Darius Campbell Danesh (1980-2022) – A short but successful musical career

Picture: Roy Tan

It is sad that the life of the Scots singer and actor Darius Campbell Danesh has suddenly come to an end. From success on the television talent competitions Popstars and Pop Idol to a career writing his own hit songs and subsequently starring in West End musicals, he showed immense promise for his future career but now, after a brief span of time, it’s all over. Michael Darvell reports on a praiseworthy career…

Darius Danesh began his professional career in, would you believe, the opera house where, as a teenager, he had a non-singing role in Scottish Opera’s controversial production of Berlioz’s The Trojans. He also appeared in the same company’s Carmen at the Royal Opera House. He was born the eldest of three brothers in the Bearsden area of Glasgow to his Iranian father, Booth Danesh, and his Scots mother, Avril Campbell. After attending the Glasgow Academy he studied English Literature and Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh.

Could it have been his experiences with Scottish Opera that led him to pursue a musical career? Anyway, along came Popstars in 2001 and later on Pop Idol but, not wishing to sign with Simon Cowell, Danesh went ahead as Campbell Danesh and wrote his first single, ‘Colourblind’, which went straight to No. 1 in the UK charts and turned Gold. His first album, Dive In, with all the songs written by him, went Platinum in 2004, and after that he had five more hit singles.

He went on world tours with Shakira and supported Alanis Morissette in India, and then made his own Dive In sell-out tour. He appeared on the War Child charity album with Coldplay and Oasis and later on, when his father was diagnosed with cancer, he dedicated Live Twice, his second studio album, to Dr Booth Danesh who fortunately recovered while the title track became Danesh’s fifth top ten single.

Already a hot property he began to appear in musical theatre productions beginning with the West End run of Kander and Ebb’s Chicago, playing Billy Flynn for two seasons and at the age of just 25 was the youngest ever to play the part. In 2007 he took over as Sky Masterson in Frank Loesser’s Guys and Dolls at the Piccadilly Theatre. To complete his triple runs he played Rhett Butler in Trevor Nunn’s production of Gone With the Wind, the musical version by Margaret Martin at the (then) New London Theatre.

Danesh was ideally cast in all three shows. He was very tall and good-looking, with a definitely charismatic presence and a deep baritone voice. He was also outstanding as Warden in Stuart Brayson and Tim Rice’s musical version of From Here to Eternity which was not a wholly successful show at London’s Shaftesbury Theatre but did produce some excellent performances including that of Danesh.

This was followed by his playing Nick Arnstein in Jule Styne and Bob Merrill’s Funny Girl opposite Sheridan Smith as Fanny Brice, initially at the Menier Chocolate Factory Theatre in Southwark and later at the Savoy, when the show transferred to London’s West End. Again Danesh gave a good, solid, masculine and musically fine performance, so eat your heart out, Omar Sharif.

Darius Campbell Danesh played Nick Arnstein opposite Sheridan Smith as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl. Picture: Marc Brenner

In between musical theatre his other work included winning ITV’s talent show Popstar to Operastar for which he was mentored by tenor Rolando Villazón. He played the toreador Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen at the 02 Arena in London and toured in a Big Band show performing the songs of Frank Sinatra.

Darius Campbell Danesh was married to Canadian actress Natasha Henstridge from 2011 but they divorced in 2013. He was an ambassador for The Prince’s Trust in aiding underprivileged young people and he supported the Lymphoma Association and Cancer Research UK as well as other charities. He was the author of Sink or Swim, his book detailing life in the music industry which became a best-seller.

Who knows which way Darius Campbell Danesh’s career would have gone in the future? Just thinking about possible musical theatre revivals he might well have been cast as Baron von Trapp in The Sound of Music, Emile de Becque in South Pacific, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street in Sweeney Todd, Fredrik in A Little Night Music, Wild Bill Hickok in Calamity Jane, Mack Sennett in Mack and Mabel, Beast in Beauty and the Beast, The Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera, Zach in A Chorus Line, or even Professor Higgins in My Fair Lady. Who knows how his musical career would have panned out, but I am sure he could have managed any one of the leading roles mentioned here.

Darius Campbell Danesh was born in Glasgow on 19 August 1980 and died in Rochester, Minnesota, USA on 11 August 2022. R.I.P.