The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins wants to ban phones from gigs after a stage dive went horribly wrong.
The 51-year-old rocker has revealed one of his stage stunts at a concert in Luxembourg went awry because fans were too busy filming to hold him up when he launched himself into the crowd – and he’s explained it’s another reason why he would like to see the devices put away while bands are playing.
In a video posted on his YouTube channel Justin Hawkins Rides Again, the singer explained: “We talked about doing this [banning phones] for The Darkness stuff, but it’s a little bit impractical. I know it’s actually quite expensive to do that.
“But it would make a huge difference to the atmosphere of the performance itself. I remember one time I played a gig in Luxembourg, I think it was, and I did my usual …
“I was doing antics, and I think I was up on the barrier, and I was gonna do some stage diving, such as my want on occasion. And people were sort of filming me like that. And then because they were filming, they didn’t catch me, so I just sort of fell.”
Justin went on to applaud singer/songwriter Phoebe Bridgers for announcing a phone ban on her upcoming tour and insisted he’s happy for some of The Darkness’ gigs to be filmed because videos can be beneficial for fans unable to attend the shows and encourages others to buy tickets, but he hates the way they change the atmosphere.
He said: “I’m not in the position that Phoebe Bridgers is in – she’s obviously taken over the world, really, with her music – and I still like a bit of filming and stuff on the Internet of us, because I think it brings more people to the shows, really.
“We’re fabulous live, and I think that it’s important that people see that. But in terms of the actual atmosphere there, when we play, like [The Darkness track] I Believe In A Thing Called Love, then all the phones come out, and so often I have to stop the song because it’s, like: ‘F****** hell, where’s the vibe gone?’
“Actually take part in the experience of it, connect with the band that you’ve paid that money to go and see.”
Justin went on to reveal he went to see the band Ghost in concert and he was impressed with their phone ban because it turned the show into a “really spectacular viewing experience”.
He added of phones at gigs: “I’ve been in an audience before and I’ve been watching something and thinking: ‘Oh my God, this is amazing. I’ve gotta film this.’
“And then I can feel myself sort of going for my phone and then thinking: ‘Hang on a minute, I really hate it when people do that at my gig, so I’m just not gonna do it.’
?But you do feel the urge, especially when you see everybody else doing it. And then, actually, when there’s a huge saturation, a huge percentage of the audience is filming stuff, then you think: ‘Yeah, f*** that. There’s enough perspectives of this particular performance being captured by all of these other complete assholes here. So there’s no need for me to do it’.”