This is not the best way of guaranteeing longevity for your band. Hawkins knows that. A few years later, BBC Radio DJ Jo Wiley criticized Hawkins's solo album, in particular the tone of Hawkins's vocals. "And I was like, 'No that's how I sing, for fuck's sake.' And I said anyone that doesn't believe that has a smelly bum." It's still better than calling Michael Eavis a cunt, but it's not exactly sensible. "I thought I was being playful, but I never really heard from her again," he says.

While on tour, somebody dredged up an interview with The Darkness in which they made "disparaging remarks" about The Strokes. So the New Yorkers went to The Darkness' dressing room to confront them. Things were smoothed over and, Hawkins tells me, they actually got on pretty well for a while. "And then another interview came out and was published while we were on the tour." It included a quote attributed to the band's then-drummer, Ed Graham, in which he called The Strokes' most recent album "appalling." When confronted about this again by The Strokes, Hawkins and the band tried to cover it up by claiming Ed was misquoted—they insisted that he'd actually called the album "appealing." Predictably, nobody bought it. "The funny thing about that was it was me that said it," Hawkins says. "But it was Ed that got the blame for it."