THE DARKNESS + ASH – WEMBLEY OVO ARENA – 29TH MARCH 2025
The Darkness arrive at a sold-out Wembley Arena to promote their Dreams On Toast album. They’re supported by Ash, who also supported them for three nights on the trot at this very venue back in 2004. Tempus does indeed fugit.
Ash have always puzzled me somewhat. They have great material. Every album they release is jam-packed with rockin’ earworms. They’re a powerful and entertaining live band. They have a loyal fanbase (the Arena is packed long before they hit the stage), yet they have never achieved arena headlining status. I really don’t know why that is. Personally, I don’t mind in the slightest as I get to see them play smaller venues, but it must be a tad galling for them. They own big stages, as they amply demonstrate tonight.
Unbelievably, next year it will be thirty years since Ash released their 1977 album. Indeed, there are already t-shirts on the merch stand celebrating this particular album, so it is no surprise that the set kicks off with Goldfinger, one of the singles from 1977. Along with Rudi Schenker from the Scorpions, Tim Wheeler is one of the great champions of the Gibson Flying V, and he makes good use of his for most of tonight’s set.
After Angel Interceptor, we get slightly more up-to-date with Orpheus from 2004’s Meltdown album, which Ash probably would have played when they supported The Darkness here last time. Drummer Rick McMurray is on backing vocals and plays a storming, albeit short, drum solo mid-song. Bassist Mark Hamilton still throws seemingly effortless rock shapes. It’s incredible to think that these guys are now in their late forties. When I first saw them supporting Elastica in 1994, they were still studying for their A Levels and had a tutor on the road with them. A couple of years ago, I was chatting with Elastica’s former bass player, Annie Holland, and she told me that at the time Ash seemed to be frightened of them (Elastica). I don’t think much would frighten Ash now, somehow.
We come up to date with Braindead from the most recent Ash album, Race The Night (2023). It features an incandescent guitar solo, with that irresistible combination of a Flying V and a wah-wah pedal. However, you can’t keep a good classic album down, and they once again revisit the 1977 album for Kung Fu. Three decades old or not, this song still sounds fresh and vital. The band certainly don’t sound in the least bit bored with playing it. Well, you wouldn’t, would you? It’s an absolute classic!
Tim Wheeler straps on a Gibson SG for their current single, Jump In The Line, which is apparently a Harry Belafonte song. I could be wrong here, but I believe that this has been recorded for a movie. Information on the internet is a bit sparse, though. This far-too-short set ends with Girl From Mars and Burn Baby Burn. Unfortunately, Ash have no headlining dates at the moment, just the support dates with The Darkness and festival slots. This is a shame, as they have such a great and extensive back-catalogue. I’d love to hear more of it live. Still, it’s been good to see them, nonetheless. More, please, fellas!!!
It took me quite a long time to take The Darkness seriously, certainly the first time around. There seemed to be a bit too much humour and too much cheese. However, I’ve seen them a few times since their reformation in 2011, and I’ve realised what an absolutely storming classic rock band they are. To be fair, this should have been blindingly obvious to me when I first saw them at Guilfest in 2003 and noticed Dan Hawkins’ Thin Lizzy t-shirt (apparently, he had a collection of them). Still, we all make mistakes, and where The Darkness are concerned, I have very definitely seen the light. I am saved.
The band are here to promote their current Dreams On Toast album, which might just be a career highlight. Therefore, it is only right and proper that they start with the album’s opening track Rock And Roll Party Cowboy. This is not so much a song as a manifesto. It also allows them to introduce their additional guitarist (he plays keyboards too), who I think is called Ben. Whatever his name is, his presence is proof, were it needed, that you can’t have too many guitars. Kids, see Lynyrd Skynyrd for further confirmation.
Talking of guitars (one of my favourite subjects), The Darkness are blessed in that they don’t just have one excellent guitarist. In the Hawkins brothers, they have two! They share the lead guitar honours and, at times, produce some excellent dual lead playing to boot! With The Darkness, it’s not just about the music, marvellous though it is. The Darkness are here to put on A SHOW, and bassist Frankie Poullain’s shiny suit isn’t the only evidence of that. Justin Hawkins performs out of his skin throughout the show. He doesn’t take the merest hint of a break at any point, and his headstand during Get Your Hands Off My Woman is just the start. He performs vocal gymnastics throughout, too. He gets the audience to follow him on some quite complex vocal parts. We try, but quite frankly, it’s not going to happen. He throws in some vocal snippets of The Smiths’ I Know It’s Over and Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody to cheer us up. Probably.
Motorheart is accompanied by some noticeably hot pyrotechnics. Note to self: don’t stand at the front at future Darkness gigs. You might be burnt by the pyro! However, there’s more of interest than just the pyro. Justin is playing the most battered guitar since Rory Gallagher’s Stratocaster, whilst Dan supplies some shredtastic lead. Barbarian from 2015’s Last Of Our Kind (which thankfully they’re not) features a riff that AC/DC would be proud of, before we return to the new album and Walking Through Fire.
Before the song starts, though, Justin addresses us, and this time, he’s being relatively serious. Dreams On Toast has been released on an independent label (Cooking Vinyl, since you ask). Independent labels don’t have the same marketing clout as the big boys, such as Sony, so Justin tells us that it’s vital that we buy the new album to keep Mumford and Sons off the top spot. He takes particular aim at Mumford & Sons citing one of their former member’s extreme right wing views, and getting the audience to chant “fuck Mumford & Sons”. Fair play to him.
Mention must be made of Rufus Taylor on drums. He is the son of Queen’s Roger Taylor and is very much a chip off the old block. He absolutely shines on Love Is Only A Feeling where he gets a banging John Bonham adjacent sound. Dan Hawkins does his guitar hero thing very effectively, and there’s a Justin solo to finish. I think that this is called teamwork. Justin the showman raises his head again during The Longest Kiss, trying to get the audience to shout “Justin!” in the same way that AC/DC fans shout “Angus!” It kinda works…..
There’s a bit of a swap around onstage as Rufus Taylor comes to the front of the stage to sing My Only, a bonus track on Dreams On Toast. He’s replaced on drums by bass and drum tech Scott Winkler. Unsurprisingly, Rufus is a pretty good vocalist. During this song, there are photographs on the screens of Rufus with various dogs, which is nice. Justin’s solo includes tapping, which is pretty impressive. Meanwhile, Friday Night includes some simply ace dual-lead guitar from the Hawkins Brothers. I could have done without Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End), but apparently, the set list wasn’t put together with me in mind!!! There’s a short cover of Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song, which I have to say is done really well. Justin has a quick word about people who spend entire gigs filming on their phones, effectively forcing the people behind to watch the gig on someone else’s screen. I couldn’t agree more. It’s annoying. Just stop.
It’s no surprise that the set ends with I Believe In A Thing Called Love. However, this time, it’s a bit different. As they have Ben as an additional musician on this tour, he plays the synth part live. Previously, it was on the backing track. The Darkness do, indeed, keep music live! This song attracts the first and only crowd surfers of the evening, and of course, there are fireworks! Lots of fireworks!!! Tellingly, both encores are from the new album and are well received—proof of the status of this album. I’d say it’s one of their best. Their live performance matches it. What a great gig!!! I say without reservation that The Darkness are one of the best guitar-led bands onstage today.
WORDS: MARK KELLY PHOTOS: CRIS WATKINS
FULL GALLERY
