OPERA BOOK FILM PRODUCTION CHARITY WORK A STAR FOR DARIUS FANS
DARIUS CAMPBELL
DANESH
داریوش کمبل دانش
CHARITY WORK
Darius supported numerous charities during his life, fundraising and raising awareness to help many causes close to his heart.
He would donate his time, talent and expertise to the charities and the people that they helped whenever he could.
He was an ambassador for The Prince's Trust and supported them at many events throughout the UK after he was appointed to the role back in 2002. He was also a founding ambassador for the water charity fresh2o and worked alongside the UN to bring water to the areas which need it most.
Inspired by his parents health battles Darius supported numerous cancer charities including Cancer Research UK, Marie Curie and Breast Cancer Care.
He worked closely with BackonTrack, a charity which helps injured service personnel and would attend their go-karting events and sing at their charity balls. Their founder Dr Aamer Khan MD ChB said simply "He was such a lovely, kind young man".
Darius also supported music therapy charities and throughout his career visited the children at Daldorch House in Ayrshire and the community at SenseScotland in Glasgow.
On a visit to SenseScotland in December 2019 he told the Glasgow Evening Times "“My uncle Ali is disabled and from a young age, I have been in awe of the support he’s been given by the services he uses. Good care can really transform lives - and I can see that’s what Sense Scotland does here.”
He was a devoted supporter of Caudwell Children and hosted several fundraising events for the charity, including the Cheshire Ladies Lunch.
Trudi Beswick, Chief Executive of the charity said “Like everybody I was in a state of shock when I heard the devastating news. The shocking news came through to me whilst I was working with the children and families, whom he cared deeply for and tirelessly supported. Words cannot express how I feel about such a loss, not only to me but to everyone that was touched by Darius’ light and kindness.”
Photos: Darius opening the Peace Garden in his role as ambassador for The Prince’s Trust - 2004
Attending a fundraiser for the hospice in 2017. Performing at Breast Cancer Care's London fashion show in 2015 and visting Yorkhill Children's Hospital in Glasgow in 2002.
Chief Executive Rhona M Baillie of The Prince and Princess Of Wales Hospice in Glasgow also paid tribute to Darius and his work for them saying:
"One Christmas, Darius Campbell Danesh dropped into the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow and entertained our staff and volunteers with a few songs.
He loved singing the golden oldies – Rat Pack music. I just recall thinking his voice was hypnotic.
I’ve known Darius for about 10 years in my capacity as Chief Executive of the hospice, having first met him when he came to visit the hospice to meet some of our patients, staff and volunteers.
The world has lost a very special person and the whole hospice team will miss him greatly.
We had all watched his progress on Pop Idol and Popstars and greatly admired his talent and resolve for pursuing his dreams.
As a Glasgow boy, he was only too happy to be invited to become an ambassador for the hospice. He was a keen supporter of our work and was willing to help in any way he could.
Darius first became an ambassador for us about 10 years ago. He wanted to support charities in his hometown and, with both his parents being from a clinical background, he was very passionate about the care we provide for patients.
Ever since then, he’s been a very good and loyal friend to the hospice staff and loved spending time with our patients.
His relationship with us was very relaxed – just dropping in when he was in Glasgow. He had a very easy way about him, namely a good old-fashioned charm that is rare these days. He was an old soul and someone who had time for everyone.
We formed a strong bond with him because he was passionate about the hospice and its work and was a great advocate for us – wherever he went.
He understood the vital service we offered, caring for 1200 patients and their families every year, both in the hospice and in local communities in Glasgow and the surrounding areas.
Darius joined the hospice at many fundraising events, entertaining our supporters.
Our Director of Fundraising, Jackie Malloy, told me that it was always a pleasure to work with and welcome Darius into the hospice during the eight years she’s been with us.
She remembered him as a kind soul who always ended his phone calls by saying ‘lots of love’ – a real gentleman.
He had a real passion for wanting to know and understand more about the care we provided to patients and – more importantly – spend time with them, often entertaining them and singing to them in the ward.
In fact, in 2016, he had 400 women in the palm of his hand at our ladies lunch event – singing, chatting and just making them feel like they were the only girl in the room.
We had a few hilarious moments with him, with the girls forming a queue to meet him. He was a very handsome and charismatic man.
He was very charming and genuine in his approach and made time for everyone, while helping us to raise much-needed funds for the hospice. As a celebrity ambassador at these types of events, he helped the hospice raise tens of thousands of pounds over the years.
He was also a great family person and often brought his parents with him to events. It was clear, after getting to know them, where his good manners and caring approach came from. They were genuinely nice people.
Darius will be remembered fondly by everyone he met.
Indeed, we’ve had tributes flowing into our social media from people saying how much they enjoyed meeting him at our events and what a genuinely nice person he was.
Darius was one of the most giving people I have ever met. He will be sorely missed."
Darius visiting SenseScotland in 2019
During an interview with the Sunday Mail in 2019 Darius explained his inspiring plans for the future, including spending more time in Scotland and working further with charities to 'give something back'.
'I'm looking to form a new relationship with a country that I love coming back to, an extraordinary gem of a country that has contributed more to science and the arts and inventions than many countries could ever dream of.
'I'm coming back to give back and to establish a base in Scotland.
He added: 'When you get to the peak of achievement, of doing all the things that you love, it's all about giving back.'
He was already involved with organisations including the Annette and George Bell Foundation, which supports national and local projects for healthier and happier communities.
Darius said: 'Everyone I'm speaking to is all about partnership-driven projects: giving back to our community, elevating those that are in need, focusing on the health and happiness of the people that matter most to us – our family first, then our community and then our country.'
Darius' father, Dr Booth Danesh, invented a groundbreaking medical device for premature babies before he was born.
Talking about it Darius said: 'It was something that really inspired me and I was like, wow, it's amazing how when you have a goal, and it's bigger than you and a service to others, it's amazing where your energy, your ingenuity, your dedication to something can come from.
'The longest study in human happiness is at Harvard University and has been running for over 80 years. And do you know what the number one driver of happiness is? Health, love, friendship and doing things for others. It's the quality of our relationships and giving back. Giving back is something that I learned from mum and dad.'
He added: 'If we had a hierarchy of achievement, really the pinnacle of that is giving back and that's why I'm back because I've been really blessed and really lucky to have had an amazing life of achievement in music and theatre and now in film.
'And now I'm in a position where I really want to be able to bring those activities together, and focus on how game-changing technology – like my father's invention of the heart-lung-kidney machine – can provide the answers for the greatest challenges that the world faces.
'And so many of those breakthroughs came out of Scotland – from penicillin to cathode ray tubes, from our health to our entertainment, and the celebrations of so much art and architecture and Mackintosh. There are so many things that have come out of this great country.
'I miss Scotland so much because the minute the plane touches, my breathing changes. We walk out the plane. I mean, beyond the fact that the Scottish air is better.
'Not only that, everything is better. We can drink water out the tap. I'm coming back to establish a base in Scotland that brings award-winning content and cutting-edge charitable projects together.
'If you look at VisitScotland and their official figures on how they quantify it, it's said conservatively the TV show Outlander has achieved a 4 per cent per annum increase in tourism in Scotland. And that's just one production.'
Darius suggested productions in Scotland should be allowed tax credits in return for a percentage of the profits to be ploughed back into community projects across the country and the rest of the UK.
He said: 'You're talking about a beautiful new economy where you've got an influx of new tourists and more attention and eyeballs on Scotland, because you've got Hollywood A-listers coming in filming here because of the scenery, celebrating our architecture.
'You're celebrating all these incredible gems and jewels that we've got in this beautiful land of Scotland.
'What I want to do is bring award-winning content, and the opportunity to connect that with really cool charitable projects that increase efficiency, using the same kind of principles that George and Annette have used to build their business and build this charity – the same kind of efficiency and sustainability that my dad employed when he did a heart-lung-kidney machine.
'They said it's not possible and he said, 'Why not?' So it's about what's possible. It's about how do we bring all these together.'