The Darkness have put a shoegazey spin on Christmas classic ‘Mistletoe and Wine’ – check it out below.
READ MORE: In praise of The Darkness’ Justin Hawkins’ genius YouTube channel
Justin Hawkins and co. have today (Friday December 5) shared their take on Cliff Richard’s festive track, introducing a passionate vocal performance backed by a choral harmony.
Sharing news of the new single on Instagram, the frontman told fans: “Season’s greetings! Children, roasting on an open fire, their eyeballs all aglow, are weeping in awe of our latest seasonal offering.
“‘Mistletoe and Wine’ represents a musical departure for The Darkness as we reimagine Richie Clifton’s timeless classic and add a few sprinkles of shoegaze and drone. Jack Frost staring at his toes? You will be too. In a good way.”
Back in 2023, the band marked the 20th anniversary of their own Christmas hit, ‘Don’t Let The Bells End’, which was their bid for Christmas Number One in 2003 – although ultimately Gary Jules beat them to the top spot with ‘Mad World’.
The Christmas single arrives shortly after the Lowestoft rockers announced that they’re gearing up for their biggest tour in 20 years on a seven-date stop following their huge support slot at Iron Maiden‘s Knebworth Park gig on July 11.
Kicking off the 2026 tour in December 8 at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro, they’ll travel through Leeds (9), Manchester (11), Cardiff (13) and more, rounding off with their debut show at London’s O2 Arena. American country-rockers Brothers Osborne and fellow Lowestoft band A will support The Darkness on all dates.
The Darkness’ 2026 UK arena tour is:
DECEMBER
8 – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
9 – Leeds, FD Arena
11 – Manchester, AO Arena
12 – Birmingham, Utilita Arena
13 – Cardiff, Utilita Arena
15 – Brighton, Brighton Centre
16 – London, The O2
Last March, The Darkness dropped their latest album ‘Dreams On Toast‘, their first full-length album since 2021’s ‘Motorheart’. According to Hawkins, the record was inspired by “the life-changing music of the ages”.
The record featured singles ‘The Longest Kiss’, ‘Rock And Roll Party Cowboy’, ‘Walking Through Fire’ and ‘I Hate Myself’, as well as a closing track called ‘Weekend In Rome’ which starred actor Stephen Dorff.
The band recently landed in hot water when guitarist Dan Hawkins criticised Yungblud and Aerosmith’s Ozzy Osbourne tribute as “another nail in the coffin of rock n roll”, calling them “a bunch of bellends”.
Justin would later expand on his brother’s comments on his YouTube channel, describing the performance as “rock n’ roll seen through an Instagram filter of some sort” and adding: “Yungblud seems to have positioned himself as a natural heir to the Ozzy legacy, having nothing to do with the really important stuff.”
In a lengthy response, Yungblud hit back at critics of his performance, calling them “bitter and jealous”.
“They are doing the things they say we are doing,” he told Jack Osbourne (son of Ozzy) on his podcast. “They’re trying to insert themselves into a conversation to obtain some kind of relevancy, on the back of us honouring one of the greatest rock stars that ever lived – and then they talk about authenticity and stuff like that.”
In other news, Justin Hawkins has announced his tour for his podcast ‘Justin Hawkins Rides Again… Again!’ for 2026.
The post The Darkness “reimagine” Christmas classic ‘Mistletoe And Wine’ with “a few sprinkles of shoegaze and drone” appeared first on NME.
