Darkness lead singer Hawkins quits band

Singer Justin Hawkins (Second L) has quit his band the Darkness.

NEW YORK - Singer Justin Hawkins has left British glam-revival band the Darkness to continue his drug rehabilitation and work on a solo album, telling the Sun newspaper that "it's time for me to move on."

He added: "It would be damaging to my recovery to stay on. I'm not blaming the band for my problem - I am an addict."

The remaining band members wrote on the Darkness website message board: "We ... are still in total shock and can't say at this stage what the future holds. You will hear from us, once we know what we want to do."

The group burst onto the worldwide stage with its 2004 debut, "Permission To Land," which has sold 698,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. But last year's "One Way Ticket to Hell ... And Back" fizzled in the US, selling 91,000 copies to date.

In August, Hawkins entered rehab; at the time, the band insisted it would hit the studio as soon as he was well, and it denied rumors that it had been dropped by Atlantic Records.

- REUTERS/Billboard