Out In Hollywood (USA)
My chat w/Darren Hayes
by Greg Hernandez
September 26, 2007
My chat w/Darren Hayes...(Pt. 1)
Singer Darren Hayes called me from London (he lives in the Notting Hill part of
the city) recently and we had a good gab about his music, being an out
performer, and about the alleged the incident in a restaurant where he was
accused of saying racially abusive things to a door person.
We spoke prior to police recommending earlier this week that no formal charges
be filed and that there was no racist undertone to the July 22 incident.
"I could never think, let alone utter a racist remark. It's just not who I am,"
Hayes said. "As a gay man, I find the notion of discriminating against a human
being because of race, gender or sexuality to be abhorrent. It goes against
everything I have stood for."
An altercation did take place at the restaurant and Hayes received a
warning. The singer says the racial element "was a horrible thing to be accused
of and I want to thank all of my friends, family and fans for giving me the
benefit of the doubt. The experience has been frustrating and at times made me
very sad, but through it all I have to say I support the legal system and our
right of protection under the law. I'm glad the truth is out there. I just want
to concentrate on my music now."
Hayes was set to kick off his latest tour in Scotland this week, play in London
Oct. 3 then play in his native Australia until Oct. 25 before heading to the
U.S. for six weeks of promotion. He has not done a full-scale concert in the
states in seven years and hopes to do some shows next year.
The 35-year-old Australian singer-songwriter debuted in 1996 as the frontman
and singer of the pop duo Savage Garden which had the hots "I Want You", "To the
Moon and Back," "Truly Madly Deeply," "I Knew I Loved You" and "The Animal
Song." Savage Garden sold more than 23 million albums worldwide before parting
ways in 2001.
"It would've been easier to stay in the band or keep the name, I chose a more
difficult path," he says.
Hayes released his first solo album, "Spin" in 2002. After his second solo album
didn't meet expectations, Hayes left his record label to form one of his own:
Powdered Sugar.
Now he is doing things on his own terms which he said is made clear with his
new album, "This Delicate Thing We've Made." He says it's his most personal
collection of songs - ever.
"I love the record in general because it's been the result of a lot of artistic
struggle. I fought realy hard to be in this place in my career, to be an honest
person and someone who makes reocrds that are exactly the way I want them to
be, regardless of marketing etc."
"I think it's an album in the old sense, when a collection of songs had a
purpose. It's not a reaction to what is happening to radio, it's endearingly
crafted and put together and it offers something to people who think maybe magic
is missing from records today."
TOMORROW: In part 2 of our interview, Darren tells us about coming out and how
he feared it would hurt his career and some other things I'll have to leave you
in suspense about...
Posted by Greg Hernandez on September 26, 2007
Here is Part 2:
Singer Darren Hayes: "Nobody outed me..."
This is the second and final part of an interview I had with singer Darren Hayes
this month. In part one, we talked about his new album and a well-publicized
restaurant altercation that he is now eager to put past him.
On the day that we spoke, Hayes had attended a civil partnership ceremony of
two friends which he said was "beautiful" and he was also a guest at Elton
John's wedding to David Furnish: "It was a big deal because Elton is such a
famous person and it was an important moment. It was a very powerful statement
to make, someone who had been knighted by the Queen and an official card
carrying homo. I loved it!"
As far as the raging debate over same-sex marriage in the U.S., Hayes says:
"Obviously it's a divided issue. There's so many people in the country, so many
opinions. The land mass is as big as Europe, I think it's a miracle that
America manages to be so cohesive. England really surprised me, In terms of
social reform, medical care and civil partnerships, it is quite forward
thinking. I think Australia and America will catch up."
Hayes entered into a civil partnership with his boyfriend of three years,
Richard Cullen, on June 19, 2006 in London and announced it on his official
website the next month:
"What I'm most of proud of is I had nothing to promote and nobody outed me. I
lived in America for seven years and I adore the country. But it can be quite
aggressive the way people are outed, people like Lance Bass, who were dragged
out of the closet. For me, it was a very conscious decision that I made in a
very calm and sort of measured state of mind."
"I think we made a decision in our relationship to humanize it. We weren't
going to be this hidden couple. I talk about Richard pretty openly. If I attend
events, sometimes he's there. It's a fine line that we try to walk. Like any
relationship, he is a part of me and a part of everything I do."
Still, there was concern over how being an out gay man would affect his music
career.
"Even though I never lied about it, there was a concern that some of my female
fans would feel that I fooled them or maybe they'd feel like they'd been lied
to which wasn't the case., But as a gay man, there's always that disappointment
a woman in your life feels when you come out, a woman who had a crush on you, I
have such a strong connection to my audience, my female audience, I thought,
'This is going to be interesting.' I was overwhelmed by the positivity, I think
that was due to the fact that I never lied."
"I don't see myself as a gay artist at all. I see myself as a human being. On
the surface, I don't think my marriage or being gay really colors my music. But
being out and being in a beautiful relationship has made me feel better about
myself. What that has done is made me brave in every area of my life.
From launching my own label, making a double album. It's made me really brave
and i think that kind of shows in the music that I'm making."
Posted by Greg Hernandez on September 27, 2007
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