Darkness star releases solo work

The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins has temporarily stepped away from his rock outfit to record a solo album.

The flamboyant singer plans to capitalise on the excitement generated by the forthcoming release of The Darkness' follow-up LP to their phenomenally successful 2003 debut Permission To Land by cutting his own disc, British Wail, which is scheduled to hit music store shelves this autumn.

Hawkins explains: "It's a lot less rock than the band stuff. There's a lot more synths. I suppose you could call it luxurious rock. I'd written most of it in demo form before The Darkness took off but I've only finished it properly recently.

"Anything I write with Dan (Hawkins, brother and guitarist) goes to the band but I've held on to my solo stuff."