THE DARKNESS announces UK headline tour
20-11-2025
British rockers THE DARKNESS have announced their largest headline tour in 20 years and will bring their beloved rock to arenas across the U.K. in December 2026. The seven-date tour will commence at Glasgow OVO Hydro on December 8 and finish with the band’s debut headline performance at The O2 in London on December 16.
THE DARKNESS will be joined on all dates by support from the Grammy-winning, multi-platinum selling, American country rock band BROTHERS OSBORNE, as well as the multi-million streamed U.K. rock band A.
Pre-sale starts at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, and general sale starts at 10 a.m. on Friday, November 28, 2025.
THE DARKNESS 2026 U.K. tour dates:
Jul. 11 – Knebworth Park (with IRON MAIDEN)
Dec 08 – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
Dec 09 – Leeds, FD Arena
Dec 11 – Manchester, AO Arena
Dec 12 – Birmingham, Utilita Arena
Dec 13 – Cardiff, Utilita Arena
Dec 15 – Brighton, Brighton Centre
Dec 16 – London, The O2
Regarding the tour, THE DARKNESS frontman Justin Hawkins says: “Powerful rock was designed to be played in huge rectangular buildings. Huge rectangular buildings were designed to house powerful rock bands. THE DARKNESS are a powerful rock band and the arenas listed below are huge rectangular buildings. Except for the exception which proves the rule. Thank you, O2 Arena…
“In December 2026 this elegantly logical proposition will become a reality, driven by three bands consisting of seven brothers. Three of them are Perrys, from Lowestoft’s A. Two of them are Osbornes, from the BROTHERS OSBORNE. And two of them are my brother Dan and I. THE DARKNESS, BROTHERS OSBORNE and A, veritable Bands of Brothers, rocking in a huge rectangular (or domed) building — what could be more powerful than that?”
BROTHERS OSBORNE lead singer and guitarist TJ Osborne adds: “There was cosmic ripple in the space time continuum that led to our paths crossing. Can’t wait to prove, once again, that brothers do it best and guitar solos are alive and well.”
Last April, THE DARKNESS have stormed the U.K. albums chart with their eighth studio LP, “Dreams On Toast”, out via Cooking Vinyl. It has entered at No. 2 in the U.K. official albums chart and reached No. 1 in multiple charts, including the Independent Albums, Rock & Metal Albums, Vinyl Albums and Album Downloads charts. It is THE DARKNESS‘s highest-charting album since the band’s smash hit debut “Permission To Land”.
Celebrating the success, THE DARKNESS has released the video for the new searing hard rock anthem “Rock And Roll Party Cowboy”. Co-directed by drummer Rufus “Tiger” Taylor and Darri3D, the gloriously outrageous animated video glows with the fluorescent lights of Sunset Strip as THE DARKNESS perform to rabid fans. They channel the sounds of hard rock legends such as ZZ TOP, MOTÖRHEAD and JUDAS PRIEST with searing solos, hell-raising vocals and a fist-pumpin’ rhythm section to create a tongue-in-cheek reflection on the hedonistic, macho music scene of the ’70s and ’80s.
Watch “Rock And Roll Party Cowboy” below.
Regarding the video, Rufus says: “Only three things embody what it is to be a rock n roll party cowboy these days. My dog, Don Vito. The international live music band group, THE DARKNESS. And the fans around the world who support us so fiercely. This one’s for you.”
Watch the previously released “Walking Through Fire”, “I Hate Myself”, the visualiser for “The Longest Kiss” and “Rock And Roll Party Cowboy” below.
Justin explains about the album: “Misty Orchards! That’s not my porn name, that’s the kind of scenery that I love. I awakened to such a vista in the delightful Scottish highland town of Nairn on the morning that inspiration for ‘The Longest Kiss’ lyric struck. I was bleary eyed and locked in an unending embrace with my (mid)life partner. Weird that I can still sing, but that’s a testament to the resilience of humans, especially lead singers. The music itself is a piano-led composition, the chorus of which my brother and I came up with after he’d taken a long time to empty his bladder during some impressive pub endurance. The verses were transposed from a song I’ve been working on for decades as part of a musical about the collapse of the Lowestoft fishing industry, called ‘The Collapse Of The Lowestoft Fishing Industry’. The musical isn’t finished yet. But ‘The Longest Kiss’ is. The results are astounding. We’re all very proud of this. Please, to enjoy!”
The “Dreams On Toast” album artwork was designed by Grammy-nominated artist Perry Shall.
Not only will “Dreams On Toast” feature arguably THE DARKNESS‘s best collection of songs yet, but the band will also be hitting the road next March for its largest headline tour of the U.K. in years, solidifying their status as one of Britain, and indeed the world’s, most important rock bands.
The “Dreams On Toast” U.K. headline tour will see THE DARKNESS play 17 shows across the country, finishing at London’s OVO Wembley Arena on March 29. Support comes from Northern Irish indie-rock heroes ASH, who first supported THE DARKNESS on their legendary “Permission To Land” tour over 20 years ago.
Lead singer of ASH, Tim Wheeler, comments: “In 2004 we toured the U.K.’s arenas with THE DARKNESS as ‘Permission To Land’ catapulted them into the big league. Next March, 21 years later, we will reunite to tear across Britain before an epic crescendo at Wembley Arena. We believe in a thing called rock!”
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