Not very long ago, The Darkness pretty much ruled the world. Swaying erratically between playing at rock-gods, living the lives of glitzy pop stars and revelling in what, at times, appeared to be tongue-in-cheek metal parody; the East Anglian lads became national treasures – and easily the biggest thing to have come out of their home port of Lowestoft since the herring fleet hauled anchor.

Then they broke up, amid a hail of accusations and a flood of ill will. One of modern rock’s greatest bunch of exponents seemed to have had had their day. Until now.

Against all odds, The Darkness are back – and, after too long out of the spotlight, they are making up for lost time and once again rocking it hard. Albeit, in smaller venues.

Next Thursday (December 12) frontman Justin Hawkins, his brother Dan (guitar and backing vocals), Frankie Poullain (bass) and Ed Graham (drums) play the O2 Academy Oxford as they near the end of their Intimate Outreach Tour.

I caught up with Dan before a show in picturesque Holmfirth, in the heart of the West Yorkshire Pennines — a town better known for the exploits of another bunch of chaotic entertainers.

“We are in Last of the Summer Wine country,” he laughs, loving the comparison. “Justin is definitely Nora Batty and I must be the scruffy little one people like – Compo!”

The tour celebrates the 10th anniversary of their number one debut album Permission To Land – featuring such enduring hits as Get Your Hands Off My Woman and I Believe In a Thing Called Love. And the band are marking the occasion by playing it in full, alongside their hits from their two top 10 follow-ups One Way Ticket To Hell And Back and last year’s Hot Cakes.

The tour of small towns and cosy venues can best be described as intimate – and after a recent comeback tour supporting Lady Gaga, it is all very refreshing. “It’s nice to get out and do some proper UK tours,” he says. “We had a comeback tour when we first got back together, then loads of stuff in Europe and America before we went off with Gaga.

“We never had a chance to do this kind of thing, so it’s great.”

Stories abound about what happened to The Darkness, some of which are best unmentioned and others which are clearly in the realm of fantasy. What is known is that Frankie was chucked out during the making of their second album, Justin burned through a heap of cash – most of it, allegedly, going up his nose – and eventually quitting the band to go into rehab, and, in the process, seriously falling out with his brother.

“It was a mixture of petulance and ambition and we ran ourselves into the ground,” says Dan, 36. “We had been touring for three or four years and should have taken a break, got away from each other and taken stock, but because we worked so hard and sacrificed so much we weren’t capable of saying ‘no’. Something had to give – and Justin did the right thing. If he hadn’t, I don’t think we’d be playing now.”

But they never really went away. After the band’s 2006 implosion, Justin bounced back, after a fashion, with his own band Hot Leg and had a go at production and songwriting for others.

What remained of The Darkness, meanwhile (Dan, Ed Graham and replacement bassist Richie Edwards) reinvented themselves as The Stone Gods. Though even that seemed doomed, with Ed leaving due to health reasons which necessitated a hip replacement.

Dan said: “We fell out to the point where I didn't think we were gonna speak again”. So what happened – and how did they make their peace?

“There was always peace,” he says. “That’s half the problem, as we needed to talk about the issues we had. There was always peace in the camp.” What happened is that Justin extended the olive branch to his brother when Hot Leg played Dan’s adopted home town in 2009. Dan went along and, two months later joined the band onstage for an emotional rendition of I Believe in a Thing Called Love, for the city’s Great Escape festival.

Shortly after, they started writing again – coming up with Can’t Believe It’s Not Love. They decided to brand it as The Darkness. They were back in the game. The rest were won over at what they describe as a band “summit” at a curry house in London’s Swiss Cottage. “It was great to see the guys again,” he says. “And we liked like a band should look, so we decided to book a rehearsal.”

“It was a great place,” he laughs. “I’ll find out the name for you if you like. And they are enjoying picking up where they left off – albeit it at a slightly more manageable level of fame.

“As anyone who has been famous for any amount of time will tell you, it’s a pain in the arse.

“People who haven’t experienced it think you are lying but it’s true. And at least I can now go shopping in Waitrose.”

While the humour and daft costumes are back (at least in the spandex-loving Justin’s case), Dan insists they are serious band.

“We do try to write songs that people haven’t done before, with lots of variations on rock. We have our heroes too, but have never tried to be anyone else or parody anyone – bands that do that are a bit sad.

So, what was it like touring with Gaga? “It was great and opened up so many opportunities for us,” says Dan. “We were playing to sold-out stadiums in places like South America, and everyone was there to see us too – even though it was the first time they’d seen or heard of us.” They appreciated the fact we make an effort on stage as does Her Gaga-ness.”

He adds: “She’s done so much you forget how young she is. And we were both running ‘dry ships’ with no alcohol around. It’s all about the creative side.

“We are all of an age we don’t need to get that wasted. We are wiser and more professional. We’ve learned a lot of lessons but have proved we can tour the world and make a living.

“When you have time away you get to see it all for what it really is.”

The Darkness

O2 Academy, Oxford
Sunday, December 8
Tickets: ticketweb.co.uk