From performing in front of 120,000 people supporting Robbie Williams at Knebworth to scoring a UK Top 5 hit with I Believe In A Thing Called Love, The Darkness were living the rock’n’roll dream in 2003. Their debut studio album, Permission To Land, had won them millions of fans thanks to the group’s fun-loving blend of AC/DC-inspired hard rock, and their exuberant showmanship was positively infectious. In fact, when it was announced that The Darkness would be releasing a Christmas single at the year’s end, it seemed like a match made in Lapland. With frontman Justin Hawkins’ outrageous stage antics and tongue-in-cheek sense of humour, the group were perfectly suited for dabbling in some festive frolics to brighten up the holiday season.
Here, then, is the story behind The Darkness’ modern-day festive anthem Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End) and why it continues to be the gift that keeps on giving…
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The backstory: “We wanted to do something that was a bit outrageous, and unexpected”
As the summer of 2003 came to a close, it was clear The Darkness were on a rollercoaster ride of a year. Not long before the release of their breakthrough single, I Believe In A Thing Called Love, guitarist Dan Hawkins was celebrating the band’s success by sharing post-gig drinks at the Met Bar with A&R man Max Lousanda. “What are we going to do next?” Max asked him, excitedly suggesting that the group release Love Is Only A Feeling as a Christmas single. Dan dismissed the idea outright. “Let’s do an actual Christmas song,” he said. “Let’s actually compete for No.1, rather than just put a song out and add some snow in a video.”
Lousanda liked what he heard. “Oh brilliant, that’s a great idea,” he told the guitarist. “Have you got a Christmas song?”
The band didn’t. But that isn’t what Dan told Max. “We had half a Christmas song that we pissed around with for God knows why a few years before,” he later revealed to Culture Brats. “I kind of lied and told the head of the label, ‘We’ve got a Christmas song and it could be No.1.’” Despite Dan’s little white lie, that was more than enough for Max. “Great,” the A&R man said, “let’s do that then.”
The writing: “I put loads of fairy lights up in the bus”
As it happened, it was singer Justin Hawkins who reminded his brother about the seasonal tune they’d worked on many years earlier. “What we actually thought was, What is the last thing a band that has had the year we have just had should do?” Justin later recalled for Hot Press. “We wanted to do something that was a bit outrageous, and unexpected.” Trouble is, The Darkness only had a week to turn their old demo into an all-singing, all-dancing Christmas song – nowhere near enough time, given their numerous touring commitments.
Thankfully, the opportune moment came in August 2003, when The Darkness were on their tour bus, travelling to support Metallica at the RDS Arena, in Dublin. “I bought some Christmas jumpers, and I put loads of fairy lights up in the bus – this was way before Christmas, by the way – to get in the mood,” Dan told M Magazine, before adding that, surprisingly, what became Christmastime (Don’t Let The Bells End) “was done and dusted really quickly”.
