Colourblind (Darius Campbell song) explained

Colourblind
Cover:Dariusdanesh_colourblindCD.jpg
B-Side:
Type:single
Artist:Darius
Album:Dive In
Studio:Atomic
Length:3:35
Label:Mercury
Producer:
  • Pete Glenister
  • Deni Lew
Next Title:Rushes
Next Year:2002

"Colourblind" is the debut single of Scottish singer-songwriter Darius, who finished third on the first series of Pop Idol in 2002. It is the first song taken from his debut solo album, Dive In (2002).

Release

It was released on 29 July 2002 and reached number one in the UK Singles Chart for two weeks.[1] It also peaked at number 13 on the Irish Singles Chart. Following Campbell's death on 11 August 2022, the song debuted at number two on both the UK Official Single Download and Official Single Sales Charts on 19 August 2022.

Song history

After turning down an offer of a multimillion-dollar record deal by Pop Idol judge Simon Cowell to sign with his record label, Darius began work on his solo album on which "Colourblind" would be included.

Darius had been working on the song pre-Pop Idol and was originally ignored by Cowell, however after meeting with Pete Glenister and Deni Lew as well as Steve Lillywhite, the song began to be considered as a possible single.

Music video

The video for the single was shot over four days in Sierra Nevada, Spain.[2] It follows Darius as he is thrown out of a car in the middle of the countryside. He changes his outfit from a black suit to jeans, to signify he is leaving his Pop Idol image behind.

He meets a girl whose car has stalled, played by model Jacqui Ainsley. After the two meet, a romance ensues, whilst also cutting away to a close up of Darius singing the track as well as playing his guitar. Ainsley later became Darius' girlfriend in real-life, although the couple broke up in 2004.

Track listings

UK CD1[3]

  1. "Colourblind"
  2. "It's Not Unusual" (live)
  3. "Colourblind" (acoustic)
  4. "Colourblind" (video)

UK CD2[4]

  1. "Colourblind"
  2. "Chrysalis to Butterfly"
  3. Video interview

UK cassette single[5]

  1. "Colourblind"
  2. "It's Not Unusual" (live)
  3. "Chrysalis to Butterfly"

European and Australasian CD single[6]

  1. "Colourblind"
  2. "Chrysalis to Butterfly"
  3. "Colourblind" (Almighty mix)
  4. "Colourblind" (8 Jam remix)
  5. "Colourblind" (video)

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart (2002)Position
Ireland (IRMA)[8] 100
UK Singles (OCC)[9] 18
UK Airplay (Music Week)[10] 36

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)
United Kingdom29 July 2002Mercury
Australia17 February 2003CD[11]

Notes and References

  1. New Releases – For Week Starting 29 July 2002: Singles. Music Week. 31. 27 July 2002. 26 August 2021.
  2. Web site: CBBC Newsround | Darius chats to Newsround Online . BBC News . 18 July 2002 . 2 April 2014.
  3. Colourblind. Darius. 2002. UK CD1 liner notes. Mercury Records. 0639652.
  4. Colourblind. Darius. 2002. UK CD2 liner notes. Mercury Records. 0639662.
  5. Colourblind. Darius. 2002. UK cassette single sleeve. Mercury Records. 0639664.
  6. Colourblind. Darius. 2002. European & Australasian CD single liner notes. Mercury Records. 0637592.
  7. Eurochart Hot 100 Singles. Music & Media. 20. 34. 18. 17 August 2002. 29 July 2020.
  8. Web site: Top 100 Songs of 2002. Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 2002. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20040602113021/http://www.rte.ie/2fm/charts/top100_2002.html. 2 June 2004. 16 March 2022.
  9. Web site: The Official UK Singles Chart 2002. UKChartsPlus. 5 July 2018.
  10. Most Broadcast of 2002 — Airplay Top 50. Music Week. 31. 18 January 2003. 4 August 2023.
  11. Web site: The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 17th February 2003. ARIA. 27. 17 February 2003. dead. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20030306130000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20030307-0000/Issue678.pdf. 6 March 2003. 26 August 2021.