Desmond Star
Desmond Star is the stage name of Daniel Roberts (universally known as 'Des') an alternative singer, songwriter and musician from Swansea, Wales.
Biography
Star was born in Neath on 7 February 1983 and brought up in Resolven, a small former mining village located in the Vale of Neath. He was given the nickname 'Star' at college in Port Talbot. It means 'a good guy' in the local slang. However, he initially recorded under the name 'Chav Boy', later foreshortening it to 'The Boy', to reflect a somewhat unassuming attitude to his music.
He tried out his songs on live audiences, gigging in Wales with a loose band of friends, and began to attract a following when DJ Adam Walton played some of his home-recorded songs on the BBC Radio Wales new music show, The Musical Mystery Tour, for which 'The Boy Band' played a live session. Interest from record companies followed but A&R executives insisted he change his name. In response he adopted his nickname specifically because it sounded pretentious. It was a deliberate 'spin-on-this', an intentionally ironic counterpoint to music that is anything but pretentious.