The Darkness guitarist Dan Hawkins was presented with a £300 repair bill after his wife heard their track Barbarian for the first time.
It appears on the band’s fourth album Last Of Our Kind, released earlier this week.
Hawkins tells Loudwire: “My wife was listening in the car for the first time. She almost crashed.
“The guy at the beginning is my gardener, Trevor, and he’s got a really thick Norfolk accents. She was like, ‘Oh, that’s Trevor – that sounds funny.’
“Then the full force of the track came in and actually kerbed the car. It cost me about three hundred fucking quid because she scraped the rim and knocked the tracking out.”
His brother, frontman Justin Hawkins, says the title track was inspired by films like Hawk The Slayer and The Hobbit. “It’s about going into battle with a baddie, and an Elf is lamenting the fact that if he’s killed, that’s the end of his entire civilisation.”
But he adds: “When you finish an album and you’re getting ready to show it to the press, it does feel like you’re about to pop your head up and charge into battle. I was trying to make it a song that’s about an Elf that’s going into battle, and releasing an album.”
Dan revealed earlier this week that he resisted pressure to become more focused on digital products – and he’d leave the band if they ever abandoned their old-school approach.
The Darkness are featured in the current edition of Classic Rock, on sale now. They’ll play a run of summer dates with new drummer Rufus Taylor, followed by a full-size UK tour starting in November.
Summer dates
Jun 03: London Dingwalls (album launch)
Jul 04: Groove Festival, Wicklow
Jul 05: Daytripper Festival, Waterford
Jul 12: Brownstock Festival, Chelmsford
Aug 09: Boardmasters Festival, Newquay
Aug 30: Victorious Festival, Portsmouth
Blast Of Our Kind tour
Nov 30: Norwich Open
Dec 01: Cambridge Corn Exchange
Dec 01: Nottingham Rock City
Dec 04: Newcastle O2 Academy
Dec 05: Glasgow O2 Academy
Dec 09: Leeds O2 Academy
Dec 10: Manchester Academy
Dec 11: Birmingham O2 Academy
Dec 13: Bristol O2 Academy
Dec 14: Southampton O2 Guildhall
Dec 15: Bexhill De La Warr Pavillion
Dec 17: Bournemouth O2 Academy
Dec 19: Oxford O2 Academy
Dec 20: London Roundhouse
