British Whale
| Justin Hawkins | |
|---|---|
Hawkins performing with The Darkness in Seattle, Washington in October 2015
|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Justin David Hawkins |
| Born |
17 March 1975 Chertsey, Surrey, England |
| Genres | Hard rock, glam rock, glam metal, heavy metal |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, keyboards, sitar, keytar, bass |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Labels | Atlantic, Must Destroy |
| Associated acts | The Darkness, British Whale, Hot Leg, Saving Aimee, Steel Panther |
| Website | thedarkness |
| Notable instruments | |
| Gibson Les Paul Custom | |
Justin David Hawkins (born 17 March 1975) is an English musician and singer-songwriter, best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist of The Darkness, alongside his brother, guitarist Dan Hawkins. Heavily influenced by classic hard rock and heavy metal bands of the 1970s and 1980s (particularly Queen, Aerosmith, Def Leppard and AC/DC), Hawkins is noted for his falsetto singing voice and on-stage persona. He was also the lead singer and guitarist for the band Hot Leg, formed in 2008, and now on hiatus. Since 2005 he is also active in his synthpop alter ego British Whale.
Hawkins began playing clubs and pubs with The Darkness until they were signed by record label Atlantic Records. Their debut album, Permission to Land, went straight to number two in the UK charts upon its release on 7 July 2003, before going to number one and staying there for four weeks, eventually going on to sell 1.5 million copies in the UK. 3.5m copies over all. The Darkness took inspiration for some of their work from the local north Suffolk area, including "Black Shuck" which mentions the nearby village of Blythburgh. The success of this album led to heavy touring for the band, including European portions of Metallica's Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003. They then went on to headline the Carling Festival in 2004. The band won three BRIT Awards in 2004 in response to the album, Best Group, Best Rock Group and Best Album. They also won two Kerrang! awards in 2004 for Best Live Act and Best British Band. The third single from the album, "I Believe in a Thing Called Love", was a substantial hit in the UK as was their tilt at the Christmas 2003 number 1, "Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)", which only just fell short, both singles reaching No.2 in 2003. The band also appeared in the video "Band Aid 20" with Justin singing a number of lines.
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