🦋This week in 2002 Darius met a group of fans at the Daily Record offices to take part in a Q&A. You can read the article below and well as see some lovely photos from the day ❤️
Darius Is A Hit At The Record
"Scottish pop hunk Darius Danesh made a flying visit to the Daily Record yesterday - to be given a grilling by some of his most loyal fans.
The lucky youngsters had all won our special 192 competition to meet the star at a private Press conference where they asked the questions.
The excited fans started arriving more than 90 minutes before Darius was due.
And when he arrived it was to frantic applause, cheers and excited screams of "Oh my God, he's here" and "I can't believe it's him", as well as "look how tall he is" and Darius's favourite compliment ... "he's so good looking".
We gave them an extra treat by playing the video for Colourblind, the debut single which Darius wrote himself and which will be released on July 29.
Darius then kicked things off by asking the fans what they really thought of the video. Predictably, it got rave reviews, although some of the girls were not keen on the closing scenes where he kisses a stunning model and drives off into the sunset with her.
David McLachlan, eight, of Wishaw, Lanarkshire asked: "Who was your best friend in Pop Idol?"
But being the big-hearted guy he is, Darius refused to pick any favourites.
He said: "I got on with Hayley because I already knew her from Popstars and when I first met Gareth at the semi-finals, we got on like a house on fire - he's a really cool guy and we are good friends.
"I got to know Will when we were in the final and living in a hotel together. It was great fun and I still see them a lot at gigs."
A barrage of Popstars and Pop Idol questions followed, every one greeted with a smile and an honest answer.
Darius revealed his favourite judge was Pete Waterman and he also said he was glad Will won rather than Gareth, although Madonna is his real Pop Idol.
And he let slip the fact that Simon Cowell gave him a pat on the back for standing up for himself and making the infamous comment about his trousers being so high they were stopping the blood flow to his head.
Samantha Seth, 13, is the face of the Spirit Aid foundation, which raises cash for children whose lives are devastated by war.
Samantha, who was with her six-year-old brother Luke, has been staging and singing in charity shows since she was nine and has already raised more than £45,000.
She asked Darius if he would boost Spirit Aid's coffers by doing a duet with her.
He replied: "Spirit Aid have already spoken to my manager about it and I would love to, but there is a possibility I will be out of the country. But if I'm here and I can do it, I would love to help."
Darius also promised shy Chantelle McNicol, 10 and her eight-year-old sister Mica, of Cumbernauld, to do what he could to help save Stobhill Hospital, especially since his dad works there.
But after the probing questions, Darius had to get up and do what he does best - entertain. At the request of 15-year-old Jennine Whitelaw, he burst into his Pop Idol version of the Tom Jones classic It's Not Unusual. And Jennine was the envy of the room when he dragged her up for a dance.
All too soon, it was time for Darius to go, but not before signing endless autographs and posing for photographs with all the kids, their rather flushed-looking mums and most of the Daily Record staff.
Afterwards, Darius revealed how he had loved every second.
"He said: "Wow, that was fantastic, they were all so sweet. Did you see them all singing along to the video? That was a really special feeling and I'm going to have a smile on my face for the rest of the week."
So now that he knows all his Scottish fans are behind him, does he feel nervous about releasing his own material?
Darius said: "I'm very nervous, but I'm also excited about it.
"For me, putting my own material out was the honest thing to do. Putting out a cover wouldn't have been.
"And it was important for me to release Colourblind in the summer to put time between me and Pop Idol - I didn't want to ride on the back of the programme.
Although this was a flying visit for a select few, Darius also said he hopes it won't be too long before he is back on stage in Scotland.
He said: "I would love to do more gigs in Scotland, it's my home, but I have to focus on writing the album first.
"Once I've recorded it, I'll put my energies into live performance and playing the tracks on the album for people."
He added: "Without the Scottish support, I wouldn't have the grounding I have. Colourblind is my thank you to everyone for that."
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