In 2012 the reunited original line-up of UK rockers The Darkness released comeback album Hot Cakes. It was originally set to include a track featuring Jethro Tull leader Ian Anderson on flute – but guitarist Dan Hawkins’ bandmates outvoted him and it only ever appeared as a bonus track. Hawkins tells Prog he still regrets the episode.
“When The Darkness split in 2006, our then-bass player Richie Edwards and I formed a band called Stone Gods. He’s a big Jethro Tull fan, and he was like, ‘I think you’d like them.’ I think it was because I’d started getting into stuff like Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span.
So there I was in my Norfolk farmhouse – on my own because I was single at the time – and Jethro Tull just seemed to fit my surroundings. That was my soundtrack to a good couple of years. I loved the folk element to it straight away because I was into Richard Thompson and things like that.
Jethro Tull twist and turn in a really musical way; you think you’ve got a handle on what they’re doing, and they completely change. It’s music that makes you think, ‘Why have they just done that?’
A song could be in a minor key, and then just a section of it will change to a major, then it goes back to a minor again. It’s so cleverly put together – it’s virtuosic and really fun to listen to.
When The Darkness reformed in 2010, I was still in Jethro Tull mode. We were recording a song called Cannonball; there was a big section in the middle that had a big guitar solo and I was developing these progressive guitar lines.
I thought to myself, ‘This would be much more interesting if it had some kind of Jethro Tull type flute playing on it.’ So I got in touch with Ian Anderson, told him I was a big fan and said, ‘What do you think you can do? And would you be interested?’ And he goes, ‘Yeah! I love The Darkness – I’d love to do it!’ So we recorded with him.
But the worst thing in the world is that Cannonball was demoted to a fucking bonus track. It was one of the worst days of my life when I was fighting to have it on the main album and I was outvoted. I was like, ‘Not only have you disappointed me, you’ve disgraced the honour of the greatest living prog-rocker!’
I’ve had to add him to the list of people who’ll never speak to me again. Or maybe I could offer my services to any bonus tracks that he’s doing?”
