The Darkness released “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” as a UK single on September 22, 2003. The song had already appeared in an earlier form on a limited EP and on their debut album, Permission to Land. Its breakthrough followed a writing session in which even guitarist Dan Hawkins initially questioned the chorus.
Justin Hawkins recalled the moment in a 2018 interview with Songwriting Magazine. At the Primrose Hill flat Dan shared with bassist Frankie Poullain, a frustrating day of writing was nearly over when Justin found the opening riff. It made the room laugh. Dan supplied the pre-chorus chords, while Justin pushed ahead with the high chorus despite his brother’s objections. The song emerged through that exchange, with Dan helping connect its sections rather than smoothing away its most conspicuous feature.
Even the driving imagery came from something specific: a car their father had restored. Justin remembered its overdrive button while improvising the words. The reference concerned a car’s extra power, rather than an effect on a guitar amplifier.
The recording took more construction than that initial burst of writing. Speaking to Rock Sound in 2023, Dan described a small production room the band used at Two Kilohertz in Willesden. They had a Pro Tools setup and access, when available, to the larger studio’s drum room and old EMI desk. They could capture drums there, then return to their own room to develop the tracks. “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” and “Love Is Only a Feeling” grew through this process of adding overdubs. Other parts of Permission to Land were recorded much more directly. The band financed both approaches themselves; according to Dan, the album was finished and mastered before a label became involved.
There was room for both Hawkins brothers to take the lead. “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” contains three guitar solos, with Justin playing the first and third and Dan taking the middle one. “Everyone gets a moment in the sun,” Justin told Classic Rock. He also pointed to the space given to Poullain’s bass. Justin regarded the guitar breaks as a deliberate response to bands leaving solos out of songs to improve their radio prospects. Drummer Ed Graham contributed a smaller touch, suggesting the wordless vocal exclamation before the first solo.
The song’s first release had been modest. In August 2002, it appeared on a three-track EP alongside early recordings of “Love on the Rocks with No Ice” and “Love Is Only a Feeling.” Its return as a single came after the band had introduced the album through “Get Your Hands Off My Woman” and “Growing on Me.”
Justin described that sequence as a planned escalation in a separate 2023 interview with Classic Rock. The first single’s profanity attracted attention, while “Growing on Me” gave them a route to a broader audience. For “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” Atlantic invested in a more substantial video. The song’s release was therefore part of a campaign already underway, with the band’s flamboyance getting a larger platform as listeners became familiar with them.
The single entered the UK chart at No. 2, with Black Eyed Peas’ “Where Is the Love?” holding the top spot. It remained in the Top 10 for four weeks. A song first issued on a small EP had become a national hit with the high chorus and all three guitar solos intact.
