Here’s What Happened.
Today I thought I’d react to some of the comments left under my last episode and explain a couple of things. It was windy so apologies for the sound in places.
The new Darkness album is released on the 28th March, you can pre-order ‘Dreams On Toast’ on CD, vinyl or cassette here: https://thedarkness.lnk.to/dreamsontoast/
See The Darkness on tour across the UK this month, tickets are on sale here: https://www.thedarknesslive.com/tour-dates/
From mid March, watch more episodes of Justin Hawkins Rides Again and find Behind The Scenes footage from The Darkness On Tour on my Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/jushawk
For Cameo messages: https://www.cameo.com/justinhawkins
Get a Justin Hawkins Rides Again T-Shirt & Hoodie here: https://thejawsofvictory
#reaction #musicreview
@kkay3784
September 23, 2026 at 5:35 pm
If I were a rock band I would be a fan of The Darkness.
@Metoo-y7q
September 23, 2026 at 5:35 pm
Fan boys that think they know their idols personally 😂🙄🤦🏼♀️
Probably the same people that get in other’s space, because they have no boundaries…. I call them Americans 😮
@Cannoli5
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
Life certainly is a nuanced rich and layered experience with loads of facets to it. Man o’ man couldn’t have said it better myself. In fact, I WISH I had said it. ☺️
@immukohonen7871
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
I would like to try get in contact with my ex neighbor from my hometown Turku, Mike. You probably would get along and for sure could make great music together! And big up for standing tall.
@msell8107
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
You are fantastic! I love your honesty and being true to who you are. 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖
@ggstuba
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
You played on the same stage with Mike Monroe in Hämeenlinna, Finland (2017). Both warming up for Guns n' Roses
@ScreamingPlastination
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
Agreed. Not sycophanticly mind. Just in principle. Everyone (even me) has ability to be a pryk. It's how one owns it. Prykness can be wholly Justified. It's a spined reaction to unfair comment/treatment.
Never apologise. (Unless just being pryk) it's proven to be a foundation for a lasting & trusting friendship.
Although the Gallaghers are just archetypal pryks.
Or as an individual who's never met them, am I a pryk for making such a bitchy allegation?
Tangent much?
See Yas in Belfast.
@-itkindaworks-
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
As a Finn and huge Hanoi fan, a sad set and story. I've see Mike several times and he's a hero in Finland. I hope this is an one time incident…
@olliet1019
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
It’s weird to hear bad things about Michael Monroe. I feel like he was having a bad day that day or something else. To us Finns, he seems such a delightful and super happy person unlike normal Finnish person is 😄
@BioDieselEstate
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
Um . . . JD? At approximately 5m29s: "It's not really life guys!" That is exactly what A Documentary IS supposed to be. All about reality. Hence the brilliance of the Mockumentary.
@mickmarsbar81
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
As far as soundchecking during your set goes, blame the festival/promoter/stage manager for having such a shitty schedule and band turnaround time. I dislike those twin stage set-ups for that very reason.
Traditional festival set ups rule because the longer time between sets can be utilised wisely to piss, go to the bar, zip back to the tent for some drugs and you’re back in the field before the next band commences. There’s always something to do at a festival.
@st1nkh3ad
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
who cares that band is and has always been trash Hanoi trash
@swiss300173
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
Met Michael Monroe and the rest of Hanoi Rocks in my tiny little local village pub in Cumbria northern England , they called in on their way to a gig , fantastic group of guys and women, hilarious to see them sat in my local on a Sunday afternoon.
@GustavoHeinlein
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
I didn't much care for 'The Darkness', but I'm a stubborn Allman Brothers kind of music fan, I like my bands different, which is neither good nor bad.
However, Justin seems quite a difficult person to dislike, he seems very fair and honest to me.
@ChuckieMcHaggis
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
Top drawer, this.
@lewisb85
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
Is the story that Ginger wildheart tried to get lemmy in at that LA show true? As told by metal hammer. And phil campbell in the darkness would have been cool.
@F1tzy79
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
So what happened is you spoke on something that actually happened to you, then people on the internet, who have never met you or the people you were talking about, rushed to their defence claiming they were the fkn bee's knees. Pal of mine met Lemmy once, they asked him if he wanted a Jack and Coke, he replied "Just the whisky, I don't do coke anymore"
@ariodemien6150
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
Their performance of this on Fallon was awesome. I love Rhian's current stage persona.
@sphinx1017
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
That's sad about mike Monroe. Hanoi were cool but his behaviour as you described it wasn't cool.
@jonathankl-537
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
"Sebastian (from Viagra Boys) is one of the nicest people I've ever had the pleasure of interviewing."
If I were in an interview where the interviewer started mocking someone I knew nothing about, I wouldn't participate in that, even as a joke.
@AngelicusImmortus
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
I’d say, you were cool with the whole thing.
Others jumping to the defence of the other person, in any situation, don’t know what happened – they don’t know what was said.
Pretty pathetic to slag you off when they have no clue what you experienced.
Brian May got moaned about because he dismissed talking about F1 when at a race, but as he said later, he knows nothing about F1. He was there with someone else who wanted to see the race, knew about F1 etc. so why should he stop to talk?
Like he said, he was there for his friend. They shouldn’t assume you’ll just talk to them because you have a mic in your hand.
Other music stars have walked past Martin Brundle or whoever and nothing was saod
@missedego
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
I remember watching that documentary right around the time I was getting into some of your stuff. It was album "Last of Our Kind" and it's a great album front to back. The way I remember it you were pissed with Lemmy for criticizing band publicly as he's sort of authority figure in rocknroll and might put people off of your stuff, which is not unreasonable gripe, but at the same time you can just imagine Lemmy being completely ignorant of notion that a lot of people's listening habits/taste could be influenced by his or anyone's opinion. He would be like "if ya like it ya like it, whaddya care what I think" which is 100% correct way of being, but people are so easily manipulated and swayed by shit that doesn't matter, hence popularity of shitty music today. I always thought that for any music that gets really popular (even something like The Beatles), at most 10% of fans really get it, and others just either get on a hype train or wanna be part of/affiliated to community, vibe, movement… to not feel excluded. Same reason why people read certain books or watch certain shows. You just knew that that Game of Thrones prequel show wouldn't be nearly as good, but they knew it would bring viewership and it wouldn't flop because of fan's FOMO and whatnot.
@rstoner1550
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
bloody marvellous
@SHPR2013
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
Running at 50 Justin, fair play to you Sir, I'm pushing 49 and wont even run for a bus 🤣🤣🤣
@SticksAandstonesBozo
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
Imagine having so little social skill that you can’t tell when someone is lying. You don’t need to explain any of this to us with an iq over 15.
@Samhain-66
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
Coach Beard is a fan of The Darkness. That’s respect of the highest level.
@worstcasescenario5242
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
he just hadn't taken his uppers yet
@jakeneva8349
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
You should give a big tap on the back of yourself. You've gone a long way and you have had an amazing ride with the good, bad and the ugly. To grow as a human being and become your true self is the joy of the ride. Much appriciated!
@SEneedMoreCharacters
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
Keep it up Justin and The Darkness – you're both/all awesome and national treasures. The show at Wembley Arena was brilliant – let’s have more of them!
@cu6454
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
😁👍🇺🇸🇺🇸👍🙂🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🎸
@BrickfallOfficial
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
Woot! Hull!
@DashRiprock513
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
Michael who? . What is his snobbery based on ? anonymity?
@andymelendez9757
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
Play on Brother. You’re a smart and talented guy. We all have to sort thru the chaff and it’s tough sometimes.
@Jakestation
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
If Lemmy likes you, i like you. Thats how it goes.
@TheChadTI
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
It's weird here in 2025. People who learned about Justin from this channel dont understand how massive they were, especially in the UK. The first time i heard of them is when Damon Albarn from Blur said they were his favorite new band, i was like…what the hell kind of name is that? Then i saw a picture in the same article and was like wtf?😅 They look awesome! About 6 months later, they blew up in the US. Over the years, my friends and I have had endless conversations about "what happened" with them here in America. To us, they were going to bring back REAL (according to us) rock, and then after the first album Atlantic in the US did nothing for One Way Ticket and…Sadly that was it.
@Rolaball
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
I know who Justin is , I have no fucking clue who Michael Monroe is or was .
@Ultan-xh3ys
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
Hey Justin – check out the the symbol on the left. He digs your music…..watcha fink??
@jaydorsett1580
September 23, 2026 at 5:36 pm
Dont let em get u down buddy!!!! People are fools with big yappers when they hit the comment section. But wheres their rock band, eh??😂