The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins has shared the reason behind his decision to appear as a woman in the band’s new music video for ‘I Hate Myself.’
During a live stream on his channel, Hawkins offered the first look at the music video while explaining both the song’s meaning and his creative choice.
“What I was trying to get was somebody so filled with regret remorse and self-loathing that they’ll slowly kill themselves and also do a load of work to their face,” Hawkins explained. “The character there is kind of like a desperate to change their appearance, desperate to just get it over with. It’s like that. I think, as Dan [Hawkins] said, I think that reflects the lyrical content of that song.”
Hawkins first teased the concept with a couple of photos on Instagram and a separate video about the new material. He also gave more details about the video in one of his posts: “The music video for ‘I Hate Myself’ will be live-streamed over on my YouTube channel, Justin Hawkins Rides Again, on Monday the 6th of January at 8:30PM GMT. Watch it with me, comment, ask me questions – I’ll be doing it all live with my guest – my brother Dan Hawkins.”
In the photos, Hawkins was seen with long hair and makeup. This shocked some fans, with some even mentioning that it was scary.
The band released the single just three weeks ago, making it the second track from their upcoming eighth studio album ‘Dreams On Toast,’ set for release on March 28 via Cooking Vinyl.
The Darkness will be touring the UK in March as part of their ‘Dreams On Toast’ world tour, with indie-rock band Ash joining them. Ash had previously supported The Darkness on their ‘Permission To Land’ tour over 20 years ago.