The bizarre feud between Lemmy Kilmister, The Darkness and referee Dave Grohl
Late Motörhead leader Lemmy had countless tales to share with the patrons of Sunset Strip nightlife. From being a roadie for Jimi Hendrix to his numerous wild escapades, the Stoke native embodied the essence of a rock titan. One of the more bizarre moments in his storied life, though, involved a spat with Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, with Foo Fighters leader Dave Grohl playing a key role in the matter.
A genuine coming together of forces, the clash began when Lemmy questioned the essence of The Darkness in 2004. The previous year, they had scored a UK number one album with their debut album, Permission to Land. Their ubiquitous hit ‘I Believe in a Thing Called Love’ reached number two on the singles chart, driven by its catchy vocal melody, Hawkins’ wailing falsetto, and a powerful solo. This track, typifying the band’s blend of vintage hard rock and glam, helped The Darkness carve out a niche for themselves during a time when rock was still immensely popular.
Due to the group’s somewhat tongue-in-cheek aspects, regardless of Hawkins demonstrating himself as an adept songwriter and guitarist, for some of the more serious denizens of the rock and metal community, The Darkness was nothing but a joke band, in the way that contemporaries such as Electric Six and Tenacious D were. As a man who once said, “I know fucking rock ‘n’ roll when I hear it” when tearing into Radiohead and Coldplay, there’s no surprise Lemmy had some choice words for The Darkness too.
When speaking to Classic Rock in 2004, Lemmy claimed that The Darkness had banned him from a Los Angeles show after he referred to them as a “novelty act”. Lemmy insisted that he didn’t harbour any issues with the band itself, but Hawkins’ vocals particularly irked him. “I don’t have a problem with them,” Lemmy said. “I just have a problem with people making them out to be more than they are. They’re just a band — a good band that play good tunes. I just have a problem with the vocals.”
Lemmy explained that Ginger of The Wildhearts had asked him to join them for a song when supporting The Darkness at the Los Angeles show, but he was banned because he’d stated in the press that he believed their album was a “novelty record”. Doubling down, he asserted: “And it was: they’re not normal vocals, and it was the first one of its type, so…and then all this terrible shit came down.”
Like a dramatic twist in a soap opera, Dave Grohl emerged as the peacemaker in the unfolding drama between Lemmy and The Darkness. As a big fan of Lemmy, Grohl had enlisted him for his star-studded metal project, Probot. With a knack for diplomacy, the Foo Fighters frontman brokered a détente between the rock legend and the up-and-coming quartet. In his notoriously gruff style, Lemmy also had some notable words about the former Nirvana drummer, albeit delivered with a wry edge.
“Dave Grohl — the cunt — rings me up, 11 o’clock at night,” he said. However, he could not resist the invitation to visit his favourite haunt on the strip, the Rainbow Bar & Grill. “And I get there and he’s surrounded by The Darkness. Dave’s a nice guy — he likes to keep the peace, which is a great thing.”
Sitting next to Hawkins, Lemmy was asked by the vocalist why he didn’t enjoy the vocals, to which he explained that it was just not his thing. In his typically egalitarian way, though, the Motörhead leader informed Hawkins that despite not enjoying his work, he would defend his right to do whatever he wanted to artistically. Over the rest of the evening, it became clear to him that both bands had more in common than he first thought.
