Songfacts®:

• The Darkness have been hailed as rock and roll saviors (by themselves and others), but this genre has been "saved" so many times, maybe it's time to let it die. In a Songfacts interview with Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins, he explained the meaning behind the song. "A lot of the album talks about history and the way we feel about our experiences," said Hawkins. "I remember when we first started, people were like, 'Ah, rock and roll. At last, there is a band that has come to save rock and roll.' And it always makes me laugh, because I think, 'Rock and roll is the only genre that seems to need saving all the time.' It's like terminally tied to the train tracks - a night train being driven by rap artists and jazz artists. You never hear the whole, 'Who's going to save hip-hop?' None of them say that, do they? I always think, 'If it's going to come precariously close to creative inertia - to the point where everything is completely retro and nothing exciting or challenging happens - then yes, the genre does deserve to die.'"
• The title came about when Justin and his bandmate/brother Dan Hawkins were watching video of a "s--tty band." They got about 90 seconds in when Dan said, "Well... rock and roll deserves to die."
• The press statements from The Darkness are always entertaining. We'd like to share this bit with you - it's Justin's statement on the theme of the album:
  
  "Those who have said that rock and roll is the Devil's music should listen and understand that it is, in truth, the voice of God. This is the grandest statement any band has ever made."
• At one point, "Rock And Roll Deserves To Die" was going to be the title of the album, but the band thought it was too, er, dark. "Easter Is Cancelled" is something their manager said when Justin Hawkins wrote an uninspiring Easter poem. According to Hawkins, it's a very positive title. "There's no need for the crucifixion," he told us.
• The video has plenty of memorable moments, including Justin Hawkins doing his best Naked Cowboy impression, and the band getting their hair blown off from the force of their music. Made by the Manchester, England team Sitcom Soldiers, it was a concept Hawkins developed for another song on the album, "In Another Life," which is a power ballad. But when The Darkness' label told the band they wanted a video the next week, Hawkins didn't have time to write a new one, so he transposed the blow-your-wig-off video treatment to "Rock And Roll Deserves To Die." Hawkins says most of the shoot was spent in the makeup chair, "having my scalp manipulated by a talented young lady."