Claims from some sources that he was born in Montreal in Canada, are erroneous; according to Darnell they stem from the fictitious back-story behind the Kid Creole character.

[5] The band combined swing and Latin music with disco rhythms and had its biggest hit in 1976 with "Cherchez La Femme".

[8] With his band and backing singers (including Darnell's then-wife, Adriana Kaegi), collectively known as Kid Creole and the Coconuts, he established an exuberant musical style drawing on such influences as big bands, notably that of Cab Calloway, salsa, jazz, pop music and disco.

[8] The group released three albums, Off the Coast of Me (1980), Fresh Fruit in Foreign Places (1981) and Tropical Gangsters (1982), that became especially popular and successful in Europe.

[5] In 1983, Darnell formed a new swing big band, Elbow Bones and the Racketeers, and gained the hit "A Night in New York".

[9] Darnell moved to England in the 1980s, and later lived in Denmark, Sweden, and Maui,[4][8] and occasionally tours Kid Creole and the Coconuts with his European band.