Suffolk-hailing hard rockers, The Darkness, are coming to UK Arenas this December to celebrate their very best. It will be the band’s largest-spanning headline tour in 20 years, touting an impressive set that will span their greatest hits and fan favorites from across their two-decade catalog. Featuring songs from their 2003 debut ‘Permission to Land’ all the way to 2025’s ‘Dreams on Toast’ which peaked at Number 2 on the UK Official Album Charts, fans can prepare for an awe-inspiring, spandex-clad, rip-roaring stomp through iconic rock anthems.
The shows will take place in some of the UK’s largest arenas, treating fans to an all-encompassing and mammoth celebration of the band’s career. In their Instagram announcement below, the band expressed their excitement to set out on the tour saying, “It’s just 257 days until we grace the stage of the Glasgow OVO Hydro Arena to begin our tour of Britain’s finest arenas!”
The Darkness sky-rocketed to popularity with ‘Permission to Land’ which was certified quadruple platinum in the UK with over 1.4 million units sold. And in the very next year, the band scooped up three awards at the 2004 BRITS: Best British Group, Best British Rock Act and Best British Album.
The I Paper described the band’s unique allure in 2023: “here was a band taking cues not from 70s New York or arty 80s post-punk but from classic and glam rock like Queen, AC/DC and Aerosmith; with an extravagant singer armed with every affected move in the rock manual and an eye-watering falsetto; singing fun, expletive-filled songs about genital warts and mythical East Anglian dogs that were melodically pop enough for any radio station.”
And nearly two decades later, The Darkness proved their longevity with ‘Dreams on Toast’ reaching No. 2 on the charts as well as receiving 4/5 stars in a review from Classic Rock. The review described the single, ‘Walking Through Fire’ as “the kind of fist-in-the-air anthem that reminds you why we fell in love with The Darkness in the first place.”
Regarding the forthcoming tour, lead singer Justin Hawkins says, “The very bestest of The Darkness! Imagine yourself, luxuriating in the warm sonic and visual embrace of the best ever Darkness songs, played by the best ever Darkness band, in the best ever rock music venues of mainland Great Britain! You will float with us on the soft whoopee cushion of undulating rock tones, swim with us in the warm seas of loquacious balladry, jump with us in the heady miasma of pop rock, and also do the head bang with us in the electrical thundery storm of HEVY METUL… Roll up, roll up – the Darkness Carnival is coming to town!”
The Darkness will be supported on the tour by Grammy winning, multi-Platinum selling American American country rock band, Brothers Osbourne. As well as by rock set, A, who have streams racked up by the multimillions.
Calling at seven areas across the country, The Best of The Darkness UK Tour will kick off on 8 December in Glasgow and close out with the band’s debut headline appearance at London’s O2 Arena on 16 December.
Tickets are now on sale at thedarknesslive.com and the full dates are listed below.
The Best of Darkness UK Tour
8/12—OVO Hyrdo Arena—Glasgow, UK
9/12—FD Arena—Leeds, UK
11/12—AO Arena—Manchester, UK
12/12—Utilita Arena—Birmingham, UK
13/12—Utilita Arena—Cardiff, UK
15/12—Brighton Center—Brighton, UK
16/12—O2 Arena—London, UK
