NEW YORK (Atlantic announcement) - Atlantic recording group The
Darkness has set their first full-blown cross-country U.S. tour, a headlining itinerary slated to begin on March 24th and run through April 20th [tour dates to follow]. The eagerly awaited tour announcement comes as the band is being heralded as the first breakthrough artist development story of the New Year. On this week's Billboard 200 chart, the band's debut album,
"Permission To Land," leaps a remarkable 53 spots to land at No39 with a bullet. And in a week when overall industry album sales are down 30%,
Darkness sales are up over 30%. Since making its chart debut only four weeks ago, the album has climbed an astounding 159 spots.
At the same time that The Darkness is breaking through in the U.S., the band continues to earn acclaim in their native England. The combo leads the field for the 2004 Brit Awards, with four nominations: British Group, British Rock Act, British Album, and British Breakthrough Artist.
In addition, the band's latest hit single in the UK, "Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)," has officially become the country's biggest-selling DVD single ever.
The Darkness's raucous "I Believe In A Thing Called Love" is now Top 5 in radio requests in over twenty major markets across the country, including New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, and San Francisco, and is impacting heavily at both Rock and Alternative formats. It is slated to hit pop radio outlets the first week of February. In addition, the companion video is in "Buzzworthy" rotation at both MTV and MTV2, and has been added into rotation at VHI and FUSE. The band has also appeared on various MTV Network programs, most recently on the January 10th episode of "Headbanger's Ball."
The band's ascension is spreading across multiple media platforms. Last week, The Darkness made their US/Canada live network television debut on "The Late Show with David Letterman." The combo's singer, Justin Hawkins, is currently on the cover of Spin magazine's "The Next Big Things" issue (February), and Rolling Stone, Blender, Spin, Details, and Revolver have all named the band as one of the best of 2003 in year-end polls.
In the online world, The Darkness has been named the Launch/Yahoo "Emerging Artist of the Month." The feature will be supported with an exclusive live performance and interview. In addition, the band's recent Seattle performance will be broadcast as part of Real Networks' "Down the Alley" series in March. The Darkness has also been receiving extensive coverage across the AOL Music network, with more events to be announced soon.
Fuelled by a trio of remarkable singles - "I Believe In A Thing Called Love," "Get Your Hands Off Of My Woman," and "Growing On Me" - "Permission To Land" made an extraordinary chart debut upon its July 2003 U.K. release, crashing in at No2. Its subsequent rise to the No 1 spot made "Permission To Land" the first debut album by a British artist to hit the top spot since Coldplay in 2000.
