The Darkness Perform ‘Don’t Let The Bells End’ With Choir: Watch
The Darkness have celebrated the 20th anniversary of their festive favourite Don’t Let The Bells End by performing a special version of it for the BBC with a 12-piece choir – watch the footage below.
order permission to land… again (20th anniversary edition) here
“Thank you so much to the wonderful Jo Whiley and her fantastic BBC Radio 2 team for having us and of course to Mark Delisser’s angelic sounding 12 piece choir,” wrote the band on social media. “Beautiful.”
It’s been a busy year for The Darkness. They recently released a deluxe reissue of their debut album Permission to Land in celebration of its 20th anniversary. The 4xCD+DVD deluxe reissue features rare B-sides, previously unreleased demos, and live albums from three of the Darkness’ early 2000s London shows: one at the Astoria in 2003, one at Knebworth Park in support of Robbie Williams in 2003, and a 2004 Wembley Arena concert. The DVD portion of Permission to Land… Again will include footage of the Knebworth and Astoria shows, a documentary, music videos, and behind-the-scenes footage from the years surrounding Permission to Land’s release.
And last month, a documentary, Welcome to The Darkness, was released. Director Simon Emmett (Underhill) followed the band on their long, rocky and hilarious comeback trail. From a small pub gig in the middle of nowhere with the ambition of performing at packed arena shows once again, Welcome to The Darkness shows the stark reality of a ‘cult band’ struggling to recapture former glory.
20 years on from their platinum-selling debut, Justin Hawkins, his brother Dan Hawkins, eccentric bassist Frankie Poullain, and new drummer Rufus Taylor tell their story, in their own words of their comeback tale.
Meanwhile, last week at the London show of their UK tour they were joined onstage by Ed Sheeran, who also performed a surprise support slot.
order permission to land… again (20th anniversary edition) here