Darkness Frontman Says Opening For Disturbed Was Worse Gig Ever

While most people would cite early minimum wage gigs in the food or retail businesses, the leader singer of The Darkness says his worst job ever was working as an opening act for Disturbed.

Justin Hawkins says Disturbed had little to do with making the 2002 Brixton Academy performance so miserable; rather, it was Disturbed’s fans.

“People were just throwing stuff,” Hawkins says. “But some of the things they were throwing were, like, shoes, bottles and coins and stuff. And somebody — one of the Disturbed fans — threw a piece of chewing gum that presumably had been in their mouth, and it actually landed in my mouth. It was just a brilliant shot; I had to respect it, really. And then afterwards, David Draiman wasn’t very pleased with me. I don’t know; I think I may have issued an admonishment to the throng, which didn’t go down very well.”

Ultimately, the gum incident somehow left a bad taste in the mouths of Disturbed’s members, Hawkins says. “If a band is supporting my band and then our crowd is not very nice to them, I would always go and apologize,” he notes. “That didn’t happen with Disturbed. I think it actually had the opposite effect and they were angry with us. But … not my problem.”

What’s the meanest thing you’ve done to an opening act?