Darius World

CELEB EXCLUSIVE: Darius' Guide to Being Famous

Sunday Mirror 24 November 2002

How many days off do you get per month?

None. I only get to see my family while I'm working. I get my brothers tickets to see my shows and they come backstage with all their mates.

Where do you live?

In a suitcase.

Who's on your speed-dial?

My family, my manager Nick, my flatmate and make-up artist Venetia, and Claire, one of my best friends and my stylist.

How many freebies do you get per week?

I get nothing. I think famous, glamorous women get more. Actually, no, I tell a lie - the ladies at Upper Crust at Victoria Station gave me a free baguette last week. Thank you, ladies.

What name do you check in under at a hotel?

It's my porn star name - your first pet's name and mother's maiden name, so mine's Rocky Campbell. I can't believe I told you that - I'll have to change it now.

Have you ever worn dark glasses inside?

Inside? No, that's completely pretentious. I'd feel too silly.

Have you ever said, `Do you know who I am?' to anybody?

No, it sounds really arrogant. Being famous doesn't give you the right to storm about the place. But it's easier to be a bad person if you're famous, because sycophants will put up with anything.

Have you ever been mistaken for another person?

Yeah - when I had the goatee, people thought I was Keith Duffy from Boyzone.

What do you really think of Simon Cowell?

He's an awesome businessman, but if I worked with him I would feel soulless and miserable. I don't understand why he's so rude about Will Young, one of his own artists. And Will is too much of a gentleman to respond. I know why Simon openly didn't want me or Will to win Pop Idol. It's because we were older than Gareth, and it all comes down to malleability.

Do you have a celeb-style obsession with your body?

I don't go to the gym, but I must start. I've paid off my student loan and so I can now afford the gym membership. My 18-year-old brother is really fit and it's starting to annoy me. We go for a swim and I think, `Jesus - he's got a rack'. I'll try to fatten him up over Christmas - I'll sit him near the Quality Street.

Are you aware of arse-lickers?

I think I can tell when someone's trying to get something out of me. And it's normally the people who fawn over celebrities who can't do their jobs properly.

Most stars have a childhood motivator - what was yours?

I was bullied horribly at school. I didn't tell my parents because I was scared I'd worry them. I was one of the only kids whose parents were together and I had it in my head that worrying about me would harm their relationship. This is my way of bouncing back.

Are you looking for a partnership like your parents?

Subconsciously, I suppose so. But - and I know it's a cliche - I haven't got time at the moment. Work is all I've got time for.

Who would be your dream celebrity girlfriend?

I wouldn't go out with a celebrity. I really need balance, so a down-to-earth girl who keeps my feet on the ground would be perfect. Certainly not a Gwyneth Paltrow type.

Do your family find it odd you're so well-known?

It's weird. I was doing a signing in Glasgow a little while ago and my dad decided to come and say hello. He didn't tell me he was coming because he wanted to see the circus from the other side and be part of the crowd. When he caught my eye, he winked at me and someone caught our eye-line and screamed, `Oh my God - it's Darius's dad!' Then on the other side of the barriers, I could see pandemonium break out as they all rushed over to him.

So your family are famous by association now...

My little brother Cyrus has had a hard time. When I was in Popstars, he was only five and journalists turned up in his school playground and pestered him, saying, `So what do you think of your brother?' How do you expect to get a quote from a child? He was petrified, burst into tears and ran back in to school. My family are very camera-shy and wary of the whole fame thing. My mum has had her dustbins rummaged through. My dad is a doctor and once he was called out over the tannoy in the middle of surgery because there was a problem with his son. He panicked, thinking I'd been in a car crash or something - but it was the editor of a newspaper wanting a quote. He'd left a man mid-operation for that.

Have you learnt who your friends are the hard way?

People I thought were good friends have sold non-stories and made up bits of information about me for Ł4,000. Great for them, sure, but they're not my friends anymore.

Are you embarrassed by the whole Britney-dancing, facial hair, love-in-this-room thang now?

I'm not embarrassed, but I can see it's funny. I had a lot of growing up to do - and I had to do it on television. I was very insecure and because of that, I threw out this c**k y image that wasn't me. I was hiding behind the ponytail and goatee - I looked like a cross between a Spanish waiter and an extra from a Tarantino movie.

The whole experience must have taught you early on that the press and public are fickle...

They say the British press build you up to knock you down, but I was knocked down before I could stand. I wasn't anticipating Popstars being the massive success that it was - and it was my first audition. There was a six-month gap between the audition and the show coming out, so I went back to my third year at university, thinking little of it. Then when the show aired, I had been edited into the main character. I was a figure of fun, shouted at in the street, ridiculed by strangers. And you know what? I'd have thought exactly the same if I'd seen someone behaving like me on television.

How did you pick yourself up and decide to give music another go?

I could sink or swim. I got really upset when I realised showbiz was so far away from what I imagined. The glitz and the glamour is a facade that soon loses its sheen. But I still wanted to make music, so I started writing on my own again. On Popstars I was wide-eyed, naive and seeking fame. It was going through my nightmare with the press back then that made me realise fame wouldn't make me happy - but music could.

Why are people so desperate to be famous?

The media leads us to believe fame can make us happy. Everything is about beauty, image and money. Anyone can get in the Big Brother house now, so anyone can achieve it. It's an alluring escapism for people with normal, everyday jobs. But I can exclusively reveal in this interview being a celebrity isn't that great - just look at Robbie Williams. As quickly as fame comes, it goes - and you can be infamous as well as famous. Like Ulrika - I would hate to be in her position right now, but she has chosen to go down that route. It can be tempting to sell your soul.

Who do you admire?

Craig David. You never read any trashy or sleazy stories about him because there aren't any. Like me. I don't have one-night stands, I don't trash hotel rooms or have fights. I live clean. I have a good time, of course, but I do it privately. And I get everyone in my life to sign confidentiality agreements, to protect me from people twisting the truth.

You sound a little paranoid. Have you been the victim of a kiss-and-tell then?

I sniffed a kiss-and-tell girl out before any damage was done a while ago. I made it clear I knew what she was trying to do - and then she started on one of my friends who's also a well-known singer. He didn't see it and I was worried for him, so I asked her to leave and she threw a massive strop.

You've got quite an old head on those young shoulders...

People always comment on my maturity - but I've been through a lot for my age.

Darius's new single, Rushes, is out tomorrow.