Darius released "Live Twice" on this day 19 years ago.
"Live Twice" was the second single to be released from the album of the same name and was the final single that Darius released.
It was released on 10th January 2005 and peaked at number 7 in the UK singles chart and number 2 in the Scottish chart.
Darius wrote the track for his father, Booth, who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, which he happily survived.
Talking to 'The Record' in December 2004 whilst on a visit to India Darius said:
"When I sat down to write the second album it had been a huge time of looking back and looking at the future all at the same time. And when I look back at the past four years I’ve had so many highs – being in the final three on Pop Idol, breaking away from that, turning down Simon Cowell’s record deal, working with U2 producer Steve Lillywhite, signing with Universal, having a number one hit with Colourblind, a platinum album with Dive In, touring, supporting Shakira on her world tour…so it’s been amazing. I was just recovering from one awesome dream coming true to another. And as soon as I got some great news, more great news would come and my head was spinning. It was like living a dream. When I sat down to write the second album I got the good news of being invited to Los Angeles to work with Stephen Lipson, an Academy Award winning, Grammy nominated producer.
Then in February this year my father was diagnosed with cancer – terminal cancer. My life stopped in its tracks. My world just shattered. My father is my hero in many more ways than one and I put all thoughts of releasing a record on the shelf. I said, ‘That’s it’. My brother took a year out of university, we both said we’re just going to support the family and be together for Dad. We didn’t know how much time he had left, we were told six months, maybe less. And I thought then, for all the success that I’ve had, for all the material things I’ve been blessed with, I would give it all up for the health of my father. You’d sell your car, you’d walk away from your house, you’d sell the shirt off your back to make a loved one better. With that thought I wrote a song for him called Live Twice and I played it to him in the hospital. And Dad turned around and said, ‘Darius, life is too short. I fight to live to see the achievements of my children and I fight to see you achieve your dream. Tomorrow may be too late, you can’t stop now’. He said ‘You will give me inspiration if you continue on your path’. He encouraged me to go back into the studio.
Recording the song was so difficult because it was so intimate, and I recorded it and something burst, like a dam. Lyrics and melodies flowed out of me like I’d never experienced before and over the next six months I recorded what is now the body of work that I call the second album. It was then titled after that first song."
The video for "Live Twice' was filmed in Málaga, Spain in black and white. The church bell tolls and Darius is holding a rosary. He removes his tie and watch, symbolic of letting go of the material world. Groups of photographers and fans try to catch his attention but Darius walks through them like a spirit. He is shown chasing after a white horse but when it eventually stops it dies peacefully whilst a girl releases a dove as a symbol of hope.
Darius explained "The horse is a metaphor. It's like life or love. You reach and chase after something but just can't quite get hold of it."
The white stallion used in filming the video also made an appearance as Brad Pitt's horse in the movie Troy.
Darius performed several live versions on 'Live Twice' on various TV shows to promote the release. He appeared on Ministry Of Mayhem, Top Of The Pops, Cilla Live, Today With Des And Mel and more.
He also performed the song at a live show in Glasgow which you can watch below:
"Live Twice" was released on two CDs and a DVD single. The B-sides were 'I Would Die For You', "Big Feather Bed", "Now Or Never" and "Mystery Of You" which you can listen to below:
CD Art work:
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