They had their van broken into a few nights previously.
On November 8 while playing in Italy, The Darkness had their van broken into and various items of equipment stolen. This included drummer, Rufus Taylor's drum hardware and guitarist Dan Hawkins' entire pedal board.
Frontman Justin Hawkins tweeted the following below:
However, the equipment was not lost for long, as police in France pulled over a van and foiled the culprits. The stolen hardware has been returned to the band now, with Justin giving us the following update:
Fair play to the French police. Top work.
In case you were wondering, The Darkness will be heading back to the UK soon. Playing the following shows:
November
23: Southampton O2 Guildhall
24: Manchester Academy
25: Blackburn King George’s Hall
27: Leeds O2 Academy
28: Newcastle O2 Academy
29: Glasgow O2 Academy
December
1: Stoke-On-Trent Victoria Hall
2: Nottingham Rock City
3: Norwich UEA
5: Guildford G Live
6: Margate Winter Gardens
7: Southend-On-Sea Cliffs Pavilion
9: Birmingham O2 Academy
10: London Eventim Apollo
11: Brighton Dome
13: Cardiff St David’s Hall
14: Bristol Colston Hall
