Red Light Fever (Hot Leg album)

Background

Writing of Red Light Fever began when lead vocalist Justin Hawkins left The Darkness. Several demos were leaked onto the internet mid-2007, leading many people to believe he was releasing a solo album, however, in August 2008 it was announced that Hawkins had formed a band with which to bring his newly penned music to the public again. In January 2009, it was announced via the band's MySpace page that the debut album would be released in Europe on 9 February.

Songs featured on the album include, "Whichever Way You Want to Give It", "You Can't Hurt Me Anymore", "Gay in the 80s", the download-only single "Trojan Guitar" and Christmas 'super-smash' "I've Met Jesus". Promotional song "Heroes" was not included on the album. Other songs on the album include; "Chickens", "Prima Donna" and "Cocktails", their first major single release.

Every track on the record was scored, performed and recorded by Hawkins. The album was mastered by Stephen Marcussen at Marcussen Mastering. Chas Bayfield, formerly of E-Wing, Team Pig and The International Christian Playboys, co-wrote lyrics to the tracks "Cocktails", "Gay in the 80s" and "I've Met Jesus". Hawkins' Eurovision collaborator Beverlei Brown appears on the track "Ashamed".

Reception

K. Ross Hoffman of Rovi said of the album; "By the time Justin Hawkins announced his departure from The Darkness in 2006, the band's flamboyant frontman had picked up a cocaine habit which suggested he'd been taking his role as an unapologetic resuscitator of hair metal's hedonistic excess regrettably seriously, even if taking things seriously seemed otherwise utterly foreign to the Darkness".

Personnel