Justin Hawkins Sees The Light And Leaves The Darkness

Justin Hawkins has quit as frontman for The Darkness to focus on his recovery from drug and alcohol addictions.

The charismatic, spandex-loving singer was admitted to The Priory rehabilitation clinic in London, England in August after his dependency problems became so large that he was forced to seek treatment. The Darkness cancelled all of their scheduled concerts at that time, but announced a January 26, 2007 show on their website earlier this month. They previously said that they were looking forward to releasing a new album early next year, presumably with Hawkins at the microphone.

"I feel bad for the others [in the band]," Hawkins told British newspaper The Sun about his decision to leave the group. "It will be an upheaval.

"But it's time for me to move on. It would be damaging to my recovery to stay on. I'm not blaming the band for my problem. I am an addict. There are people who can be in bands and stay clean, but I'm not one of them."

Hawkins, who said he had considered leaving The Darkness last year before they embarked on a world tour, was spending more than 1,000 pounds ($2,100 Canadian) a week on cocaine in recent years as his addiction deepened.

"I feel like I've lost three years of my life," he said."I'm only just coming to terms with what has happened because I was always off my face. I became secretive, volatile and verbally abusive, a really unpleasant person to be around."Hawkins said that The Darkness will carry on without him, with bassist Richie Edwards (who replaced former band member Frankie Poullain) taking over vocals.

The campy metal band achieved stardom following the release of their 2003 debut, Permission To Land. But sales of their next album, last year's One Way Ticket To Hell... And Back, paled in comparison.

The falsetto-voiced Hawkins said that he'll now concentrate on recording a solo record and writing music for films.

If you're trying to start a Queen cover band and are looking for a singer, you might want to look him up.