Darius Campbell Danesh

He attended Bearsden Primary School[4] and the Glasgow Academy,[5] before going on to study English Literature and Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh.

[6] Danesh's professional career began with a non-singing role in the Scottish Opera's avant garde 1990s production of The Trojans.

[22] After receiving news that his father was diagnosed with terminal cancer, he wrote and dedicated his second studio album Live Twice to Dr Booth Danesh, who later made a miraculous recovery.

[23] Danesh had two West End runs in Chicago[23] during 2005–2006, and at 25, became the youngest actor to fill the role of Billy Flynn since the show first opened on Broadway in 1975.

[24] In 2007, after seeing Ewan McGregor in the role, he played the lead in Michael Grandage's Olivier Award-winning production of Guys and Dolls, starring as Sky Masterson.

[26] In 2008, he returned to London's West End to play Rhett Butler in Sir Trevor Nunn's musical adaptation of Gone with the Wind.

[27] In January and February 2010, Danesh won the UK's ITV1 talent show Popstar to Operastar, in which eight pop stars were trained to perform famous opera arias.

[32] Danesh played Nick Arnstein in Funny Girl at the Savoy Theatre in the West End, following a transfer from the Menier Chocolate Factory in April 2016.

[33][34] Weeks prior to his death in August 2022, Danesh was said to have been "excited" about an upcoming Pop Idol re-union, with it being rumoured that he was set to duet with both Will Young and Gareth Gates in a reunion special which would be hosted by Ant & Dec.

[42] Campbell Danesh was found unresponsive on 11 August 2022 in his apartment in Rochester, Minnesota, United States, and he was pronounced dead later that day.

[6] A private funeral was held on 25 August 2022 at a church in the Glasgow suburb of Bearsden, attended by family members and close friends.

[44] An autopsy report, released on 10 September 2022, concluded that Danesh died from inhalation of chloroethane, which led to respiratory arrest.

[11] Tributes were paid by his close friend Gerard Butler and others who had worked closely with Danesh, including Simon Cowell, Gareth Gates, Will Young and Ant & Dec.[45][46][47] Eight days after his death, his debut single "Colourblind" charted at number two on both the UK Official Singles Download[48] and Sales charts.

Campbell Danesh in 2003