This frontman has had a number one debut album and a sold out world tour with hair as big as his career.
The singer, 48, famously spent £150k of his estimated £6m fortune on cocaine, living a life of excess which caused him to quit his band in 2006, and go into recovery.
But he is now a vegan, married, father-of-one living a quiet life in rural Switzerland.
And this huge rock star looked completely unrecognisable as he was pictured going designer shopping in Mayfair on Wednesday, 20 years on from when his band’s hit song was released.
Can YOU guess who it is?
Worlds apart: A huge rock star looks completely unrecognisable 20 years on from when their hit song was released
Different: The singer looked worlds away from his wild rock and roll days as he stepped out in Mayfair on Wednesday to head to some designer shops
That’s right! It’s Justin Hawkins from The Darkness.
Known for his long curly hair, the rocker sported a whole new look as he stepped out with a darker shorter do and clean shaven.
Back in the day the rocker used to wear flamboyant metallic catsuits which showed off his bare tattooed chest.
While Justin wasn’t wearing his signature stage costume, the rocker still showed an interest in fashion as he hit designer shop Marni before waving down a taxi.
Justin proved he had expensive taste as he carried a Celine rucksack, but kept his outfit casual in a tartan baseball cap, black hoodie and checked trousers.
In an exclusive chat with MailOnline last year, Justin said during lockdown he kept busy teaching himself to play slide guitar ‘for several hours a day’ but wished he learned to play piano and perhaps the language of the country he now lives in – Switzerland.
Married to Sarah Hawkins, with whom he shares a daughter, eight, whose name has not been revealed publicly, he said: ‘They’re the reason I live there, [because that’s where his family live].
‘I live in quite a rural part so the only time I am in contact with anyone English speaking folk is when I see my daughter.
Unrecognisable: Known for his long curly hair (left in 2003) , the rocker sported a whole new look as he stepped out with a darker shorter do and clean shaven
Designer garb: Justin proved he had expensive taste as he carried a Celine rucksack, but kept his outfit casual in a tartan baseball cap, black hoodie and checked trousers
Expensive taste: While Justin wasn’t wearing his signature stage costume, the rocker still showed an interest in fashion as he hit designer shop Marni before waving down a taxi
Changed: Justin famously spent £150k cocaine, living a life of excess which caused him to quit The Darkness in 2006, and go into recovery, (pictured 2017, six years after they reunited)
Surprise! Justin said he was glad to leave The Masked Singer in the second week of the show back in 2020 as it meant he didn’t miss his daughter’s birthday – she lives in Switzerland
‘So those times are really important to me. I always block out her birthday in the calendar.’
Justin said he was delighted when he was eliminated from The Masked Singer – in which he appeared as The Chameleon, in 2020, just two weeks into the series, because he would have missed his daughter’s birthday otherwise, because he would have to have remained in the UK to film.
He said: ‘She thinks I am cool, for now. I’ve got another year or so before that wears off I think.
‘I’m looking forward to the hormones kicking in. The times when she is rebellious, I quite enjoy those really.
‘It’s difficult for dads, especially absent dads, [because he is often on tour]. I think the rebellion that occurs,,, I don’t think I’ll get the full brunt of it really. If anything I’ve encouraged it.’
He’s still found ways to spend his royalties from hits like I Believe in a Thing Called Love and Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End) and spilled that he has bought a garish bespoke water feature.
He said: ‘It comes with a marble statue of myself as the Belgian urinating boy, which I keep in my front garden.
‘I often pose in front of it and startle the neighbours by moving when they least expect it.’
During the height of his fame, Justin wasted £150,000 on cocaine in just three years.
Fractious: During the height of his fame, Justin wasted £150,000 on cocaine in just three years and it became such a source of friction within the group (pictured 2004)
The band made £1 million in one month alone as a result of their festive hit, Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End), but the frontman wasted thousands on his drug habit.
Justin previously confessed that one of his lowest moments was waking up in first class on a plane dressed in a microphone fancy dress costume having soiled himself.
His addiction became such a source of friction within the group that he went for two years without speaking to his brother Dan – who was also the band’s guitarist.
So in order to get sober, Justin went on to endure a month-long addiction treatment programme at the Priory clinic in Roehampton.
Speaking to the Independent, he confessed: ‘I became secretive, volatile and verbally abusive, a really unpleasant person to be around.
‘There were lots of periods I don’t even remember; blackouts.’
The Darkness called it quits in 2006 after their rock and roll lifestyle took a toll. However, in 2015 they decided to give fame another go, and released a fourth album.
Speaking at the time, he told The Daily Mail: ‘I had to make a lot of tough decisions when I left the band, but leaving my brother was the hardest.
‘After a while, though, any awkwardness between us disappeared. We started writing songs together and that laid the foundations for this return…
‘There are the bands who have a little success before a slow decline. Then there are the ones who ride the roller-coaster, where your mood swings constantly between jubilation and despair. I prefer the rollercoaster.’
In 2011 the band reunited and went on to tour all around the world.
In January 2020, The Darkness released a new video for In Another Life, which featured model Abbey Clancy.
Most recently Justin joined Eurovision 2022 runner-up Sam Ryder after this year’s contest aired for a BBC special where he sang I Believe In A Thing Called Love.