“Colourblind” by Darius Campbell
Darius Campbell’s “Colourblind” is a love song which, as sorta implied by its title, is based on a motif related to the color spectrum. So what Darius proceeds to do is go about using different colors to respectively represent various less-than-ideal moods he tends to deal with, some of which are directly related to his romantic relationship with the addressee.
For instance he’s “blue”, i.e. depressed, when she’s not around. Or he gets “red”, as in angry, when she ‘spends all her time with her friends’ as opposed to Campbell himself. But more generally, sometimes he may feel also “black”, i.e. in a funk, when the vocalist views himself as lacking in life or “yellow”, as in “confused” and “a little hazy”.
But what’s being relayed thesis sentiment wise is that the presence of the addressee mitigates all of these psychological/emotional maladies. And that’s what Darius colorfully means (no pun intended) in putting forth that she makes him “colorblind”. Or to conclude this all in layman’s terms, there’s nothing that makes the vocalist happier than being with the one he loves.
Darius Campbell
Darius Campbell was a singer who participated on the very-first season of Pop Idol, i.e. the predecessor to The X Factor, in 2001. He fared pretty well therein, finishing third overall. Shortly thereafter he signed a major record deal which resulted in him putting out an album in 2002 and another in 2004.
The first of those efforts, “Dive In”, peaked at number six on the UK Albums Chart and went on to achieve BPI platinum certification. “Colourblind”, which served as the lead single from that project, was quite a hit itself, topping the UK Singles Chart in addition to being certified gold by the BPI.
A couple of the singles from Campbell’s second album, “Live Twice”, did okay. But overall, as far as accolades go, that LP proved to be a step down from “Dive In”. So Darius hasn’t dropped a single since 2005 (that being the title track to his second album). But in any event, it doesn’t read as if he was forced out of the industry. Instead, Campbell’s heart was apparently more into musical theater than dropping records. So his most-notable achievements since then have in fact been in the theater circuit.
Unfortunately, Darius Campbell died in August of 2022, right on the verge of his 42nd birthday. Said passing was announced on 16 August 2022 (having transpired a few days earlier), which is just before the writing of this post, so the cause of death has yet to be revealed.
But it has been noted that the singer/actor had a couple of brushes with death in the past.
“Colourblind” becomes Popular Again!
Shortly after it was announced that Campbell had sadly passed away, “Colourblind”, his signature song, in swiftly proceeded to reach first place, some 20 years after its initial issuance, on the UK iTunes Top Songs chart.
Did Darius Campbell write “Colourblind”?
Yes. He wrote this hit. However, in writing it, he worked with English songwriter and guitarist Pete Glenister. The pair alongside a songwriter named Deni Lew are the official writers of “Colourblind”.
“Dive In”
Darius Campbell released “Dive In” on the 2nd of December, 2002 as his debut studio album.
The pop album comprises 12 songs, one of which shares the same name with the album. Darius has been credited for composing all 12 songs on “Dive In”. Its production was collectively handled by a team of highly acclaimed record consisting of:
- Alex James
- Deni Lew
- Louis Read
- Mike Hedges
- Peter Glenister
- Steve Lillywhite
- The Matrix
The album was officially released through Universal Music Group’s Mercury Records.
“Dive In” was an economic success. It produced three top-10 singles in the UK. The first single which happened to be listed as the album’s first track, “Colourblind”, debuted at No. 1, a position it maintained for two consecutive weeks. “Rushes” and “Incredible (What I Meant to Say)” peaked at No. 5 and No. 9 respectively. The album itself peaked at No. 3 on the OCC in the singer’s home country, Scotland and No. 6 in the UK. It has received a platinum certification from the UK’s BPI.
