It was 20 years ago today that Darius released his debut album, 'Dive In'.
It was released on 2nd December 2002 and peaked at number 6 in the UK album charts. The album was certified platinum in the UK for selling over 300,000 copies.
Every track on the album was written by Darius and he collaborated with producers The Misfits and The Matrix. He also produced the track "Better Than That", which he co-wrote with former Blur bassist, Alex James, himself.
The album actually has 69 tracks, but after the first 12 they are all 5 seconds of silence until the last one, which is a songwriting demo of "Gotta Know Tonight", effectively making it a hidden track. This songwriting demo has lyrics and music written by Darius, showing the song exactly as it was first written before other producers added their production ideas to it.
The album contains the singles, "Colourblind", "Rushes", "Incredible (What I Meant To Say)" and "Girl In The Moon".
Interestingly three of the most acclaimed tracks on the album "Colourblind", "Rushes" and "Mockingbird" were all written by Darius before he had even auditioned for Popstars or Pop Idol and before he had any help from record companies or producers.
He performed "Mockingbird", which is about a girl who has a controlling father, to a captivated crowd at Glasgow's Live & Loud festival in 2001 a few months before appearing on Pop Idol.
"Colourblind" was the first track to be released from the album. It was released on 29th July 2002 and reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart where it stayed for two weeks. The song charted again at number 2 on both the UK Official Single Download and Official Single Sales Charts on 19th August 2022.
It was certified Gold in the UK after selling over 400,000 copies. As of 2022 the song has been streamed over 15 million times on Spotify.
Darius had intended to sing an early version of "Colourblind" at his Pop Idol audition, and the producers had initially agreed that he could and that he could also play his guitar, but the executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, refused and made him re-enter the audition without it and he had to sing a cover of 'Future Love Paradise' by Seal instead.
Following his success on Pop Idol, Darius played the track for both Simon Cowell and Pete Waterman but neither of them thought it was good enough to be released as a single. Simon Fuller, from 19 management, on the other hand thought that it was and that it just "needed some work on the middle 8" After meeting with Pete Glenister and Deni Lew as well as Steve Lillywhite from Mercury, to whom Darius eventually signed, the song was tweaked and went on to become a massive hit that is still as popular 20 years on from it's release.
As of 2022 'Colourblind' has been streamed on Spotify over 16 million times.
"Rushes" was his second single released. It was released on 25th November 2002, and pushed back a week by Darius who didn't want it's release to effect the sales for the BBC's Children In Need single which Will Young had recorded that year.
"Rushes" did well and reached number 5 on the UK Singles Chart. At the time of it's release he told Newsround the full story behind the song, which he wrote on the back of a bus ticket when he was just 16 years old.
It's based on a girl who got on his bus two stops after him who he fancied so much that he got a rush of blood to the head every time that he saw her. But sadly for Darius by the time he had plucked up the courage to speak to her she'd left the country.
He said: "I got on the bus on the last day of school and she wasn't there. "And when I asked around she'd disappeared off to Germany - her dad had got a job and she'd gone. I was gutted!"
The third single to be released was "Incredible (What I Meant to Say)" It was released on 3rd March 2003 and peaked at number 9 on the UK Singles Chart, making it Darius' third consecutive Top 10 hit. The song is about the stupid things that you can end up saying to someone you love in an argument. It was co-written and produced by The Matrix, an American-British songwriting and record production team, consisting of Lauren Christy, Scott Spock, and Graham Edwards.
The Matrix's breakthrough came in early 2002 with the release of Avril Lavigne's debut studio album Let Go, on which they co-wrote and produced five songs. Three of the songs became top ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart ("Complicated", "Sk8er Boi", and "I'm with You") and their work with Lavigne collectively earned them seven Grammy Award nominations in 2003 and 2004. The success of these songs caused the Matrix to become a highly sought after production team.
"Girl In The Moon" was the fourth and final single to be released from "Dive In". It was released on 9th June 2003 and peaked at number 21 in the UK charts and number 13 in Scotland. The track was his favourite song from the album and he previously said that he was inspired by The Beatles when he wrote it. He dedicated the song to his fans for supporting him and would often pull a girl out of the crowd to sing the song to whilst on tour.
Speaking at Birmingham's Box Live gig in 2003 he told Newsround that "Girl In The Moon" is "about the idea that we have all got a guardian angel".
"People always ask me why I came back and what got me through - this song is about that. I turned my life around because the public gave me the support to pursue my dream."
"Dive In" received great reviews in the popular teen magazines with Smash Hits rating it 5 stars and TOTP giving it 4 and it impressed the 'serious' press too, with The Sunday Times saying: "Here's a turn-up. Not only is this Popstars also-ran's debut a comparative masterpiece when lined up beside the efforts from his rivals Gareth and Will; it could also, with the right marketing, be a real contender for US success At a time when the talk is yet again of Robbie Williams' chances of Stateside stardom - and, after Escapology's mix of calculation and poor-little-rich-man's whinging, this may require divine intervention - here comes plucky Mr Danesh to knock Robbie for six. Co-writing all of the radio-perfect tracks, Darius rarely puts a foot wrong. Highlights include Rushes, Girl In The Moon and the title track. Who would have thought? Not, you suspect, Simon Cowell." And the BBC review stating: "Danesh seems determined to be different, co-writing every track on his new album Dive In and stamping his name right through it like a stick of seaside rock. Darius is blessed with a chocolately baritone with an easy elasticity - and sounds superb on this album. Dive In is a thoughtfully produced, even collection of songs with no nasty blips and a clutch of tunes which make a lasting impression - plus a hidden track to search for. Danesh's rich voice is a beautiful instrument which blows his contemporaries out of the water - although as Pop Idol showed, it is not everyone's first choice. His musical sensibilities have been allowed to shine through, and his rock-edged pop is reminiscent of a male Natalie Imbruglia. Above all, he has made every effort to shake off his Pop Idol tag, and coming third was possibly the best thing that ever happened to him." Speaking to The Independent at the time of the release Darius revealed that he was very proud of his album saying "It's a bunch of great tracks. Steve (Lillywhite, the producer) said: 'Darius, by Jove, you've done it. You've come up with the feelgood album of 2003.' I said, let's not run before we can walk, but he said, 'No, I've listened to the final edit, and you've stretched yourself, not just as a songwriter but as a producer'. I produced a song as well. I wanted to take the plunge, not just because of being an artist, but because I enjoyed being able to craft something I'm proud of. Hopefully, what I have to show for this year is an album of songs that hark back to my love of music when I was a boy listening to my mum's Beatles collection." "The only real thing is the music, which I keep coming back to, because that is what I am about."
