My girlfriend when I was in Uni in the early ‘00s was, for her sins, a public schoolgirl, having gone to the same public school as the bold Darius: Glasgow Academy (annual fees of around £12,000, currently, no idea if this is expensive or cheap or otherwise in public school terms.)
I’ll spare you the class war details, and cut to the chase. Apparently during a school talent show a year or two prior, when Darius was in S6 (last year of Secondary in Scottish education), he had performed what he claimed was a composition of his own. He had received great praise for this, however my ex and her pal couldn’t help but notice that the song, well, wasn’t an original composition, and was actually a Lisa Loeb album track.
Now, this sort of thing whilst embarrassing enough is probably commonplace in school shows up and down the country, and indeed is dramatised in The Squid & The Whale, but that isn’t the end of the tale. The really revealing bit is the aftermath.
The ex and friend came up to Darius after the show to explain that the jig was up and they knew his secret, but rather than be contrite or embarrassed, he threatened instead that they shouldn’t dare tell anyone, that he was much too important to this school (this predates Popstar so he wasn’t anyone at all at this point) and that there would be grave repercussions should they open their traps.
