tonight’s reception, nobody would mind one bit.

Setlist:-

Black Shuck
Get Your Hands Off My Woman
Growing on Me
The Best of Me
Makin’ Out
Givin’ Up
Love Is Only a Feeling
Stuck in a Rut
How Dare You Call This Love?
Street Spirit (Fade Out)
Holding My Own
Friday Night
Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End)
Immigrant Song
I Believe in a Thing Called Love

Encore:-
I Love You 5 Times
Love on the Rocks With No Ice