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The Darkness Get Death Threats

added 25 February 2004 at 10.14

According to reports Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins has been receiving death threats, forcing the singer to contact police and increase security around himself and the other members of the band.

The Sun claims that Hawkins received the first threatening letter last week just after The Darkness celebrated winning three Brit Awards.

"It was a handwritten letter, it's very weird,” Hawkins explained, “It's quite flattering that somebody wants to kill me but at the same time it's very scary.

"I'm more concerned about my own safety really, you can't go on being nice to everybody because sometimes people take the p**s and they start to take liberties."

The police were then called and Hawkins claimed detectives are presently checking the letter for fingerprints.

Since then, the paper claims another letter has been received, forcing the band's management to increase security around Hawkins, and his bandmates guitarist brother  Dan, bassist Frankie Pouillain and drummer Ed Graham.

A slightly more positive Darkness story reports that Hawkins wants to donate $186,000 of his estimated $3.7 million fortune to build a new recording studio in his name at the Huddersfield Technical College where he studied for a National Diploma in Music Technology as a teenager,

"Justin rang a couple of weeks ago to catch up," Hawkins former tutor Rick Cocker explained to the Sun, "The first thing he said was, 'I suppose you want to discuss the Justin Hawkins Studio.' He'd remembered a chat we had when he graduated — over a few pints I'd said I hoped he wouldn't forget us when he became rich and famous.

“I said we'd build the Justin Hawkins Studio. I'm also talking about getting him up here to speak to the new students a couple of times a year. It would be a fantastic opportunity for them."

The Darkness new single ‘Love Is Only A Feeling’ is out on March 22

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