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| Dariush School picture. |
The story of the early days of his musical career is still an enigma, but his first singing career steps were taken for the first time at the age of 9 in a school celebration-play called Shahrara ('The Spark') as it went on stage. Likewise in high school (Dbyrstanhayy Farabi), in Tehran he spent his time doing art school paid-programs. Hassanpour Khayat Bashi (a famous Iranian film director, T.V. producer and singer, too), saw the young man singing around Tehran's clubs where the young Dariush has finally settled in his early twenties in the late 60's and worked on the young singer's image because Dariush's voice was just spotless.
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| In his early singing career - early 70's. |
That was Dariush's official entry into professional music in 1970 with a song he sang on a T.V. music show (Don't Tell Me You Love Me - آیا به من بگو عاشقمی). In the same year that he got on T.V. he made a song again called 'I Do Not Like to be Famous'. It is worth mentioning that Dariush, on the other hand, had a serious face (which got deformed later on by a nutcase fan who threw acid-water at him in late 70's).
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| Early picture of Dariush. |
This made it plausible for directors to give him lead roles in their over-emotional films that were very popular back in the 70's. The early, so-called 'pre-revolutionary' times in Iran weren't any better than those post-revolution ones: the Shah's reign was known as a tyranny, but Iranians were able at least to keep a colourful lifestyle like any in the west. Singers with stage names such as 'Bobby' were carbon-copy prints of Elvis (ergh, Bobby Daren, maybes?) and a bunch more of these idiots saw some minor fame in the 60's, issuing their super-hits (سوبر هايت) records for a healthy music market in and out Tehran the capital.
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| Dariush Eghbali circa 1971. |
Bashi's intention was to make another film star, but much to his surprise, Dariush became popular for being a singer when he sang his first song live on that popular T.V. show which was the norm. Oddly enough, Dariush wasn't discovered by another, more infuelntial T.V. presenter and producer Fereydoun Farrokhzad (who made famous such rising singers like Sattar, Ebi, Shohreh, Morteza, to name but a few).
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| The trio of Dariush, Keivan, and Afshin. 1973. |
Dariush, on the other hand, sang his songs like nobody else did: wonderful, serene, heart-rending, love songs that didn't have that usual western influence to them, or what some call rather stupidly psych-funk beats. Dariush also played with other artists, and in the very beginning he formed a trio with singers Keivan and Afshin. He also sang in other trios with Atabi, Riza, Bahrouz, and duets with female stars like GooGoosh, Ramesh, Marjan etc. But, his most dramatically touching work is when he sings as a soloist. In one word? I really have none to describe it. God, it's sheer joy.
The real Iranian stars: GooGoosh and Dariush (Darioosh).
The songs were purely Iranian: neither old, nor new in style. That set him apart as something else like Frank Sinatra was in the west singing power 'croon' ballads in a modern way. His songs were catching popularity far speedier than most of those other also-popular singers because for Dariush, the best poets stood behind him, and gave him their lyrics to put to song knowing that their poems would start to take to life once Dariush's mouth started singing them. Few other Iranian singers like Fereydoun Foroughi shared this with Dariush as his brother was a famous Iranian poet.
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| Fereydoun, Ramesh, Dariush. |
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| The Shah with his wife, Farah. |
Most people weren't satisfied with the status quo and rule of the Shah; truly and probably, that's why every Iranian singer sang crypto-revoultionary songs to denounce this monarchy renowned for its lavish life, and fuckspensive extravagant spending. Even communist University students used to sing these in the mid-70' at the height of the anarchic student movement that swept the entire world a few years before. These singers and students got jailed by the Shah's security forces and most of the singers started to flee the country in numbers even before the Islamic revolution came after the killing of Khomeini's son Mostafa in 1977.
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| The revolutionary Islamist Guards. |
These songs were books of poetry in all actuality: every word in these songs was put with utter care; every metaphor, simile, couplet was begging for its deserving singer to make them shine and resonate with life. Most of these singers were jailed for being such adventurous revolutionaries and both, Dariush and Fereydoun were jailed by the SAVAK (ساواک: Iran's C.I.A. arm) during the reign of the Shah of Iran Mohammed Riza Pahlavi before he got thwarted.
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| Dariush Eghbali. |
That was very destructive to music and all sorts of arts. Then, it all began all over again when the Ayatoullah Rouhllah Khomeini took the ruling seat (Note: he's a Shii'te cleric leader who was brought by C.I.A. and French intelligence to power from his exile imposed on him by the Shah in Paris in an Air-France jet in 1978 so that the western powers could put their hands on Iran's resources which they still control, regardless of all the spinformation the media tries to throw your way these days about Iran's nuclear weapons threat which is just a sham), and then after the coup, Iran turned its head away from art and music. Unfortunately, the story still continues today.
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| Dariush on T.V., 1976. |
Music-wise, Dariush also drank from the same ancient conium that is Persian devotional poetry: he didn't sing only patriotic, nationalistic songs, but took his words from more than one poet like Jalaludeen El-Rumi, Hafiz Ahmad, Nader, Shamloo and collaborated with Ahmad Pejman, Mohammad Shams, Farid Zoland, Varojan and many other innovative and avant-garde lyricists, musicians, and composers to make music.
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| The best singer at his best. |
His works took stem and shape from lyrics of pious never-heard men like Naderpour, Jannati Ataei, and Bayat Ghanbari, and unknown, poor poets like Simin Behbahani, Ardalan Sarfaraz Hussain, Shahyar Ghanbari and Iraj Jannati. He called upon the words of Galilee and Farid Zealand, composers Babak Bayat, Esfandiar Monfaredzadeh, Hassan and also worked with other less-known composers like Shamaizadeh and Babak Afshar.
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| Live on Iranian T.V.. |
This was due to his songs being not only sung about his love for his country that became the feast for colonialist powers and minority Shii'tes (they make only 47% of the population, by the way), but also about love and lovers, lost promises, broken hearts, and vacant souls. These themes were a constant humane necessity written through the ages in a place like Iran so rich with its history of ageless art and passionate poetry. But, after the Islamic Revolution (1976-1978), and when Iran became an 'allegedly' Islamic Republic (جمهوري إسلامي إيران), the ban of all pop music, songs, bands, halls, records, poetry, art, artists, you name it... put a curb on Dariush's work, so he decided that the time was ripe to move again, this time leaving his native beloved homeland alltogether in October, 1978 for England returning back only in 1985.
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| Dariush Eghbali in the late 70's. |
His 25 albums are all on record: an evidence of his exceptional work and devotion to music. Dariush has starred also in two Iranian films: "The Friends" (Yaran), and "
The Cry Under Water" (Faryad Zir Abe). His films were honoured recently by a festival for Dariush hailed by the organizers in nearby Bahrain as "Iran's representative for contemporary music" and was awarded the Highest Peace Trophy as a token for his efforts for world peace. Dariush has been giving concert after concert in recent years outside of Iran in places like the U.S., England, Germany, Canada, France, Holland, and has performed concerts in Japan.
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| Yaran film Poster. |
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| Cry Under Water Poster. |
These works of art still resonate with his 'trill-like' voice, and unbelievably beautiful arrangements. Some of his songs are bitter-sweet melodies sung by a pained heart. His heart. This man was truly Iran's best singer ever. And, his voice is still enjoyed by millions of Iranians all across the world, wherever they might be far from their homeland and beloved Iran, Dariush's voice reminds them of it.
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| Dariush Eghbali: The 'real' Iran. |
This man's entire being was singing the words of the poems, until he himself became the poem. Dariush is not just a singer: he is the love that stood the hardships of an Iran that got torn after so many years of colonialist and extremist tyranny. Not a single Iranian hates Dariush's music. He is loved by every one. He is a poem. He is the song of Iran. He is the real Iran. That's him.
Forever.
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| Singer and the love of Iran, Dariush. |
Addendum:
-His Addiction:
