Gay Times (UK)
August 2007 Issue
Noble ex-savage

Thanks to Sharon for the scan!

Noble ex-savage
Darren Hayes, the one that used to be in Savage Garden is now crafting the best retro-Electro-Pop songs of his 25 million-record-selling career, is owner of his own independent label and - drum roll - closet-free. After his last album, where the critics roared but the public ignored, Hayes is set to turn his own Impossible Princess into the tale of Prince Charming. If must be love...

On being out and about
Everyone who knew me knew I was gay; I just hadn't held a press conference about it. When I married Richard, I didn't have anything to promote or sell, no-one outed me. I just had an amazing relationship and felt great about who I was, so I came out.

Time Machines - what's that all about?
I got to playing around with the idea that if I could do things differently, what would I tell myself? My struggle to like myself, my musical struggle, my struggle in my family, my father... I love my dad, he's a survivor, but he was a very violent alcoholic when I was growing up - it's probably the single most influential factor in my life. It made me want to become someone else, become a Pop star. All of these things had come full circle. It felt safe to go back, and that's the idea of using time travel as a metaphor.

And the other sci-fi stuff?
As a kid, becoming a Pop star was like becoming a Jedi knight to me. I'm 35; I love my job and every decision I make is because I love music. Ten years ago I was just trying to be adored, to get attention, because I was aiming to fix something. I still get the occasional hug from a stranger.

Some of those fans have said the won't wash if you hug them...
Everyone who's in the public eye has someone obsess over them. I don't think you can really pay attention to it. There are two kinds of people who are fans - the majority I'd say I would probably hang out with, but there's always that 0.01% that sends you bodily fluids in the mail, that kind of thing... You just have to find it flattering, I guess.

Why did you settle on a whopping 25-track album?
It was the fascination with vinyl, the Kate Bush album Hounds of Love and the Prince record Sign of the Times. I loved the idea that I could spread it out like a musical. There’d be an Act One, a pause - on the record sleeve, it actually says "Instructions for use: listen to Side One, have a cup of tea and then come back and listen to Side Two".

After all the struggling, are you happy?
I'm the happiest I've ever been, and it's not an OK magazine, airbrushed photograph-me-on-vacation-in-my-French-villa-happy. Happy in a real, rounded, almost underwhelming sense. Apart from being shattered all the time, it's a beautiful kind of exhaustion because I'm working hard for something I adore and being supported by someone I adore. It’s a great place to be. BH

Darren's single On The Verge of Something Wonderful is released Aug 6th with the album, This Delicate Thing we've Made, following on Aug 20th.

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