TOTP: No. 1 when you were 5 (first year of primary school): Madonna - 'Into The Groove'.

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Darius: What? I bought that record! I bought the cassette version of that. It was probably one of the first records I bought. Was I five? I thought I was in Primary Two, I must have been in Primary One. Wow. Wow! That's really cool. I bought it from the corner shop, just around the corner from school, where I used to sneak - my dad used to drop me off outside the gates. Once you'd walked past the gates, you weren't allowed out. I used to wait and walk slowly towards the gate until the car pulled off - I didn't pass the gate, turned round, made sure he wasn't there, ran up the street, went to the corner shop, and spent 20p on penny sweets. I put them into my pockets, ran into the school and I would eat them during assembly, and pass them down the line to my mates. That corner shop - I remember, Mr Patel was the owner of the shop - and he sold me my first ever single. I think it was a Saturday, it was the day after school finished. I went in with my mum, and Mr Patel had a copy of Madonna's 'Into The Groove'.

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TOTP: No. 1 when you were 11 (first year of secondary school): Bryan Adams - 'Everything I Do (I Do It For You)'. Probably quite a lot of people had this on their birthdays!

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Darius: Exactly! That was No 1 for everybody's birthday that year!

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TOTP: That song's probably a song that a lot of people never want to hear again. How do you feel about it?

Darius: It was one of the songs, actually, that - I wasn't playing the guitar at that point, I was playing the piano - I thought "one day, I want to write a song like that". I remember thinking it, and feeling it.

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TOTP: It's a very epic song, isn't it?

Darius: Yeah, it was very rallying, especially when the middle eight kicks in, and the chord changes, and you're like "whoa!" As a little boy learning about music, I was like "what is that?" It really got me. I started learning about the structure of music more: verse, chorus, verse, chorus, middle eight, key change. That song was one of the songs that taught me about that, so that's interesting.

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TOTP: Several people have attempted to cover that song - would you ever try to do that?

Darius: I think I'd rather bite off both my arms! It would be a travesty to take away from Bryan something that is the stuff of legend.

 

TOTP: No. 1 when you were 16: Spice Girls - 'Wannabe'

Darius: Really? Wow! I'll have to tell Geri that, we were talking about what our favourite Spice Girls records were, and 'Wannabe' was very important to the group, obviously. Originally they set out, and they always wanted to be an R&B; group.

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TOTP: The first album's very R&B; influenced, isn't it?

Darius: Well, no, when you listen to it, it's not. The first album is pure pop, it has so many different influences, latino... the beats are R&B;, but that doesn't make the music R&B.; The songs on that album are purely pop. I think it's one of the nearest things to pure pop since Abba, and I think that's why the Spice Girls were so successful, and there were wonderful characters in the group. I have to admit, when I saw that video, I did think, "Who are those girls? They are so hot!". 16 years old, and they would be free to zig-a-zig-ah all they liked for me!

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TOTP: It's one of those videos that's very iconic - a lot of people have tried to copy it, but no one's ever really pulled it off.

Darius: You know, that video was so much fun. It really looked like the girls were having fun, and that was very important.

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TOTP: It showed what they were all about.

Darius: Mmmm.

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TOTP: No. 1 when you were 18: Boyzone - 'No Matter What'

Darius: It's funny you should mention that, but my 18th birthday was a disaster. One of my friends threw a surprise party for me, and my car broke down. I split up with my girlfriend on my 18th birthday, so Boyzone, 'No Matter What', basically you couldn't have made it a worse birthday! It's not a song I really liked, I would never have bought a Boyzone record. That record, along with that day, will definitely go in the memory bin.

 

TOTP: No 1 when you were 21: So Solid Crew - '21 Seconds'.

Darius: Really, on my 21st? With '21 Seconds'? That's cool! There's a certain symmetry to that. Have they released anything since?

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TOTP: We think they have. And they've released stuff individually.

Darius: '21 Seconds' is a brilliant record.

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TOTP: Wasn't the idea that they all had 21 seconds behind the mic?

Darius: The premise of it was exactly that. It was a great record. I remember the video had the guy with scary eyes. I hope I never meet him down a dark alley!