Michael Bailey The closest he got as guitarist with The Darkness was Wembley Arena but Sunday will see Dan Hawkins set foot under the famous arch to cheer on his hometown club.

Michael Bailey

The closest he got as guitarist with The Darkness was Wembley Arena but Sunday will see Dan Hawkins set foot under the famous arch to cheer on his hometown club.

The Lowestoft-born rock star will be in London to join the Trawler Boys' FA Vase party against Kirkham & Wesham, after the Blues' Vase run reignited Hawkins' spark for the club.

He used to watch games at Crown Meadow with his dad as a child and although he admits to only watching the club play intermittently since, he believes the current interest surrounding the football club is a fantastic coup.

“It is fantastic for the fans and for Lowestoft. It is such a big deal and it is going to be an amazing experience,” said Hawkins.

“It is going to be great just to go to Wembley Stadium. Just being there is an event in itself, but to see your home town club there is awesome.

“To be perfectly honest, I heard rumours they were doing quite well in the Vase but I hadn't realised they were in the semi-final.

“So I got on the internet with my dad and went to these random sites to check the score. We couldn't quite believe it.

“I'd like to say I have supported them all the way through the campaign but I am one of those people who have tagged on as it gathered momentum. You really don't expect them to go that far and get to Wembley, you just don't expect it.”

Hawkins said the club's officials had got in touch with him minutes before he was about to ring them for tickets, offering him and his dad VIP seats for the day.

The guitarist, who is preparing to tour with his new band Stone Gods in June, played a lot of football in the town as a youngster, turning out for Pakefield and Burnt Hill Rangers, as well as for Suffolk.

“I was quite handy, even though I say so myself,” said Hawkins, whose football days ended after he 'broke all his hamstrings' against Leeds United's youth team.

“I was really into music at the same time so I guess that spurred me in the right direction, but I got to play at Crown Meadow a few times. Dad was really into my football career and took me to watch Lowestoft play a few times.

“One of the good things to come from this for me is it has awoken an interest in the club and I know after going to Wembley with Lowestoft I will pay more of an interest.”

At one point, the interest almost turned into a marriage of Hawkins' love for both music and the Trawler Boys, to conjure up a showpiece song to commemorate Lowestoft's appearance at Wembley.

“I was talking to my co-producer the other day about it. Someone has done one for Cardiff's FA Cup final at Wembley, down at my studio in Spooner Row,” he added.

“I was thinking of getting the boys together and unfortunately we just ran out of time, but I was ready to put pen to paper and do a really rocking punk song.

“If they win the Vase, maybe we'll do a song then.”