The Darkness have just dropped their excellent new album, Dreams On Toast, a record that’s full of the kind of fist-in-the-air anthems that remind you why you fell in love with them in the first place.
But the Dreams On Toast also features an unexpected guest appearances from a bona fide Hollywood star. The album’s closing track, the blockbusting ballad Weekend In Rome, includes a spoken word section, in which a gravelly American voice intones the lines: “Meandering like the Tiber, gand in hand, we scaled the Spanish Steps, the night air thick and sultry, I kiss you beneath the Italian moonlight... This was my dream.”
And who exactly does the voice belong to? None other than actor Stephen Dorff, star of classic Beatles biopic Backbeat and, more recently, acclaimed TV series True Detective. We spoke to Dorff to find out just how he ended up on Dreams On Toast.
How did you get to know The Darkness?
Stephen Dorff: “I know their music from way back. I thought they were a great rock band with Justin’s [Hawkins, singer] voice and flair and the crazy sense of humour. I like a lot of bands out of England but The Darkness had an edge. About seven or eight years ago, Rufus [Taylor, Darkness drummer] and I met at a party and we hit it off and we’ve been good buddies ever since. I’ve seen them play a few times. I saw this great show they played live to the English veterans [the Royal Hospital Chelsea, home of the Chelsea Pensioners]. It was The Darkness and Toto – the wackiest show ever.
How did you end up doing the spoken word sections on Weekend In Rome?
“I was in London for something, and I ended up going out to Dan’s studio where they were recording the album. They were doing Weekend In Rome, and they asked if I wanted to do it. Justin was writing these words while we were there: ‘Can you say this, can you say it like this?’ They got me on a couple of other songs too, but I think Weekend In Rome is the one that worked best, so that‘s the one they kept.
Did Justin Hawkins give you any vocal direction for Weekend In Rome?
“Justin was saying: ‘Just think of it as a dream, you’re on an airplane and you’re kind of sleepy and sad.’ He’s got a crazy brain and he’s such a great writer, and he kept giving me all of these great lines.”
The next time you and The Darkness are in the same city, what are the chances of you getting on stage with them?
“Yeah, I’d love to do that. That’d be fun.”
To celebrate the release of Dreams On Toast, Classic Rock has teamed up with The Darkness to bring you two limited-edition physical versions of the album, both available as a ‘bundle’ with a special version of the new issue of Classic Rock magazine featuring the band on the front cover.
The first version features a hand-signed copy of Dreams On Toast on splatter vinyl, accompanied by a special Darkness edition of Classic Rock issue 339, featuring a brand new interview with the band.
The other version features a glow-in-the-dark cassette version of Dreams On Toast, also with the same edition of Classic Rock magazine.
Both versions are available to buy right now – here for vinyl and here for cassette. Order yours online and have it delivered straight to your door. And remember – you can’t pick these bundles up anywhere else other than the official Classic Rock store, so jump in and get yours while you can!
