Manchester
Pride:
Darren Hayes
interview
Shereen Low
Hayes'
new single is out on August 30
He's
made millions as one half of the chart-topping
pop
duo, Savage Garden, which sold
more than 20 million
albums
worldwide, and had hits including Truly
Madly
Deeply and I Knew I Loved
You.
But
dressed in a pink t-shirt, combat trousers
and
flip-flops, none of which scream
logo, Darren Hayes
doesn't
immediately strike you as a successful pop
star.
Compared to other celebrities in
the music industry,
the 32-year-old
remains refreshingly down-to-earth.
Now
established as a solo artist in his own right,
he
could have the pick of any status
symbol he
desires.
"I'm
not someone who spends my money
frivolously.
I've got this watch - it's the
only piece of jewellery
I bought," he
says, turning the bling-free watch
towards me.
"I'm
not into status symbols," he adds with a
smile.
"My dream is to have a home in
Australia (his native
country) and
one in America one day. In terms of
the
J-Lo thing, it's just not me. I mean, how
many
pairs of underpants do you
need?"
There's no doubt about it - Darren isn't like
other
artists. He hasn't succumbed to
the pressures of
the fame game,
and he's cynical about the industry.
Sabbatical
Earlier this year, he took a six-month
sabbatical
from music, only to make an
accidental return
with the
release of his new single, Popular, out
on
August 23, and album, The Tension
And The Spark,
released on
September 6.
"Truth
is, I just didn't want to make a record,"
he
explains. "I finished touring with
Japan being the
last show, and
I was bored. I was done with music
and I
became very cynical about the industry
and
Top 40 radio. I didn't even want
to look at music
for a while,
and did a course in screen-writing.
"I was
living in San Francisco so I got back
into
yoga, bought myself a mountain
bike and a puppy,
and started
living my life. And incidentally, I
started making a record without realising
it."
The
Tension And The Spark is what
Darren
describes as "his most personal
record", and
in writing the
songs, he has decided to wear
his
heart on his sleeve. Songs like
Popular,
Unlovable,
Darkness and Void deal with
personal and
moving subjects like fame,
relationships and love.
"The
record is about my childhood and my
psyche," he says. "Why now? Because I
can't
lie anymore. There's always been a
hefty
element of honesty in my music,
but with
this, it was overwhelming. All
these
feelings and thoughts I tried to
hide away
manifested themselves as
songs."
And
Darren says that making the album
helped him to unburden his
childhood
demons of
insecurity.
"It
was so freeing. In the past, I tried not
to
offend anyone with my music, but
this time
round, I don't mind so much if
someone doesn't
like the songs.
When I recorded Unlovable,
I had
a lump in my throat. It was moving,
but
I wasn't sure if people wanted me
to write those
type of
songs.
Uncomfortable
"It
can be uncomfortable, it's the type
of
record where you witness someone's
private
moments. But I
love it. I think it's beautiful.
It
may surprise some people, it may
others, but it's a piece of me and it's
my
proudest
moment."
But he
isn't ruling out any more romantic
Savage Garden-type songs?
"Oh, I
wouldn't say that," he says, laughing.
"Those songs were special to me. I was
that
person and maybe I'll be that
person again
one day. But
for me, that was an experience
and
that's what I felt at that time. At
the
moment, I don't feel like
that.
"I
feel that love is more beautiful than
that.
It's different to me now. It's
quieter, calmer,
less thrilling
but ultimately, more sustaining."
But
asked whether he's currently in
love,
Darren clams up, saying coyly:
"Who knows?
Probably. But I'm happy, I'm
definitely really
happy."
He
does admit that having fans who love him
was
behind his choice of career.
"I
became a popstar because I wanted the
whole
world to love me, but I've realised
that
self love will fill any void or need.
"I
think I've been really hard on myself in
the
past, and I've decided the world is hard
enough on me that I should ease up
on
myself. I have to forgive myself
for
not being the best, as I don't
think I've
ever lived up to my own
expectations.
"And I
realised that I never would - I'll
never
be the strongest, the most beautiful,
the
most successful, all the usual
things
that anyone who is driven wants to
be. I'm
not perfect, but I'm starting to
ease
up on
myself."
As for
fame, Darren, who was 24 when
Savage Garden
took off, is adamant that
it would not
change him.
"It
was crazy. I was a boy from Brisbane,
Australia, poor as poor could be and
never
even left my own city. All of a
sudden, 20
million record sales, No 1s in
America,
people
screaming out for you. It's an
incredible high, and very
surreal.
Happier
"I
think I am happier now though," he
says.
"But it's not like I wasn't happy
then. I loved
Savage Garden,
and it was a ball. It was
just that I was
a different person back then.
I was all
wide-eyed and excited about being
famous and getting to travel around the
world.
"For a
while, people would look at Savage
Garden and assume that I was the
egotistical
one because I was in the
forefront. But the truth
is, I've always
been terrified of fame. I've
always felt
inadequate on the red carpet and
the
parties, and I'm shocked when people
know
who I am and my music.
"Recently, I thought, 'You know, I've
sold
all these records, made all this
money and
got through it all unscathed. I
mean, I'm not
an
asshole'."
Now
the things that make him happy are a
bit
more low-key. He's just bought an
apartment in Manhattan, and plans to
move
in soon with his English cocker
spaniel, Wally.
"My
happiness is now more refined and
subtle,"
he says. "I don't need to sell as
many records
as I wanted to
when I was in Savage Garden.
It's
not about money, or getting my pictures
taken, or going to fabulous parties - I've
never
done the showbiz lifestyle. I
don't want to
dominate the
world, I don't need to.
"Truth
is, I'm just like anyone else. I just
want
to be a good person. I love the
fact that I get
paid to do what
I love for a living, but I want
peace
and to be able to hold onto all the
people
that I love for as long as I
can."
Darren
Hayes plays Manchester Pride's main
stage
on Sunday, August 29. Weekend tickets
are
£10 or £15 on the door. Day tickets
cost
between £5 and £15. To book
tickets, call
0870 060 1768
or visit the website below.
The
single, Popular, is out on August 30. His
album, The Tension And The Spark, is out
on
September 6.
