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Kinda Love
Rushes
Incredible
Girl In the Moon
Dive In
The Dive In Tour
Sink or Swim
Kinda Love
Live Twice
FANS of pop's comeback king Darius will be seeing double in Leeds this weekend – and they couldn't be more pleased.
The Scottish chart-topper is making TWO free appearances in Millennium Square on Saturday, belting out hits like Colourblind and Rushes.
Darius, who has defied the critics who wrote him off after his infamous rendition of the Britney Spears track Baby One More Time on ITV's Popstars, will be on stage at 1.30pm and 6pm.
And he clearly has a soft spot for Leeds, as Saturday's shows will be the third time he has played in the city in less than a year.
Darius strutted his stuff in front of hundreds of ecstatic fans at The Light complex last August and returned three months later to switch on the Christmas lights.
A pal said today: "It must be something in the air that keeps luring him back – or maybe he just likes Yorkshire girls!"
The Glaswegian pin-up will be in action in Millennium Square as part of the day-long National Lottery Fun Fest.
Starting at 11am, the event also features games and competitions as well as the chance to find out more about applying for lottery funding.
Officials from local good causes that have benefited from grants will be on hand to explain how the money has helped them make a difference to their community.
The bash is being staged in conjunction with the month-long Rhythms of the City festival, which is sponsored by the Yorkshire Evening Post and Real Radio.
A spokes- woman for the National Lottery said: "It should be fantastic – we're just hoping the weather holds out for us!
"It's an opportunity for families to have a great day out and learn about the work we do at the same time."
Jamie Livingstone Daily Record 29 July 2003
THESE are some of the current crop of singers and performers who should carry Government health warnings.
They put life and limb at risk with bizarre stunts featuring animals, nudity or just wanton destruction of their stage equipment.
You'd never have imagined Darius as a member of this club - but the squeaky- clean image of the Scots rocker is well gone now.
Recently, he was lambasted by police for putting himself and his fans in danger during his appearance at the Live + Loud Festival at Hampden Park on Sunday, scaling stage- side scaffolding during his set, before jumping back to earth to face the wrath of event organisers and the police.
The popstar claims the stunt was safe because he is a fully trained climber. It's just the latest headline- grabbing stunt by the artist.
In June, Darius managed to show off his ball skills when he knelt down at the Clyde Auditorium while wearing a kilt. Front row ticket holders, who paid extra for a cracking close- up view, weren't left disappointed.
But Darius' antics are tame in comparison to some of the founder members of the daft antics club.
But it was David Sneddon and Darius who got the biggest cheers from the arena.
A shaven-headed Darius scaled the lighting rig at the side of the stage and sang Girl In the Moon while tying a saltire to the top of the scaffolding.
He said: "I'm thrilled to be here - I'm home. It rained last year, but we're back flying the flag."
However, the boy from Bearsden was reprimanded by security chiefs for his dangerous climbing act.
Darius later apologised to the crowd for his high-jinks, saying: "What I did was dangerous - I don't advise anyone to do it at home."
Darius Danesh, the local hero of Pop Idol, was given a very public rap on the knuckles at Hampden Park yesterday afternoon after he scaled the lighting rig to perform his second song during the Hebs Live+Loud concert.
Clutching a Saltire to fly from the top of the scaffolding, the ebullient Danesh turned circus performer.
He was given a public dressing down by a stage manager on his return to the stage.
The singer offered a shame-faced apology for his dangerous behaviour - and the advice to his young fans that they should not try the same trick at home.
Fame Academy's David Sneddon was also given a homecoming welcome, but Gareth Gates, Danesh's Pop Idol rival, was the only no-show of the day, after doctors ordered him to rest.
Review of Live and Loud
Finally, there is the fallout from Pop Stars, Pop Idol, and Fame Academy. David Sneddon is Paisley's answer to Dean Friedman, and no amount of flag-waving can disguise the paucity of the songs. Darius can be purchased from the same branch of I J Mellis but his cheese is of a more charismatic and less mouldy flavour.
SHAVEN-HEADED pop star Darius Danesh nearly came a cropper at the Live and Loud festival last night.
The chart-topping singer, 22, diced with disaster as he climbed scaffolding during his performance - and was nearly arrested.
Police gave Darius a dressing down, saying he had endangered himself and his fans. An insider said: "Darius came close to being arrested. They tore him to shreds but he took it on the chin."
Last night Darius, from Bearsden near Glasgow, admitted he had acted irresponsibly, but said there had been no risk as he was a trained climber. He added: "It wasn't until I went on stage and swung out on to the rigging and someone threw me a Saltire flag that I got carried away.
"Afterwards the police said, `Anyone else and we'd have arrested you.'"
DESPITE Blue, The Sugababes, and Liberty X all appearing on the same stage, all eyes are going to be on one hometown act - Darius.
At the recent Box Live tour, the Armadillo's foundations rocked when the Bearsden boy emerged under the spotlight dressed in his signature black shirt and kilt.
But in the two months since his last visit a lot has changed for the 23-year-old.
He scored another top 40 hit with Girl In The Moon, confirmed he is single and has announced that he will be releasing a warts-and-all book about himself.
"I had to wait for legal reasons and once all that passed I decided to concentrate on my music," admits Darius. "But the time is right now to bring the whole book out. It's nearly finished and should be out by September.
"It's called Sink or Swim, a behind-the-scenes view of Popstars and Pop Idol.
"It's all the stories that didn't even hit the screen, all the fascinating stuff that went on, off-screen. It's the stuff that people might find enticing.
"You can never be worried if you tell the truth. I'm just being honest. I made many friends from being on these programmes, even with the people you might think I could have fallen foul of.
"When I turned down a record deal from Simon Cowell, you might have thought we would have fallen out. On the contrary, we're friends and I hope we stay friends."
Although he might still be friends with Simon at the moment, his girlfriends appear to have deserted him.
Despite being seen with a number of girls on his arm, the heartthrob swears he is single - and the reason is because he has too much love to give!
"There's romance in my life everyday!" he jokes. "I love love! Don't we all? I'm just enjoying being single.
"I love being a bachelor and the only relationship I have right now is the one with my guitar! That's the only thing that I guarantee will be in my bedroom when I go to sleep and as I wake up in the morning.
"If I was 35 or 40-years-old and I was looking back when I was 23 and I had the chance to date many women, I'd kick myself if I didn't do it!
"But I'm too agile right now to be settling down.
"There were reports recently that I was getting married to a girl I haven't even met! "
Spending most of his time in London these days, HEBS Live and Loud has given Darius the chance to grab some time back in Glasgow.
"I can't wait to get back home. Last year my family were really disappointed when the festival was cancelled - my aunties and cousins had all bought tickets and were really excited. And so was I!
"That's why I'm going to make this extra special, for my fans and my friends!"
SCOTLAND'S Pop Idol Darius has quashed gossip about his love life by revealing he is dating Jacqui Ainsley, the model he met while filming the video of his No.1 single Colourblind.
The 6ft 2in hunk has had enough of rumours linking him with Fame Academy's Sinead Quinn and a string of other young ladies, and says of Jacqui: "Yes, she is my girlfriend. It's about time I had a girlfriend.
"I had a great time on tour with my band and it's not ideal to have a girlfriend when you're on tour. But now the tour's finished - and when I start seeing in the Press that I am dating lots of girls, I think it's about time people knew we are together and there's no-one else.
"I'd never have a one-night stand - it's not in my bones. If I'm going to make love to a woman, I do it properly, and to do that you have to do it more than once."
Darius is still recording the follow-up to last year's debut album Dive In. He's just back from America where he hooked up with Miami-based Steve Morales - who produced Enrique Iglesias' Escape and Christina Aguilera's Stripped - and LA trio The Matrix, who work with Avril Lavigne.
Darius says: "It's amazing to be working with these big producers, but I'm still at the helm and it's still my sound.
"The new album is taking on the idea of using R&B beats and rock guitars, like you can hear on Colourblind and Rushes."
So has he written a tune for Jacqui?
He laughs: "I might have. The lyrics are my experiences of the past year, about the pressures of relationship with others and how I cope with fame."
Darius is now looking forward to Pop Idol 2. It was thanks to the first Pop Idol that he managed to turn his career around after the embarrassment of Popstars.
He says: "I can't wait to see it. All respect to Simon Cowell - he's now bigger than his record label acts like Westlife."
Darius is also looking forward to HEBS Live + Loud on Sunday. He appeared at the first Live + Loud and was also due to play last year, and he admits the Scottish pop event has a big place in his heart.
He explains: "After Popstars, I got a lot of stick, then I was offered Live + Loud. It was light at the end of the tunnel.
"I arrived at the site in a battered old Escort and I'd forgotten my artist sticker for the car, so couldn't get in.
"As we were waiting, a stretch limo arrived and it was Hear'Say. I went to say Hi to Kym Marsh and was pushed back by a security guy. They rushed off to perform and do interviews, then they came back and Kym mouthed: `I'm sorry' as they were bundled into the car.
"We were parked in a marshy bit and I was ankle-deep in mush. One of my friends said ... `we'll look back on this and laugh about it one day'. I'm just so thankful I've been able to laugh about it more quickly than I thought possible."
Darius
There’s no shortage of reality TV pop product on the Live + Loud bill, stretching all the way back to Popstars graduate Kym Marsh and taking in Liberty X, Gareth Gates, David Sneddon and Girls Aloud along the way. But bestriding them like a bronzed, barrel-chested colossus is Darius, a man who has been there since the genesis of this most odious of musical genres and, through sheer force of will alone, managed to judo-throw the efforts of an army of cynical manipulators and launch a successful solo career on his own terms. And his relentless self-aggrandising is actually rather charming these days. There’ll be a lot of love in that stadium.
THE model lover of Darius Danesh has vowed to keep him out of the clutches of pretty Fame Academy flatmate Sinead Quinn.
Darius and Sinead, who share the same record company after getting breaks on different reality TV shows - insist they are just friends.
But pals of stunner Jacqui Ainsley say she's a regular at the London flat they share - to make sure the chart-topping Glaswegian is not left alone with the Irish songstress
Last night, a friend said: "Darius is smitten with Jacqui but he's obviously got a lot in common with Sinead.
"Sinead is very pretty. She's a sassy girl and she and Darius haven't hidden the fact they do, or did, fancy each other."
Last week, Sinead, 23, joked: "If he wants to dump a model for me, that's fine."
Darius, 22, fuelled gossip when speaking coyly about Sinead earlier this year, after which she revealed: "I'd go out with him, no sweat."
Jacqui, 20, met Darius when she appeared on the video for his No1 single, Colourblind
The charming Scotsman makes a return to Northampton for a full live show.
Darius returns to Chicago Rock Café in Northampton on Sunday, 20th July after appearing at the Market Square venue late last year.
Now a household name, Darius was struggling to shake off his Popstars/PopIdol image when he was previously in town, but now has become a renowned celebrity and chart regular.
With the release of his debut album, Drive In, shifting copies since its release, Darius has gained fans from far and wide.
He did leave many fans disappointed by his last local appearance though, performing only four tracks in a brief showing on stage.
This time however, you can expect a little more, with a promised full live band and 60 minute stage performance.
This date, a follow up to his stint in Florida, writing and recording material for his new album, will follow his appearance at the Route of Kings concert in Hyde Park, London, with Blue and Liberty X.
The fourth single from the album, Girl On A Moon, was released at the beginning of June.
Darius has come a long way in his music career. From an unbeatable singing amateur contestant, Darius has emerged to be another exciting global star.
He is currently dominating the entertainment scene in many countries, including the Philippines, with his single, “Colourblind” from the debut album “Dive In” released under MCA Universal.
At 21, the 6’3 Darius Danesh from Scotland is a big sensation in Britain’s music business. His career picked up when he starred in two appearance, fans envisioned him to be a big star with his strong charisma and impressive musical prowess.
As Darius tries to reach for his global star, “Colourblind” scales the Philippine chart. The ditty is described as a “catchy and original pop tune that is sure to do well.” As US magazine reviewer rates Darius as “an uplifting pop rocker with a fly away chorus that Ronan Keating would kill for .”
Justin, Sparx and Josh have a secret - they used to do back-up singing for Darius.
Before Triple Eight took off, the boys were asked to join a pre-cool Darius at various PAs across the country - a time they'll never forget!
"Me, Sparx and Josh were his backing singers for a gig he did shortly after Popstars, when he still had the ponytail!" Justin told Smash Hits. "We felt bad for him because he was getting loads of abuse from the audience. He got caned that night and his manager quit on him. At first I thought he was an idiot, but he's a nice guy!"
Bless 'em. Triple Eight release their fab new single Give Me A Reason on July 21!