One Way Ticket To Hell...And Back

One Way Ticket to Hell… and Back was the second and final album by English rock band The Darkness. It was released on November 28, 2005 through Atlantic Records (see 2005 in music).

The first single from the album, “One Way Ticket”, reached #8 in the UK single charts as did the second single “Is It Just Me?”.

Former Bassist, Frankie Poullain, has said that “Hazel Eyes” is his favourite track on the record, citing the following: “I defy anyone after a couple of beverages to listen to “Hazel Eyes” standing up and NOT get the Michael Flatleys. ” Poullain was already familiar with six of the ten songs on the album, playing “Hazel Eyes”, “Dinner Lady Arms”, “Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time” and “English Country Garden” on tour with the band before his departure. He also co-wrote four of the tracks featured on the album.

The working title for the album was The Painstaking.

Most bass parts on the album are played by Dan Hawkins, following the departure of Frankie Poullain.

Reviews for the album were mixed. Q magazine proclaimed it the 22nd best album of 2005. However Planet Sound remarked how it was the “world’s most expensive penis joke”, regarding the costly delay of the album.