The Darkness squash Latitude 'bugbear'

The Darkness, who hail from nearby Lowestoft, will return "home" to perform at Latitude 2024

A popular British rock band that released their first album over 20 years ago will be returning "home" for a long-awaited first appearance at the Latitude Festival.

The Darkness will be performing at Henham Park in Suffolk on Sunday - home turf for the band's Hawkins brothers who hail from nearby Lowestoft.

Despite those ties to the county, they have never performed at the festival, which began in 2006.

Dan Hawkins, guitarist, told BBC Radio Suffolk it had been a "bugbear" of his, but he was "really, really pleased" they were finally playing.

"I've always heard great reports about it which is why I've always wanted to play it," said Dan.

He added that the summer festival season was very busy for the band with about 30 events booked.

The band are due to perform on Latitude's main Obelisk arena stage on Sunday.

The Hawkins brothers played together in bands as teens before forming The Darkness and releasing their debut Permission To Land in 2003

He described Latitude as a "homecoming" for the band which their fans were very excited about.

"It's quite a moment for us," he said.

"It's exciting - there's an anticipation about it and we're bringing the full arsenal of outfits.

"I think Justin [Hawkins - singer and guitarist] might be getting something specifically made up for it, but I won't say any more."

Justin is known for his flamboyant choice of clothing during performances.

Last year, the band celebrated the 20th anniversary of the debut album Permission to Land.

The album, which was written in Lowestoft, features songs with references to Suffolk, and Norfolk, which Hawkins said could make their Latitude setlist.

"It will be hard not to put a few songs from that first album because there are some direct references to the area like Stuck In A Rut and Black Shuck," he explained.

"Black Shuck lives down the road so how could we not play that?"

Black Shuck is an old folk legend about a ghostly black dog that would roam the Suffolk coast and supposedly caused several deaths and incidents in the county, such as at Blythburgh church, which festival goers pass if they are heading north on the A12 to Henham Park.

The band formed in 2000 in Lowestoft in Suffolk before finding success (original drummer Ed Graham is second from left; bassist Frankie Poullain is far right)

Hawkins said he hoped he would be able to see more of the county after the festival and added that friends and family from the area would be in attendance.

After The Darkness's phenomenal success with Permission To Land, things fell apart around the time of the second album One Way Ticket... with the band splitting up, Dan initially forming Stone Gods, followed by The Darkness re-assembling in 2011.

He teased that the band had "loads of new music", some of which would be released before the end of the year before a new album lands in 2025.

"We spent a long time writing this next one and we've just started recording it so it's been a very busy summer," he added.

"So far it's going really well. We're in the best place we've ever been in as a band."