THE DARKNESS have recruited the son of QUEEN drummer Roger Taylor to replace Emily Dolan Davies.

Rufus Taylor was recommended to the group by one of guitarist Dan Hawkins’ friends. But once Taylor agreed to the gig, he had to fly to the UK from Australia and learn the band’s set in just four days.

Hawkins tells My Planet Rocks: “He’s a friend of a friend – my friend being Brian May’s guitar tech who suggested him to us some time ago – just after Emily got the gig. So when Emily left, that was the first person I thought of.

“I sent him the tracks and he got behind a drum kit in Australia for an hour and then he’s on the journey. He didn’t sleep for two days. He had the songs on and was tapping away. I really feel sorry for whoever was sitting in front of him. It must have been a nightmare.

“He came straight from the airport, we ran through the songs a couple of times and then did the show. It’s unbelievable what he actually managed to achieve.”

Hawkins confirms the split with Davies was amicable and adds: “It’s just one of those things. She’s been a session musician all of her life – this was the first band she was going to join.

“It didn’t quite fit right and when you’re committing to really long periods of time touring, you need to be right behind it and she’s got a lot of projects that she wants to do.”

THE DARKNESS will release Last Of Our Kind on June 1 via Canary Dwarf Limited and last month issued a promo for album track Open Fire.

'Last Of Our Kind' tracklist:

01. Barbarian
02. Open Fire
03. Last Of Our Kind
04. Roaring Waters
05. Wheels Of The Machine
06. Mighty Wings
07. Mudslide
08. Sarah O’Sarah
09. Hammer & Tongs
10. Conquerors