We’ve had the ‘Pop Idol’ winner, and the runner-up. Why not have the bronze medallist…?
Colourblind, by Darius (his 1st and only #1)
2 weeks, from 4th – 18th August 2002
Darius Danesh had never really been in the running to win the contest against the big two, but he made it to the penultimate round. Then he did the unimaginable, turning down an offer from Simon Cowell and striking out alone. Which means we have the first self-penned reality TV chart-topper.
Under the guise of authenticity, we’re often encouraged to approve more of music that is written by the people singing it. When I was a teen it was a big indicator of an artist or groups’ talent. “Yes, but do they write their own songs…?” Yet, every song is written by someone. There is no such thing as a song tree. And nobody criticises actors for reading somebody else’s lines. Why does it matter if you sing someone else’s song? It worked for Dusty Springfield, the greatest singer Britain has ever produced. It worked for Elvis, who wrote about three songs in his lifetime.
All that is a roundabout way of saying “well done Darius” on writing a number one single; but also of saying that the song is no better than Will Young’s version of ‘Light My Fire’, and is not as good as Gareth Gates’ ‘Anyone of Us’. It has a big pop chorus – You’re the light when I close my eyes, I’m colourblind… – and a modern, very pop-rock feel. This is the future of rock music, really. For guitars to appear at the top of the charts later in the 21st century, they’ve had to soften their edges and exist in songs like this, or by One Republic, or (shudder) The Script…
But it’s let down by the fact that it sounds written-to-order for a rom-com (a 54% on Rotten Tomatoes sort of rom-com), and by the gauche lyrics, in which Darius lists all the colours he feels when he sees the girl he fancies. Feeling black, When I think of all the things that I feel I lack…
Darius was born in Glasgow (in Bearsden, the posh bit) to a Scottish-Iranian family. Post-singing career I remember him always popping up on Scottish TV, as we do love a local kid done good (see also: Michelle McManus). Following ‘Colourblind’ he managed two albums, and four more Top 10 singles, before moving into both said TV career, and a successful stint in musical theatre. The fact he had any sort of career at all is testament to his perseverance, after his legendarily bad performance of ‘…Baby One More Time’ while auditioning for Popstars in 2000. He died very young, aged just forty-one, in 2022, from a suspected accidental overdose.
The UK Number Ones Blog 
I wasnt much of a fan of Colourblind, still aren’t, but it seems quite popular on a music website I’ve been on for 13 years – Darius fans gathered on it, still do. So I feel really sorry for Darius and his fans, he seemed nice and was obviously good-looking. I could never get over that clip of his audition though (I never watched the singing shows) which was everywhere at the time.
Comparing legends of the calibre of Elvis and Dusty singing songs other people wrote with Will Young and Gareth Gates doing the same isn’t going to end well! in my opinion ( for what it’s worth) this song and Gareth’s ‘stupid mistake’ were the best of the Pop Idol bunch, although I didn’t mind Will’s song about leaving immediately, a couple of years away on this countdown I think. I’ve maligned this period in pop history relentlessly I know, but with hindsight I think the Pop Idol cohort were far better/less naff (delete as appropriate) than the X Factor horrors to come. Or maybe it was because I was older when the XF hits came and they mostly passed me by, I couldn’t even name a One Direction song, although I know a few of Harry’s solo efforts
I don’t do it to provoke! Genuinely, at a basic level what is the difference between Gareth Gates singing ‘Unchained Melody’, and Elvis singing it? Or the Righteous Brothers for that matter. They’re all singing someone else’s song. And no, I don’t rank Gates anywhere near Elvis, but in many ways Elvis was as much a puppet for Col Parker as Gates was for Cowell…
You do maybe have a point re. the Pop Idol crew and X Factor. There was also Fame Academy from around the same time which I think focused more on songwriting. Was it the format of X Factor, the age groups, that led to more karaoke-esque stuff? The judges also loved to put a few complete novelties in the mix like Jedward and Chico, presumably because it was good for ratings. Or was it that the format had by then been around a while and contestants knew what did well? Similar to Big Brother, in that the first series was fairly normal people, and after that it was fame-hungry wankers.