Dan Hawkins

Daniel Francis Hawkins (born 12 December 1976) is an English guitarist, best known as a guitarist and backing singer of the rock band the Darkness. The band, founded and fronted by his older brother Justin Hawkins, achieved notable mainstream success between 2002 and 2006. He also formerly played lead guitar for Stone Gods. Musical style and influences He is influenced by hard rock and glam metal bands, including Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Def Leppard, Whitesnake, AC/DC, Queen, Mötley Crüe and Thin Lizzy. Biography After moving to Lowestoft, Hawkins attended Kirkley High School and achieved good grades in his GCSEs before leaving his hometown behind for the bright lights and cosmopolitan lifestyle of Camden, London. From a young age, he aspired to be a musician, beginning on drums, moving on to bass and finally mastering the guitar. Back in his early days in his professional career, he worked as a session guitarist for various artists including Natalie Imbruglia. Previous bands include Vital Signs and Empire before The Darkness consisting of Justin Hawkins, Ed Graham, Frankie Poullain and later, Richie Edwards, became a mainstream success. With The Darkness he has won Brits, MTV and Kerrang awards and the prestigious Ivor Novello Award for songwriting in 2004. The Darkness split in 2006. In 2006, after The Darkness disbanded, Dan regrouped with bandmates Edwards and Graham to begin the band that would, after the recruitment of bassist Toby Macfarlaine, become Stone Gods. He played lead guitar in the band and saw their debut album Silver Spoons & Broken Bones, which was well received by critics. Stone Gods went on hiatus in 2011, preceding the reunion of The Darkness.