The Darkness score US Number One after Taylor Swift danced to their music at the US Open
Justin Hawkins said Swift's endorsement had turned him into “dad of the year”
By Nick Reilly
The Darkness have scored a Number One on the US iTunes Rock Chart after Taylor Swift was seen dancing to the band’s seminal hit ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’ with boyfriend Travis Kelce at the US Open tennis.
The pair were seen enjoying the track as it played at the women’s final in New York, with footage of the two going viral online.
Now, The Darkness have been able to experience the power of Swiftonomics effect first-hand, with the Suffolk band rocketing up the charts.
As well ascending the summit of the iTunes Rock Chart in America, the band are also rapidly climbing charts across the globe.
@mrjustinhawkins It was a lovely surprise waking up to a video of @Taylor Swift and @Travis Kelce ♬ original sound – Justin Hawkins
Acknowledging the moment, frontman Justin Hawkins recalled how he had become “dad of the year” a few weeks prior when Swift sorted hospitality tickets for the singer and his daughter when she played a show in Zurich.
“A few weeks ago my daughter and I went to see Taylor Swift at the stadium in Zurich and the hospitality they showed us was extraordinary,” he said in a TikTok video.
“They put us in a lovely VIP area, I had Chris Rock on one side, Roger Federer on the other side, I was dad of the year. And to make matters even more spectacular, Taylor Swift sent me a lovely letter which was waiting for me in the VIP section, talking about how much she loves the song ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’. I was dad of the year, maybe dad of the century, because all of that was a big surprise.
Opening up about when he saw the footage from the US Open after fans flooded him with messages, Hawkins said: “It was a really heartwarming moment for me, and my little girl can’t wait to tell her friends at school. So thanks Taylor, thanks Travis, thanks everybody who enjoys tennis, that’s a really lovely start to the day. Nice one guys.”
Last year, Hawkins spoke to Rolling Stone UK about the 20th anniversary of The Darkness’ seminal debut album Permission to Land.
Recalling how the band had faced accusations of being a parody act, Hawkins said: “It was like, if you think we’re a parody, try living in a bedsit for five years doing this fucking music that nobody wants to listen to and tell me it’s a parody because this is my life, you know, and the reason why it worked is because I was living the fucking life and that does mean the drugs, the rock and roll.
“That’s actually a unfortunate part of the reason why it was successful. If you chipped away at it and accused it of this or the other, what you’d find in the middle is a bleeding heart with rock and roll coming out of every fucking artery.”