20 years ago today Darius played the first date of his sell out 'Dive In' tour. The show was at the Pavilion Theatre in Rhyl.
The tour, which saw Darius perform tracks from his debut album of the same name, was originally announced to consist of 15 dates in May but was expanded to include twenty three dates (including the dates in Rhyl and shows in Dublin and Belfast) due to a high public demand. Tickets for the tour went on sale on 12th December 2002.
Below is an advert for the tour from Smash Hits magazine.
In his 2003 book 'Sink Or Swim' Darius wrote a beautiful piece about appearing on stage in Glasgow on the tour. He said:
"I am standing on stage at the Glasgow Armadillo waiting for the curtain to rise. Although I can't see them, I can hear the people in the crowd and feel their energy. Although my heart is racing, I know I am always safe with my band. Pete and Deni whisper, 'Break a leg'. Nick gives me a thumbs up off stage. I feel close to them all. My dear father and mother are out there. Aria and Cyrus are there. I can't wait.
The next chapter in my life is about to unfold and I have no idea what twist or turn awaits me. I've got a lot to do in a very short time. But right now I'm focused on that curtain in front of me. As it rises I get ready to sing 'Sliding Doors' to the cheering crowd. After all I've been through, it feels like I've waited a lifetime for this moment. 'Hello Glasgow! I'm home!' A roar erupts.
With my eyes closed it sounds like crashing waves on a dark, stormy night. In my mind there is nothing but blue sky as I stand on my shore and look out at the horizon, blinded by the light. A vast ocean stretches before me, rippling into the distance. The waters are calm. And as I stand in awe of the deep blue unknown, I wonder if my heart might swell with gratitude. Will life always be this good? Do I really deserve all this? The noise of the crowd gets louder. There's no time to think. The music kicks in. It's time to go on. Time to dive in, sink or swim."
Talking to The Sun ahead of the tour Darius said:
“The tour is simply a dream come true for me, it is something I've been wanting to do since the age of 16. We had a band when I was at school and we tried to put a little tour together at pubs and venues between Glasgow and Edinburgh but we got about as far as the first gig at the school hall before we split up.
So this tour has been in the making for six years. It is called Dive In 2003 and it is my first headline tour. It is my way of saying thank you to the fans in the best way that I can. I am not doing stadiums as I prefer a more intimate audience. I don't like gigs where the size of the concert is more important than the music. I am trying to do things step by step and slowly and surely.
I've really enjoyed the last couple of roadshow gigs I've been involved with where the venue was big enough for a good crowd but small enough that you could hear every note. I've been lucky enough to play big concerts with these radio gigs and on the Pop Idol tour. I got to perform Colourblind in front of an audience of 100,000 at Party In The Park. I performed to a million in six months last year. But this tour is all about doing a greater number of smaller venues and I hope to get a really great vibe going.
I'll be playing all the tracks on the album, a couple of new songs and some cover versions. Although I've said I'll never release a cover version I am looking forward to playing some in the context of a live set. I can't rule any cover songs in or out at the moment but you'll be surprised at the ones I choose.”
You can listen to Darius performing live on the tour in Glasgow below, these recordings were included as B Sides for 'Girl In The Moon' when it was released in June 2003:
You can also watch highlights from the shows at the Hammersmith Apollo and the Oxford Playhouse below:
You can see some photos from the tour below:
Darius was joined on the tour by Karl Brazil (drums), Spencer Horton (guitar), Steve Morgan (bass), Pete Glenister (guitar) Deni Lew (backing vocals) and Sara Dhillon (keyboards).
Pete Glenister and Deni Lew also worked on the 'Dive In' album and co-wrote a number of the tracks with Darius.
The support act for the tour was Peppercorn.
The set list for the tour was the following:
Sliding Doors * Better Than That * Mockingbird * Bootylicious / Faith (medley) * Gotta Know Tonight * Mercury Rising * Rushes * Kiss / Like I Love You (medley) * Simple Like The Truth * Girl in the Moon * I'm Not Buying * Incredible (What I Meant to Say) * Dive In * I've Got You Under My Skin * Colourblind * Hot in Here * All the Small Things
Take a look at the Dive In tour programme below:
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