Rove LIVE Darren Hayes Interview - November 13, 2001

Rove: It's now time to fire up the satellite to talk to our next guest. We're crossing live to his hotel room. It's late at night. He could be naked. In the bath…or in bed. He used to be one half of the band Savage Garden. After 20 million albums, number 1 hit songs around the world and more ARIA's than you can poke a pointy ARIA at, he's decided to fly solo. He joins us now. Please welcome Darren Hayes!

Darren Hayes: Hello.

Rove: Hello! How are you?

Darren Hayes: I'm good.

Rove: New hairstyle? I like it.

Darren Hayes: Oh, mine? Awww, shucks. Thanks. You know my mother thinks I looked better when I dyed it black. She told me that.

Rove: Are you a natural blonde?

Darren Hayes: Yeah, I am. No-one really knows that but I'm here to reveal to the nation. This is the truth.

Rove: There you have it! It's a scoop! It's a fashion scoop!

Darren Hayes: It's a fashion scoop.

Rove: Now, welcome back to Australia.

Darren Hayes: Thank-you.

Rove: Rove: Is it good to be back?

Darren Hayes: Yeah, it's great to be back. I haven't been home since Christmas so it's a little bit emotional, being home.

Rove: Rove: Now, have you caught up with anyone? Any family? Any friends?

Darren Hayes: Yeah, I did. Actually, I went up to Brisbane and it's cool because I haven't seen anyone since Christmas so I've been on the phone. Like my brother, his wife just had a little baby girl and I've only seen pictures of her so I actually got to hold her and all that sort of stuff.

Rove: Rove: Do you ever pick her up and go, 'Hey, I'm your Uncle and I'm famous!'?

Darren Hayes: I do, yeah.

Rove: Teach 'em young. I do it.

Darren Hayes: You teach 'em young, yeah.

Rove: Now, why is it that you are back in Australia? C'mon! Fess up!

Darren Hayes: (laughs) Why am I back in Australia? I'm running from Authorities. Ummm…to shoot a music video, essentially. I just finished recording my album and we shot the single 'Insatiable', we shot the video in Sydney, so I've been here for a couple of weeks doing that.

Rove: So what does the clip entail? Is it Britney Spears like? Have you got a Boa Constrictor wrapped around your near naked body or something like that?

Darren Hayes: Essentially. Lots of saucy things occur. Lots of grinding and lots of hip action, and some breakfast cereal. I can't really explain that. You'll have to see the video. It's a bit kinky, but umm…

Rove: So it involves a little chocolate monkey?

Darren Hayes: Yeah, you could say that. Some soy milk, some honey. Nah, it's pretty cool. It's basically a performance video.

Rove: So what's it like working solo now?

Darren Hayes: It's been a really amazing time for me actually, because I've been working on the record for about a year. Umm…and, you know, it's like anything. It's like a new job. I mean, there are certain things that I've been afraid of. You know, it's been challenging, but it's been also very liberating. I've had so much control in the studio, producing and writing and things like that, so that's been really satisfying.

Rove: Is it a lot easier for you now? Writing and creating, not having to collaborate with anyone else? I mean, you get to make all the calls now.

Darren Hayes: It's different. I still collaborate. I always will. You know, I will always wanna produce and write with people, but it's just a different thing. It's a different job.

Rove: Well, I guess this is what the fans want to know. Is it going to be a different sound to the one you had with Savage Garden?

Darren Hayes: Yeah, I mean obviously it will be. Everything that you liked about me within the band is obviously there, because it's my melodies and it's my voice and my lyrics and what I would bring to a song, but it's the sound of me. You know, what I would do. So, whatever the elements to Savage Garden were that I contributed, I guess those elements are now standing on their own. Umm…it's still a pop record. I'm always gonna be a crooner and sing ballads and stuff like that, but it's definitely a lot more up. You can pretty much shake your booty to everything on the record.

Rove: Oh, I'll be shaking my booty. Make no doubt about it.

Darren Hayes: I actually hurt mine shaking it the other night.

Rove: Well you should always stretch beforehand. You should know that. Always stretch before shaking your booty.

Darren Hayes: I know.

Rove: Now, you started recording this album in January, when you were technically still in Savage Garden. Was the plan to just stay together and just release solo albums? Was that the plan?

Darren Hayes: It was never really a plan for me to do solo records for years, you know? But we've talked about this in the press a lot. It got really stupid. I think it got beaten up that there was a lot of animosity between us, and it's not true. Basically, for contractual reasons we weren't really allowed to talk about the fact that the band was basically ended. Umm…so, you know back then, the last show, back in December in South Africa, that's basically when we knew it was call it quits time.

Rove: So was it tough for you going through until only a couple of months ago when the rest of the world found out?

Darren Hayes: I think everyone kind of knew anyway. I obviously underestimated the power of the printed word and obviously the disappointment…but, it's like, I'm a fan of U2. Umm…if U2 broke up would I want to necessarily see Bono release a solo record? Not really, but that's 20 years of making records and I think with Savage Garden, for me, it definitely was a natural progression. We had an amazing run, with two records. I was 18 when I first met Daniel, I'm 29 this year. So to me it was a natural period of growing up. And for two people, if you look at where we were in the public eye we really did start to go our separate ways, and in a good way, I think. He's an amazing songwriter and he's an amazing producer and he was increasingly taking more and more of a back seat in terms of the public eye and being a performer. And I was sort of being pushed and encouraged into being more and more of an entertainer. So, in some ways it was like evolution, to be honest.

Rove: So is it easier now being the frontman?

Darren Hayes: It's the same gig, you know, it's the same gig essentially. It's certainly been a challenge not to have him. You know, he was like my co-pilot in all of this, obviously to bounce ideas off, and to produce with and to talk about business decisions. What I'm finding hard is dealing with accountants and lawyers, and all that stuff because that's always bored me. I've hated that part of the business and now I have to do it.

Rove: And the worst thing is, if anything goes wrong there's no-one to blame now.

Darren Hayes: It's all me.

Rove: Damn!

Darren Hayes: I know. But it's cool. It's like anything. I threw myself in the deep end with it and… even writing songs. I wrote like 35 songs before I was ready to even record this album, because I wanted to make sure that it was the best I could do at the time.

Rove: Is there any chance of a Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis style reunion special somewhere down the track?

Darren Hayes: We just went our separate ways! Give us a few years.

Rove: Alright, alright. Umm…I've heard that you recently went out and bought a Bucks Fizz 'Best Of' album.

Darren Hayes: (laughing) I hate you!

Rove: Is there gonna be any kind of influence there?

Darren Hayes: A lot of the choreography, yeah. There's a lot of this sorta stuff (does hand jive and movements similar to Michael Jackson movements). Bit of popping and rocking and all that kind of thing, is gonna appear in some of the music videos, and the extended form ones that are a little X-rated, you know. Obviously, well, there's the G-String edit, umm…which was banned in some countries. You know, I wasn't prepared to shave certain areas of my body. I won't go there though. And that loosely stems back to the Bucks Fizz kind of phase, but uhh…thanks for bringing that up.

Rove: Well, I hope to see a lot more pastels and white pants from you.

Darren Hayes: Yeah, well, you know, I'm pushing that envelope. For me though, it's starting with the hair. It's free, it's easy, it's me. And it's gonna continue on through the fashion.

Rove: Excellent. Well, next time you're in town be sure to come in.

Darren Hayes: Oh yeah, we'll hook that up.

Rove: Come in, chat with us in the studio and do a bit of a performance.

Darren Hayes: I'd love to do that.

Rove: Would it kill ya?

Darren Hayes: No. I'd love to do that. Did you like that little dance thingy I did before? (repeats actions)

Rove: Oh yeah. Bit of the robot dancing. Speeding it up, slowing it down. The camera never lies kind of stuff.

Darren Hayes: That's what I think. Mel and Kim, that's been a big influence, with the fashion I think. Well, not for me personally, but I think the world in general.

Rove: Well, I hope to see you wearing a few more berets and waistcoasts in your fashion ensemble.

Darren Hayes: Definitely.

Rove: Well, the single, 'Insatiable' is out in December, best of luck with that and the solo career. Darren Hayes everybody!

Darren Hayes: Thanks Rove! See ya.