Justin Hawkins
Justin David Hawkins (born on March 17, 1975 in Chertsey, Surrey, England) is the lead guitarist and singer of The Darkness. His brother Dan Hawkins is the rhythm guitarist.
Growing up in Lowestoft, he studied at Kirkley High School (notably the venue for the second series of Channel 4's Rock School programme; although any reference to The Darkness was consipicuously erased in spite of their having donated thousands of pounds' worth of equipment to the school), he left part-way through his 'A' Levels to study Music Technology at Huddersfield Technical College while living in Sowerby Bridge near Halifax, West Yorkshire.
It was during this period that Justin fully developed his love of rock music while playing with the infamous, and now defunct, heavy metal band The Commander. They are affectionately credited on The Darkness' début album Permission To Land — (your wish is my Commander). His middle name is David, however he is sometimes credited as Justin "Danger" Hawkins.
He is known for wearing catsuits, his Freddie Mercury style falsetto, and his natural flamboyance. His playfulness has seen him fired by his brother Dan Hawkins from several different bands. He considered himself a lead guitarist until Dan saw him performing an interpretative mime to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody in The Swan public house, in Beccles, on 31 December, 1999 whereupon they realised his potential as a frontman.
In 2005 Justin set up a solo project, called British Whale. His debut single, This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both of Us, a cover of the 1974 hit by Sparks, was released on August 15th 2005, and reached Number 6 on the UK Singles Chart.
In 2006 Hawkins released a second single under the name British Whale, an unofficial World Cup anthem called England.