Darius World

Public enemy

Evening Times Online 1 May 2003

DARIUS

INFAMOUS: Darius sporting his goatee and ponytail on Popstars

IMAGE CHANGE: the new mature Darius is keen to ensure his tour is a success

DARIUS HAS GONE FROM BEING A NATIONAL LAUGHING STOCK TO TOP PIN-UP, BUT THE BOY FROM BEARSDEN SAYS HE UNDERSTANDS WHY PEOPLE DIDN'T LIKE HIM

CHANCE can indeed be a fine thing where the music business is concerned. For decades, the industry has been littered with rags-to-riches stories emerging from fortuitous meetings and lucky hearings.

And then there is Darius Danesh...

In theory, he should have been one of the recipients of the magic dust that transforms the faceless hopeful in the crowd into the adored stand-out. Reality gameshow fame beckoned in the shape of Popstars. National telly and industry scouts a plenty.

But he blew it. Big style.

The memorably hideous version of Britney Spears' Baby Do It One More Time by the then-goatee bearded and ponytailed Bearsden boy, added to bluster that he'd be flogging triple-platinum albums by the time he was in his 30s, signalled national infamy and laughing-stock status.

But when Darius popped up again on Pop Idol six months later, the jeers turned to cheers - and not just because the daft look and pompous soundbites had been replaced by a more mature figure.

Or even that, second time round, he had managed to do himself musical justice on the show that shot Will Young and Gareth Gates to fame. Instead, people took to Darius because he was seen as a badly-injured lemming staggering back up the cliffside for a second jump.

Danesh didn't win, but that really didn't matter. Redemption had come calling - and so did Mercury Records, with a five-album contract a couple of weeks later.

"I knew by that point I had grown up a lot and had a clearer idea of what kind of solo career I wanted, so I thought I'd have a crack at it," he explains. "I know a lot of people thought I was bananas, but I wanted to work with the best people in the business and have that experience of performing on the big stage."

The 22-year-old's first major solo tour kicks off with Clyde Auditorium shows tomorrow and Saturday.

In the past year he has enjoyed three Top 10 singles - including a No1 debut for Colourblind - plus a Top 5 first album, Dive In.

His story is as astonishing a public comeback as any in recent years. The secret, he says, was simply being himself.

"I know the public didn't like what they saw of me on Popstars and I can understand why, but that wasn't really me.

"I affected a persona for that programme because I thought that was what would be required.

"Of course, I didn't help myself along the way and I regret now not just being me back then, but I was a young guy thrust into the limelight.

"If the truth be told, I didn't really like what I saw of myself either, and seriously considered giving up singing in the weeks that followed.

"If Pop Idol hadn't come along I may well have done."

Born to Iranian and Scots parents and named after a Persian king of old, Darius now cuts an impressive figure.

The 6ft 4in tall former English Literature student with the olive complexion and whiter-than-white smile has gone from zero to hero in the space of two years and now finds himself figuring highly in eligible British bachelor polls.

It doesn't get any better than this, surely?

"I'm still just off the starting grid," he counters. "I'm a singer-songwriter and intend being around for a long time. I want this to be my career.

"Okay, I've had great success in the past year, but I already know how fleeting fame can be. It can be very deceptive.

"I'm a pop star at the moment, but pop stars can come and go quickly. I want to be here for the long ride, not just a short sprint."

Brought up on a musical diet of The Beatles, George Michael and Seal, the school choir regular was inspired to ask for a guitar for Christmas at the age of only nine after hearing Extreme's acoustic smash-hit, More Than Words, on the radio.

Within a couple of years, he was penning his own material, starting with a love song he wrote as a Valentine's Day present for a local girl.

Its failure to get the girl was an early lesson that the music business may not be all fast cars and even speedier women.

It was while performing Carmen with his choir at a Scottish Opera concert that Darius realised his destiny lay in performing. "I just got such a buzz out of being out there in front of so many people.

"It had a huge impact on me, although trying to persuade teachers and my parents that it would be my chosen career was another thing entirely!"

What is interesting about Darius is that he is someone of genuine musical substance considering the genre he has emerged from. Like David Sneddon, he is a writer rather than merely a singer, and a talented musician to boot.

Ninety per cent of the manufactured pop output is delivered by performers who sing and look good. End of story. Until we hear otherwise, it has to be assumed that is indeed the sum total of what Young, Gates et al can actually do.

Darius' singles and album tracks were self-penned - Colourblind was composed by him during the Pop Idol experience - and this means more to him than any chart position.

"I've now got the fantastic privilege of being able to release my own material and express the words and melodies that have driven me and haunted me in my sleep for the past few years," he says. "It is very special."

Since fame came a-calling, Darius has found some unlikely musical allies, most notably Coldplay's Chris Martin and the Gallagher brothers. Noel has been especially fulsome in his praise of Darius' songwriting ability.

"That was very special to hear that," he admits. "You wouldn't expect to hear that from someone of his stature, but I'm glad he spoke his mind on the subject of me!"

A very special year for Darius was topped by a kilt-attired headline appearance at the Clyde Auditorium for the Smash Hits' Poll Winners' Party last December.

The prolonged cheers that greeted his performance was a far cry from the cruel jeers which he received on his previous major appearance in the city, as one of the acts at the inaugural Live + Loud festival two summers ago.

Paradoxically, none of the three headliners from that 2001 event in Bellahouston Park - 5ive, Steps and Hear'Say - is still in business.

That Clyde Auditorium show remains one of his top memories from 2002, only usurped by the news that Colourblind had reached No 1.

"Suddenly, after so much struggle and hard times, all my dreams had come true," he says.

"But I'm happy not being content at what has gone before. This tour, for example, is another huge leap for me.

"It's the next step up for me. I'm nervous - and rightly so - but also very confident that I will put on a show to remember.

"I was very fortunate to get a second chance to show what I could do after things went so wrong for me on Popstars.

"I've taken my opportunity thus far, but I believe you're only as good as the last thing you did, so the live dates are another challenge I have to rise to.

"It should be a lot of fun."