The Darkness Confirm Reunion for Festival Slot and New Album

Sales of novelty cat suits are set to rocket this summer after the Darkness announced they're reforming their original line-up and will play the Download Festival in June.

The British rock band are also set to record a new album -- news that will either be music, or pain, to the ears of many.

Spinner broke the news on Wednesday, March 9, that a website looking like a new official band website was genuine, prompting speculation that the band -- who split in 2006 after lacklustre sales of their second album -- were set to reunite.

And on Tuesday, March 15, the website released official confirmation of the news, reporting that the quartet will be "locked in an East Anglian studio working on tracks that will in time become the band's third album."

In an interview with BBC Newsbeat, mainman Justin Hawkins also confirmed that himself and brother Dan Hawkins have been writing for a "couple of years" but had to keep it hush-hush.

He said, "It was frustrating for a long time to not be able to tell anybody because we've had to sort of keep it a secret. It was like a forbidden romance without the trail."

The Darkness will play the Friday night (June 10) at this year's Download Festival in Donington on a bill alongside other acts including System of a Down, Def Leppard and Linkin Park.

Watch the Video of the Darkness's 'I Believe in a Thing Called Love'