Darren Hayes Egypt

Leading rock music artists have joined in a chorus of acclaim for
John Lennon, who was gunned down outside his New York home 25 years
ago. The anniversary of his death will be on Thursday.
"John Lennon continues to hugely inspire me as a songwriter," said
Darren Hayes, the former Logan City lad and ex-Savage Garden singer
who now lives in London.

He explained that his new hit single, So Beautiful, was directly
linked to his listening to John and Yoko Lennon's final album, Double
Fantasy.

"John was such a delightful contradiction," the 33-year-old said. "On
one hand he was a crusader for peace and on the other hand, he was
this storm brewing. On the day John died, I remember being in the
back of my parents' station wagon in Brisbane. It was a cold and
rainy day and we were on the freeway. I couldn't understand why my
mother and my sister were crying, because I didn't really know a lot
about John as a child."

"Years later as an adult, watching that film Gimme Some Truth, I
cried. There was just something so naive about him. I can't say
enough beautiful things about him. I love him."

Tim Farriss, 48, of INXS, says Lennon's music has played a huge part
in his life.
"We were brought up with the Beatles and John Lennon," he said.
"John's contributions to pop culture in general were phenomenal -
probably the most significant of any pop artist."

According to actor Russell Crowe, 41, who is promoting a new album
and a new band, Lennon was "an extremely inspirational figure, but I
didn't discover the depth of his solo work until after he he was
killed."
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Top gongs are Forth for good
Scotsman - United Kingdom
Wed 23 Nov 2005
ADRIAN MATHER

HE was thrust back from the showbiz wilderness and into the limelight
by comedian Peter Kay and a Comic Relief single. But yesterday,
crooner Tony Christie turned back the years as he belted out his
number one hit Amarillo to open the latest glittering Forth Awards
ceremony.

But although the awards at the Assembly Rooms attracted stars such as
Christie, Scots legend Lulu and pop stars Daniel Bedingfield, Darren
Hayes and Liberty X as either presenters or recipients, their main
purpose was to honour the achievements of "ordinary" people in the
Lothians.

Former Savage Garden star Hayes may have been on hand to perform hits
such as To The Moon And Back to a packed audience, but he admitted it
was "an honour" to present a special award to 59-year-old Morag
Goulden, who works in South Queensferry, for her services to Forth's
Help A Child Appeal.

Mrs Goulden was nominated by, amongst many others, her granddaughter
Jenny who said that the charity work her grandmother had performed
was "staggering".

Over the past three years alone, she has raised more than £15,000 for
the appeal, which helps children with special needs.

Speaking after being presented with her award, Mrs Goulden admitted
she was "flabbergasted" at being nominated, let alone winning. "I'm
still shaking - I just can't believe it. I never expected to win
something like this. It could have been any one of those people
nominated who won because they all do so much good work for different
charities. It's definitely an honour to win this award."

The awards, which are now in their third year, were presented once
again by DJs Grant Stott and Scott Wilson.

And while Christie and Hayes were given rousing receptions by the
audience, it was pop singer Daniel Bedingfield who got one of the
biggest cheers of the evening when he teamed up with vocal group The
Magnets - who won the Fringe Award - to perform Maroon 5's This Love.
Bedingfield, who performed at the Make Poverty History march in the
Meadows, was there to collect the Best Artist Award, voted for by
Forth One listeners. After being presented with his trophy, he said
he was delighted to have won the public vote - adding Scottish
audiences were "the best in the world".

Meanwhile, the accolades also gave radio listeners a chance to vote
for their company as the best place to work. And this year, the Forth
One Best Place To Work Award, sponsored by the Edinburgh Evening
News, went to the Capital's Wight Chiropractic Clinic.

The award, which was presented to the clinic by Evening News editor
John McLellan, was warmly welcomed by the firm.

Dr Graeme Wight, who is director of the clinic, said: "We're
absolutely thrilled with this and I personally feel very humbled by
it.

"It just shows that teamwork really is the key to success."

Edinburgh golf star Lloyd Saltman, who put in a dazzling performance
to win the Silver Medal at The Open in St Andrews earlier this year,
was awarded the Forth2 Contribution to Sport Award.

Janet Smith was honoured for her volunteer work with city charity
Firsthand, which helps one-parent families, families affected by
disability and disabled youngsters. She won the Radio Forth
Contribution to Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife Award, but said that
the award should really highlight the work the charity performed
rather than her own achievement.

Other winners included Dunfermline's Pitbauchlie House Hotel, which
won the Best Local Pub or Club Award, and the Almond Valley Heritage
Centre, which won the Favourite Visitor Attraction Award. Local group
3-Style scooped the One To Watch Award, while Edinburgh University
student, part-time piper and wannabe DJ Richard Davie claimed the Tom
Wilson Award - named in memory of the late Radio Forth presenter. He
also received a £1000 cheque to be used to further his career in the
music industry.

Douglas Bruton, of Dalkeith High School, who couldn't be at the
ceremony, won the Forth One Best Teacher Award.

The last highlight of the day was reserved for pop group Liberty X,
winners of the Best Performance Award, who appeared to thunderous
applause to perform some of their hits at the end of the ceremony.
And as they belted out their first hit Just a Little Bit and the
audience took to the floor to dance, it heralded a fitting finale to
the awards.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Hayes eyes tour Down Under
Sydney Morning Herald Sun
By Christine Sams
November 21, 2005

Darren Hayes will not be living back in Australia any time soon, but
the singer hopes to tour here next year.

Hayes, who performed a showcase for MusicMax (part of the Foxtel
network) on Friday afternoon, made a candid confession about his
desire to remain overseas. "I still kind of kid myself, saying 'one
day I'll come home'," Hayes told the audience, shaking his head.

The former Savage Garden frontman, who has sold more than 20 million
albums, lives in London and is firmly focused on remaining in Europe
to continue promoting his solo career.

But all hope is not lost for his Australian fans. During the
invitation-only gig, which featured a combination of songs from
Hayes's Savage Garden career and material from his solo album The
Tension And The Spark, the singer said he was hoping to return to
Australia for a full-blown tour.

"On the way here [to the gig in inner-city Sydney] I was thinking I
should tour more," he said. "Hopefully it will happen soon."

If Hayes's showcase gig is any indication, it would certainly be an
extraordinary tour. With audience members including his parents Judy
and Robert and sister Tracey, who had flown down from Queensland,
Hayes performed an emotional and incredibly touching concert.

Fans were scattered on cushions near the stage of the Everest Theatre
at the Seymour Centre as Hayes performed a duet of Lost Without You
with special guest Delta Goodrem, but the real highlight was Hayes's
own voice - and the strength of his back catalogue of songs.

Highlights included the Savage Garden classics To The Moon And Back,
Truly, Madly, Deeply and Affirmation, plus the gut-wrenching solo
track Unloveable.

Here's hoping this gifted Australian will be back home soon to
perform full-length gigs - Hayes's MusicMax gig was part of a
whirlwind three-day promotional tour.

For those eager to see Hayes's performance, the full concert will be
screened on MusicMax on December 26.

Source: The Sun-Herald
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hayes' hectic pace - Sunday Mail 20/11/05

Darren Hayes' Down Under schedule was so hectic that he didn't even
make it home to Brisbane and instead flew his parents down to Melbourne
to catch up.  Hayes was talking up his new song, So Beautiful, from the
about-to-be-released Savage Garden Greatest Hits package.  He's also
working on his third solo album, likely to be released later in 2006. 
Hayes, who used to live in San Francisco, now makes the London suburb
of Notting Hill his home.

Written by Ritchie Yorke

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Final Cut
Darren Hayes is finally at peace with his Savage Garden past, writes
CAMERON ADAMS
DARREN Hayes has reclaimed his past. Almost.
He's spruiking a Savage Garden best-of, Truly Madly Completely. They only had two albums, you say? Hayes agrees.
``I hate best-ofs,'' he says. ``As an artist it's hard enough carrying on after being in a band as successful as Savage Garden. But having a Savage Garden best-of out the minute I put out a solo record would have sent out a really awful message.
``Initially I tried to distance myself from Savage Garden, but I've made my peace with the past now. I'm embracing it.''
Selectively, it seems. The album comes with a DVD featuring their international videos -- all the videos except the early (and, it must be said, dodgy) ones made for Australia then reshot for the rest of the world.
Remember that one on the back of a car -- I Want You -- or the budget sci-fi To the Moon and Back in which Hayes was suspended in space as someone threw glitter in his face?
``I want to embrace my past but I don't want to embrace it that much,'' Hayes says of airbrushing Savage Garden's visual history.
``I don't want those dodgy old videos on there. People can find them on the internet if they want them. What was I thinking with my hair? I don't know. I looked slightly Rastafarian in the I Want You video.
And in To the Moon and Back I had hair like Winona Ryder.
``In the treatment it sounded like 2001: A Space Odyssey. In reality it looked more like the clip for Video Killed the Radio Star.''
Truly Madly Completely exists because Hayes got his way and selected the final track listing.
Two new Hayes songs are on the compilation. They were almost Savage Garden songs. Almost.
Hayes and Savage Garden partner Daniel Jones planned to write songs together to include on the compilation. Hayes had a two-month window during which he was free, but the timing wasn't right for Jones,
working as a producer behind the scenes.
``We sent emails back and forth,'' Hayes says. ``My take on it was they were going to put this record out anyway, I wanted it to be something special, not some dodgy thing that would get thrown in the
bargain bin at service stations.
``We entertained the idea of working together for a while. It just became too difficult. In retrospect, I'm glad it didn't happen. It would have sent out the wrong message, that the band were getting back together.
``I don't have any plans to get the band back together, I never have. It would have been a nice thing for karma. I'm sure Daniel will pop up on stage with me some time.
``It would have been nice, but even for me it would have been hard. I've changed so much in the way I've written songs. Daniel thought it might not work, so fair enough.''
Hayes says not attending Jones' recent wedding to Hi-5 star Kathleen de Leon wasn't a major issue some have made it out to be.
``Obviously I'm not in his life,'' Hayes says. ``Why would I go to his wedding? There's no falling out. Honestly, my relationship with Daniel lately is not unlike what it was when we were in the band. It's kind of beautifully dysfunctional.
``Think about the way the band broke up. There was no confrontation. We didn't talk about it for eight months on tour. I did an interview and it came out. If Daniel walked in a cafe now, I'd throw my arms around him, but even in the band it's not as if we went bowling or to the movies together. We're just such different people. I'm still in touch with the people we used to work with and he has a very separate life now.
``It's very weird. I'm sure it must be weird for the public, because even I can't define what it is. But I love him and have a lot of respect for it.''
Hayes says a Savage Garden reunion tour is unlikely, except perhaps for a charity.
``My music has gone off on such a different tangent. It probably rebelled as much as it ever will on the last record (The Tension and the Spark). I still feel very protective of what we achieved. I don't
want to sound mean and say never, but I can't imagine it.''
So protective that Savage Garden refuse all (lucrative) requests to use their big ballads -- Truly Madly Deeply and I Knew I Loved You -- for movies and advertisements.
``We've never licensed them for commercials or compilations,'' Hayes says. ``Those songs we've always felt protective of. They wanted Truly Madly Deeply for Scooby-Doo, but I said no. It's just too good.
It was `my' song before it became `our' song for people.
``I want people to associate Truly with a relationship they've had, rather than a pair of sneakers. Maybe I'll have other songs I'll want people to associate with sneakers, but it will never be Truly Madly Deeply.
``I know I'll sing those songs for the rest of my life, and that's fine. They're the reason why I'm still here today.''
It's those two songs that have made Savage Garden millionaires. They still get regular play on American radio, which means hefty royalty cheques for Hayes each year.
``I've never really known how the money works, I just get a statement every year that breaks down radio play. And it's mainly those two songs. It wasn't (solo single) Pop!ular, I'll tell you that. I wish it was.''
Hayes is in an interesting position. His last solo album, The Tension and the Spark, was the musically cutting-edge album he'd always wanted to make. But it confused fans who were wanting to hear ballads and soft rock.
Hayes received the best reviews of his career, but the worst sales.
``I got critical acclaim, but at a cost of sales, definitely,'' he says. ``But there are no regrets. I wouldn't change a thing. Best thing I ever did.
``I adore that album. It's just one of those records people will rediscover one day.
``I'm glad I did it. I've always wanted to make a record with that mindset of `if it sells, it sells'.
``I always said `I want to be Bjork', then someone sat me down and said, `Do you realise how many records Bjork sells?' It's not that many.
``I've sold enough records to be in the position to make those kinds of decisions. Believe me, I haven't been scared back into any kind of shell.''
He says he was concerned people might think releasing the ballad So Beautiful (from the best-of) was a damage-control move.
``People might think, `Oooh, he's been rapped over the knuckles and gone back to ballads', but not at all. I want a lot of people to hear my music.
``I'm trying to work out the common thread, what do I do that works? People don't care if I'm cool or not. I'm apparently not cool. You can't really change that.
``People care if the song becomes part of their lives.
``I want radio to play my songs and have my songs heard by people, but not at the cost of me being miserable. I'd rather sell no copies than just be some imitation of what I used to be.''
Hayes says his third solo album, which he's still working on, will be a balance between the music he wants to make and the music people expect him to make.
``I want to touch people, I want to work out how I can say what I want to say and still make it relatable. I won't dumb myself down.
``I don't want to call it going back to my roots, but maybe it is.
``Madonna's doing it now, Kylie's done it. It can be difficult as an
artist. You think `Just let me grow, let me be something else', but
then you think `Actually, what I did wasn't all that bad'.
``Singing is my soul,'' Hayes admits. ``I'd love to work out a way to
be tremendously commercially successful, but not at the cost of my
soul.''
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Nov 17 - part 1 (Track Record)
Track Record.......Herald Sun

DARREN HAYES relives the hits and memories of Savage Garden's brief
but phenomenal career in this track-by-track best-of album preview
I Want You
The first Savage Garden single, one of the songs rejected by every
record company in Australia. Also the song that broke them in the US,
made No. 4 in Australia and the US, and No. 11 in Britain.
Hayes: ``That song changed my life. It was originally a song called
Sundays Seem to Come and Go. I was obsessed with U2's Numb and Janet
Jackson's If; they inspired it, as well as Billy Joel's We Didn't
Start the Fire. I hated the chorus; I thought it was totally
throwaway. Daniel (Jones) said it was a hit and he was right. That
was the great thing about our partnership; you had someone to edit
you. I don't really like the line about `chic-a-cherry cola' any
more, but it's famous.''
I Knew I Loved You
Second US No. 1 (made No. 4 in Australia, No. 10 in Britain). Hayes
was too nervous to kiss Kirsten Dunst in the video.
``I know it was a massive smash hit, and I still love singing it, but
I still remember why we wrote it. Which was that the record company
didn't like the album, so they said `The album is great but there are
no hits on it; go and write a hit'. So my memory of that song is
writing it out of rebellion, and then falling in love with it anyway.
I know they were both massive hits, both No. 1 in America, but Truly
will probably stand the test of time. I Knew I Loved You sounds
calculated. I can't believe I'm the songwriter saying that but I
prefer the innocence of Truly. I was a kid.''
To the Moon and Back
Their first Australian No. 1, it peaked at No. 24 in the US after I
Want You went Top 5, but, when reissued after Truly Madly Deeply,
became their biggest British hit, making No. 3.
``It flopped in America big time and I remember thinking `Oh, it's
all over'. It's a gorgeous song about a friend of mine who's now
happily married with a kid, but then she was miserable, always picked
on, always jilted in love. There's a happy ending.''
Hold Me
Supremely painful lyrics detailing Hayes's marriage breakup (``we
don't live, we exist, we just run through our lives so alone . . .'')
``I was talking about the breakup of my marriage at the time, but it
kind of mirrored what was happening with the band. I didn't realise
that 'til afterwards, but if you look at the video, it's just me in
the video; it was our last single. I remember in the concert it was
very prophetic. It's a song about me saying I've failed as a husband,
as a partner, a lot of self hate actually. I look good in the video.
I remember that.''
Santa Monica
Album track from their debut. The lyrics came from Hayes's first trip
to the US.
``I was obsessed with America. I only reluctantly left America. My
American honeymoon was based in this childhood '80s innocence of
America being where pop stars and movie stars were. It's an amazing
country, especially for songwriting.''
Crash and Burn
Fourth single from Affirmation, the album Hayes and Jones wrote on
separate sides of the world, peaked at No. 16 in Australia, No. 24 in
Britain and No. 14 in the US.
``The beginning of Daniel and I writing songs across the ocean. We'd
send tapes back and forth. I couldn't admit to anyone I was lonely
living in New York, so I wrote the song in the third person, talking
about myself, but it was about me. I wasn't coping and I thought, `I
wish someone would say this to me'.''
Break Me Shake Me
Australia-only single; peaked at No. 7.
``I adore that song. It's one of the two moments in my career I
thought I was Michael Jackson -- that song and Dirty (from solo album
Spin).''
Truly Madly Deeply
Popular ballad -- you may have heard of it. No. 1 in Australia and
the US, No. 4 in Britain.
``It's extremely innocent. I hear somebody else when I hear that
song, I hear me before it all began. There's something beautifully
nostalgic, that person I hear is completely untainted.''
The Animal Song
Between album single, the lyrics were written for the movie The Other
Sister.
``We had two films on offer, one was The Other Sister, the other was
some tiny film with Julia Roberts called Runaway Bride. I hated it,
didn't think it'd be a hit. We chose to write the song for the film
that flopped.''
Affirmation
Hayes's manifesto, tackling everything from sexuality to low self-
esteem to the trust v monogamy debate. They performed it at the
Olympics, with Hayes wearing a T-shirt with an Aboriginal flag on it.
``I still adore it. Still close my shows with it, probably always
will. It was great to give people a bit of my personality. I wasn't
afraid to say things that were controversial at the time. It's the
fastest ever Savage Garden song. There's a scary video of us
performing it live where I'm wearing a Day-glo orange mesh top. You
won't find that video on the DVD either.''
So Beautiful
New Darren Hayes solo track, this album mix is his preferred version,
mixed by Mark Spike Stent.
``I always loved John Lennon and Yoko Ono and that period of Woman. I
always wanted to write a song that simple. So Beautiful is how I
actually experience love. I Knew I Loved You is how I thought love
would be. I think it's better than that. Real love is better than
those Hallmark card moments, which even I have been a part of.''
California
The other new track, written solely by Hayes.
``It's one of the first songs I ever wrote on my own. I wrote it
after my first piano lesson so you can hear the chords are very
basic. I always thought it sounded too much like a Savage Garden song
so it was perfect for this record.''
I Don't Care
B-side to Affirmation, the lyrics are set on a train.
``I was a substitute teacher and I'd walk home from the train station
and I'd write the song to the pace of my walk. I love public
transport.''
I'll Bet He Was Cool
B-side to Break Me Shake Me, it's arguably the weirdest Savage Garden
lyric: Darren ponders if Jesus was alive whether he'd smell nice,
whether he'd appear on Oprah and bets his beloved Star Wars figures
``he'd be a movie star''.
``It's my favourite Savage Garden song ever. Maybe. It comes from
Kate Bush's Why Should I Love You? where she says `Have you ever seen
a picture of Jesus laughing? Do you think he'd have a beautiful
smile?' And it got me thinking. Catholicism always portrays Jesus as
this miserable victim but I thought he was probably really
charismatic. So I thought, what if he was around today? These are the
thoughts that occupy my mind.''
Love Can Move You
B-side of Universe, which is one of several singles that didn't make
this compilation, including All Around Me, Chained to You and The
Best Thing.
``This song was written directly after having experienced New York
for the first time. There's a lot of hope there, after having come
back from the clutches of the monster and all that opportunity and
fame promised on that first visit to Manhattan. There's a naive sort
of optimism in the lyric that I'd somehow survive the deal with the
Devil and return a hero, with my soul intact. It took me many years
to realise that I did, indeed, survive.''
Fire Inside the Man
Savage Garden go reggae. Bad move. B-side of I Want You.
``I hate it. It's on there because it's popular. I didn't want to be
one of those poncy pop stars who reinvent their past. I hated the
fact George Lucas changed the Star Wars films. I'd never change
Savage Garden's history. Except the videos? Yeah, but it's not like
we went back and reshot them. At least I was thinner then.''
This Side of Me
Also a b-side of Universe -- Darren reveals his dark side.
``It was the first time I got really dark, really came down on myself
for being a human being and having desires. I'm always torn between
thinking I'm in U2 and Coldplay and doing folky acoustic stuff and
thinking I'm Prince and Madonna. I wish I was the kind of artist who
could play around with image, but every time I change my hair colour
it's a drama.''
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Herald Sun Article - November 17

Delta Goodrem and Darren Hayes close, but no duet
Cameron Adams
17nov05

POP pals Delta Goodrem and Darren Hayes have revealed they almost
made beautiful music together.

Hayes and Goodrem started work on a song for her latest album.
"By the time Delta came to write with me in my studio in London, she
was exhausted," Hayes said. "We just wound up playing each other's
songs. We've got a brother-sister thing going. I just adore her."

The pair caught up in Melbourne this week.

Their friendship began when Hayes flew from the US to surprise
Goodrem at the ARIAs three years ago, when the singer was having
cancer treatment.

"I'm very protective of Delta," he said yesterday.

"She's insanely talented, she hasn't even tapped into who she could
be as an artist."

Goodrem has a DVD of her hit tour, Visualise, in stores this week.

"I couldn't be prouder of the tour, I was so hands-on with it," she
said.

"I know there was a lot of negativity around me at the time, the
concert got to show people that performing live is the reason I
actually do this."

Goodrem will be a presenter at the American Music Awards next week.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Darren Hayes 

By Afsheen Shaikh 
Monday, 14 November 2005
Spinning Around
 
When Savage Garden split almost five years ago, they were at the peak of their career, having sold 25 million records worldwide. Swiftly going solo, the more prominent member, Darren Hayes has since released two albums and is working on a third but with the imminent arrival of his band’s greatest hits collection, he’s agreed to give his backing and to share his thoughts with uk-fusion
 
How have you been?
I’ve been really busy, which I’m sure you guys hear all the time from performers but it’s weird. I’ve been working on a new record that comes out next year but then this ‘best of’ Savage Garden’s come up and I’ve stopped working on my record, thinking, “Oh yeah, this will be fun”. It has but there’s been a lot of travel. Tomorrow I fly to Australia for just four days, then I fly to Bangkok for three or four days and then I’m back in Denmark but I’m good.
Are you going to have a quiet Christmas?
I hope so. I think I’m going to be here. I have some family in London and we’ll go to a really nice, posh hotel rather than cook.
You’ve been solo for nearly five years. Are you comfortable now?
Yeah, I think so. It’s funny because Savage Garden was such a phenomenon because of how little we did and how many records we sold. We only had two albums but each record was a number one in America and that profoundly changes your life as a musician. It probably took me a couple of years not compare myself to the success of the band. Certainly from a media and a record company’s point of view when you’ve come from something that’s been massively and commercially successful, the pressure to repeat that will be enormous but yeah, I’m good now.
Do you think the demise of Savage Garden was premature?
Yes and no. I didn’t really have a lot of say over it. He [Daniel Jones] had a life change, which at the time was a complete shock. I knew that he wasn’t happy in the role but the timing of it was really weird because we were about to put out our second record and he very honestly sat down with all the people that love him and said, “I can’t do this any more”. My life just came off the train track, and I kept thinking, “What am I going to do with my life?” Then I realised this was something he really needed to do. In the moment I think his timing was pretty good because music changed and shifted. There’s been a good five years where it’s been about hip-hop and rock and as a band, Savage Garden would have slipped between the cracks.
What do you miss about Savage Garden?
The hair-cuts! Probably the brotherhood of having somebody else that goes through it with you, it’s like having a partner in crime. I miss the tour bus, I miss the group experience…really big shows were fun but I don’t know if I necessarily miss all that. There’s definitely a lot of pressure when you’ve got a busy touring schedule but I definitely miss the family. We had an incredible touring band and crew we worked with for years and that was really hard to say goodbye to that.
Savage Garden have just released a greatest hits album. Why now? Why not when you had called it a day five years ago?
Because we kept saying no. Sometimes that’s a bit opportunistic; ‘Best ofs’ in a lot of ways are quite calculated and can seem like a blatant attempt to get money out of the fan-base. We only had two records and the record company had wanted to put out a ‘best of’ (as they do) every year for the last five years but we kept saying no. I really wanted there to be a distance between what I’d done and what I do today. It took a while for them to agree to let me put new music on there. I wanted it to be an anthology and not just ‘the greatest hits of Savage Garden’ where somebody’s just taken two records and burned them together on a CD. What would be the point of that? You could do that at home.
Do you prefer being dark to blonde?
It changes all the time – depends on what record I’m putting out.
What colour will your hair be for the next  one?
Who knows! I might go darker. I’m a blondie at heart. The last thing I did was a really dark record and I wanted to present myself as a dark-haired person. It’s like having a character, I guess. I remember listening to my last record, thinking, “I can’t sing these songs and have blonde hair – it doesn’t feel right”, so it depends what the music is going to be like.
I prefer dark.
Oh! There you go! [to Alana, his PA] We have one more for the dark – just put that on the list, she prefers dark. (laughs)
Is it true you were stopped by the police when filming the video for ‘Pop!ular’?
Oh! Yeah we got arrested! Well, we escaped being arrested. What the production company didn’t tell me (but I thought it was really quite smart) was that they didn’t get permission to film and it was good because it gave the video that sense of urgency – it really was meant to be a very desperate attempt to get attention. I had these two girls whom I’m contractually obliged to refer to as ‘dancers’ (I think I was calling them strippers and they got really upset about that) and one of them was going, (adopts a girlie, weepy voice) “What am I going to do? What am I going to tell my dad?!” and she’s standing there in gold, platform like heels, a gold bikini and hair done up like someone from Dallas.
In a recent web chat on your official website you said: “I adore women because I think they're underrated and under appreciated. I think women are insightful and intuitive and I possess similar qualities.” Explain.
I think I’m intuitive. I’m ruled by my senses and my feelings and I think when I was younger, I used to really grapple with that ‘cos I could get my feelings hurt really easily. Men are very much taught not to be like that and still today in our society, we’re not allowed to act sensitively. Emotionally women are usually five years ahead of men and I do think they are underrated. My mum is an incredible woman, she’s a survivor of so many things and she really kept our family unit together so I respect women for that. Women have to put up with so much immaturity from men but men always come around to it – that’s the stupid thing.
Would you say you’re metrosexual?
I know what a metrosexual is but no, I’m just human. I think a lot more men probably feel the way I feel but don’t admit it.
Did you follow the recent Ashes series?
Don’t do sport. I do the Olympics, sometimes the floor events, sometimes the synchronised swimming…
But you don’t give a toss about the cricket.
No, but cabbies in London do and whenever they hear me speak, they say, “You’re Australian?! How do you feel about the cricket?” They give me such a hard time and I’m like, “I don’t even watch it, mate!”
Do you know how it works?
I know we lost and I know there’s a wicket, three stumps and you bowl. I played cricket as a kid but I was terrible. I was OK batting but yeah, not into it because when I was a kid, cricket always meant that the cartoons weren’t on.
Why is Shane Warne so fat? And he gets laid easily too.
Is he fat? See I don’t even know! I know his name’s Shane… I don’t know…maybe it’s the outfit, maybe the ladies like the white, I don’t know…I personally don’t like cricket.
Well there are 10 other players to choose from.
Does he do well with the ladies?
Er, yes. Sort of.
Really? Maybe it’s ‘cos he’s rich. Maybe he’s a nice person.
Do you have a favourite Australian dish?  Ever tried kangaroos’ testicles?
(groans) No! I would never eat kangaroos or their testicles! I very rarely eat meat actually. What’s my favourite Australian dish? (thinks) Alana, do I have a favourite Australian dish? What is it with Australian dishes?! You know what, I like damper – it’s kind of like what you guys would have with a baked dinner like Yorkshire pudding. It’s basically pastry that the old bushmen used to make ‘cos they didn’t have a lot of money – brown sugar, flour and water and they cooked it in the camp oven, which is a big steal oven. That’s probably it. (to Alana) Apart from that, everything else in Australia is English or American, don’t you think? We thought we invented the meat pie till I came here!
What was kinky the first time?
Kinky the first time…hmm. This won’t be the answer that you want at all but you know, I only recently tried (giggles) cheese and fruit together. I thought it was kinky and weird and it was really good the first time but I’m not going to talk to you about what you really want to know!

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Truly Madly Completely: Let's Start the Celebration with the TruthThe Music Network, Australia, November 2005

Many of the readers of this magazine would be aware of my absolute involvement with Savage Garden and subsequently Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones as individual artists, so for the sake of integrity, I hereby state an extremely vested interest in what you are about to read. As anyone in our industry can, I'm buying space to correct the record about two wonderful human beings who stand high among the most individually talented and successful musicians, writers and performers this country has ever had. I do this as owner of the company which makes their records, their publisher, their friend and an admirer.

Darren, Daniel and I have been fortunate enough over the last decade to have had a profound effect on each other's lives. Obviously financially - you don't sell over 25 million records and have number one hits in 51 countries in the would without reaping a reasonable reward - but also in areas of humanity, family and discovery, these two people have led me on a personal voyage that has been simply amazing, and for that I would never be able to adequately repay either of them.

It is understandable that when artists burn as brightly as Savage Garden did for such a relatively short space of time, the media and the public are going to question the lack of light when they call it a day. But there is truth and there is fiction. I feel that having been the third person in this equation it is time for me to get the accurate story out there, albeit not nearly as exciting or salacious as the one that some media have managed over the years to manufacture. I also believe we should all celebrate a story as wonderful as this.

We are on the eve of release around the world of Truly Madly Completely, Savage Garden's Greatest Hits collection. I might wish that the coverage of this be only about the triumph, the skill, the artistry and the joy the music has brought to millions but I can one more time see some sensationalist journalists/commentators shaping up to follow each other down yet another path of fantasy rather than fact. As if it is not pity enough that Oz journalism errs towards the negative rather than the positive, claiming "that's what sells", if the sansationalists can't find a good piece of gossip they make one up. Then, once the first one has printed or published it, there seems no need for others to seek the truth, apparently able just to follow his or her lead as if it were fact, no matter what the consequence. And sadly, I see some inside the music business only too willing to eagerly believe (as well as embellish and spread) the original fabrication.

Sometimes when you are having problems explaining something, an old philosophy of "let's start with the truth and see how that sounds" can work miracles. So, let's start with the truth! At the conclusion of the recording of Savage Garden's second album, Affirmation, Daniel, having considered everything carefully, which he has always done, started saying to both myself and Darren that he was really having problems with some parts of the actual business of being a star. He found a lot of the attitudes around the music business on the whole false. More than that he didn't feel quite right about the adulation afforded to him by some of the fan base, having never actually met most of them in person. At the same time he pointed out that the business had been more than kind to him, as had the fans, and further that he loved writing and producing the music, but being on the road was becoming a pain in the arse. In particular Daniel made it clear that he was not at all comfortable doing press and TV interviews. In short he was considering calling it a day and simply writing, recording and producing music.

On the other hand Darren who was quite rightly, enormously excited by the way the album had turned out, felt that the two of them had much further to go, and asked him to stay, at least until they had finished the tour on Affirmation. In fact Darren even offered to do most of the press on his own, whilst for obvious reasons Daniel would have to keep performing live and on TV. This should not be interpreted as laying blame or otherwise at any one individual's feet, it was simply both guys being, as they had always been, completely honest with each other about how they felt.

After almost a year of trying to explain to the media where the other half of the duo was etc., the explanation of illness or incapacity became a little thin. The label was starting to wonder if all was well and Darren was starting to push, although at that stage rather nervously, towards his own post-Savage Garden solo career. For contractual reasons all three of us agreed, perhaps for three different reasons, that we would not announce that Savage Garden had actually gone their separate ways until it was a "given".

When Darren finished his first solo album, he was enormously excited about the result, as were we both. In his haste to play it to a "friend" in the media, and convince him that he was serious about his own solo career, Darren confided that in fact he and Daniel had "broken up". I hasten to point out that it was and still is typical of Darren's attractive personality that he was naïve enough to believe that you could ever confide in a "friend from the media". Naturally the individual involved couldn't wait to get out of the studio in San Francisco and get it on the wire back to Australia. Equally naturally, when confronted by a TV crew at his front door at 7:00 am that morning and having been given no warning whatsoever about the "confidential" discussion, Daniel, as agreed, denied all knowledge of the break-up. The media took up the chase and it seems it is still on. Those in the industry with seemingly nothing else to do in their lives took any negatives as gospel.

Sony have for some years been pushing to release a Greatest Hits album. Bearing in mind the amazing success of the two albums and associated singles (as outlined in the opposite page) you can hardly blame them! It has always been a fact that a new song on a compilation such as this makes a tremendous difference to the marketing and the consequent sales. I therefore pushed both the guys to get back together to write and perform new tracks for the album. For a while both of them could see the logic in doing this. Darren invited Daniel to his studio in London but given Daniel's workload and his imminent marriage he found that impossible to put together.

As Darren was writing frantically for his new solo album at the time, and several of the new songs were somewhat similar to the style of Savage Garden, plus the decision by the US arm of SonyBMG that they were going ahead with the release with or without new tracks, it was decided that the new tracks on the compilation record were to be Darren tracks. Initially it was thought that they may be titled as Savage Garden featuring Darren Hayes, but again both guys insisted on "going back to the truth". They were Darren Hayes tracks and that's what they would be titled.

So there it is. There will be all sorts of other things you'll be reading or hearing about these two major artists over the weeks as Truly Madly Completely rolls out. After all, their achievements are newsworthy and for those of us who want to celebrate success and greatness, their body of their work speaks for itself as an achievement not matched by any other Australian group. For those of you who want to gossip: sorry guys and girls, but now the truth is out, it sort of blows your various bits of bullshit out of the water doesn't it?

John Woodruff

Post Script: As of going to press and with album release dates staggered all around the world, already the ship on the album in Australia is approaching platinum and the ship in the rest of the world is beyond 750,000. In this day and age that speaks for itself.

Savage Garden: Lots to Celebrate

Have a look at this for two lads from Logan with a dream and a will to win:

Savage Garden Are:

• One of the most successful duos in pop music history.
• Among the most successful Australian recording artists of all time.
• In the Guinness Book of World Records for winning an unprecedented number (10) of Australian Recording Industry Association Awards in one year (1997).
• The reigning record-holders for the longest number of weeks on the Monitor/Billboard Adult Contemporary Airplay charts in the US for their singles I Knew I Loved You (124 weeks) and Truly Madly Deeply (123 weeks).
• One of only two Australian bands to have ever had two #1 singles in the US.
  
  

Savage Garden Have:

• Sold over 23 million albums around the world.
• Sold more than 15 million singles around the world.
• Had the only one-sided single to spend a full year in the Top 30 of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart (Truly Madly Deeply).
• Spent five years in the UK album charts with the only two albums they released.
• Had 10 Top 40 chart singles in the UK. Of these, nine charted inside the Top 20 and four inside the Top 10.
• Topped the charts in a number of markets, achieving gold, platinum or multi-platinum status.

The Albums

Savage Garden:

• Debuted at #1 on the Australian ARIA album chart where it spent 7 weeks.
• Spent 102 weeks on the UK Top 200 albums chart (96 weeks were consecutive), having peaked at #2 after its release in March 1998.
• Australia - 12x Platinum.
• Canada - 9x Platinum.
• New Zealand - 8x Platinum.
• USA, India, Singapore - 6x Platinum.
• UK, Philippines - 4x Platinum.
• Sweden, Malaysia, Taiwan - 3x Platinum.
• Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Indonesia, Mexico, Hong Kong, Thailand - 2x Platinum.
• Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Poland, South Africa, Switzerland, Korea, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Japan - Platinum.
• France - 2x Gold.
• Austria, Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, Chile, Peru, Venezuela - Gold.
  
  

Affirmation:

• Debuted at #1 in Australia, where it stayed for 6 weeks.
• Spent 158 weeks in the Top 200 albums chart in the UK (99 of which were consecutive). Of those, 9 consecutive weeks were in the Top 10 and 13 in the Top 20.
• Australia - 8x Platinum.
• USA - 5x Platinum.
• Sweden, Canada - 4x Platinum.
• India, Indonesia, Philippines, UK, New Zealand - 3x Platinum.
• Denmark, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Mexico - 2x Platinum.
• Finland, Portugal, Korea, South Africa, Costa Rica, Japan - Platinum.
• Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Venezuela - Gold.

The Singles - Some Highlights

Truly Madly Deeply:

• Released in Australia in March 1997 in hit #1.
• Stayed there for 8 weeks and went 2x Platinum.
• Released in USA in November 1997.
• Peaked at #1 on the Billboard Chart and remained in the US Top 10 for a total of 26 weeks.
• Hit the #1 spot on the European Hit 100 Chart.
  
  

To the Moon & Back:

• Released in Australia in November 1996 and peaked at #1.
  
  

I Knew I Loved You:

• Released in the USA in October 1999 and climbed the charts to #1.

Accolades:

• I Want You was the highest selling single in Australia in 1996.
• Channel V Awards in India - Best International Debut Single award for I Want You (1997).
• ARIA Awards: The band win in 10 categories - Australia 1997:
  Album of the Year (Savage Garden)
  Single of the Year (Truly Madly Deeply)
  Song of the Year (To the Moon & Back)
  Highest Selling Single (Truly Madly Deeply)
  Best Group
  Breakthrough Artist - Album (Savage Garden)
  Best Pop Release (To the Moon & Back)
  Best Independent Release (Savage Garden)
  Producer of the Year (Savage Garden)
  Engineer of the Year (Savage Garden)
• IFPI Platinum Europe Award in recognition of European sales in excess of 1,000,000 (1998).
• 12th Annual ARIA Awards: Highest Selling Album (Savage Garden) and Outstanding Achievement Award (1998).
• APRA Award (Australian Performing Rights Association): Songwriters of the Year (1998).
• Billboard Music Award for Adult Contemporary Single of the Year (1999) - USA - for Truly Madly Deeply.
• Billboard Music Award for Hot 100 Singles Airplay of the Year (1999) - USA - for Truly Madly Deeply.
• 13th Annual ARIA Awards - 1999 - Best Pop Release (The Animal Song).
• Top 10 act on 7 different year-end charts in Billboard Magazine in 1999, based on sales and radio airplay in the US:
  Top Pop Artists (#3)
  Hot 100 Singles Artists - Duo/Group (#3)
  Hot 100 Singles (#4)
  Top 200 Album Artists - Duo/Group (#4)
  Top 200 Albums (#9)
  Top 200 Album Artists (#10)
  Most Played Song on American Radio in 1999 (I Knew I Loved You)
• World Music Award for World's Bestselling Australian Group (2000) - Monaco.
• 14th Annual ARIA Awards - 2000 - Highest Selling Album (Affirmation).
• Billboard Music Award for Best Adult Contemporary Video (I Knew I Loved You), #1 Adult Contemporary Song of the Year (I Knew I Loved You) and #1 Adult Contemporary Artist of the Year.
• Most played artist on Australian radio (2000).
• BRMB Music Radio Award for Best International Group (2000).
• 18th Annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) - Song of the Year (2001).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sydney Morning Herald website

Garden rumours savaged
November 13, 2005

Savage Garden's manager has broken his long silence about the band's
break-up, claiming the press "manufactured" details about the split.

John Woodruff - who guided the band as they sold 25 million records
globally - paid for an opinion piece in The Music Network (a magazine
he publishes) to detail Savage Garden's demise.

But despite strong criticisms of ongoing media "negativity", Woodruff
actually confirmed longtime reports it was Daniel Jones who chose to
step out of the spotlight, because he was freaked out by the
attention of fans.

"He didn't feel quite right about the adulation afforded to him by
some of the fan base, having never met most of them in person," wrote
Woodruff. "Daniel, having considered everything carefully, which he
has always done, started saying to both myself and Darren he was
really having problems with some parts of the actual business of
being a star."

Source: The Sun-Herald

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Record Music Magazine article

10 hit songs. 5 b-sides and rare recordings. 2 brand new tracks.

That’s what you can look forward to on the upcoming release Truly, Madly, Completely ~ The Best Of Savage Garden, out in November, four years after super duo Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones parted ways to pursue their own music careers.

The Record speaks exclusively to singer Darren Hayes and in keeping with the spirit of the release gets him to dish on all things truly, madly and completely Savage Garden!

TRULY
The best songs are those that come from a sincere and honest place. Here’s Darren sharing the truths behind five of Savage Garden’s biggest hits.

I Want You
“…the beginning of everything really. It was the first single ever from Savage Garden and was released on an independent record company’s label in Australia only. We didn’t have a record deal outside of Australia and it was quite lucky that a radio promo guy from America was visiting down under and he heard the song and took it back to America. Pirated copies of the song started playing on American radio and we had a top 10 single without having a record deal! I always tell this to young bands – it’s a mix of talent and luck [that works] in this business and that was certainly a piece of luck for us.”

Affirmation
“…written years and years after I Want You. It is a song written by two people who maybe aren’t as innocent anymore. It had been written after the experience of having some of your dreams come true, being on both the good and bad side of money, and certainly after several trips to other parts of the world including India, where I had some of my biggest life-changing epiphanies. I remember being in India the day before going to Monaco. I was in Bombay and I remember seeing poverty for the first time and still there was joy in those people’s faces. And then 24 hours later, being in Monaco, which is supposed to be one of the richest countries in the world… that juxtaposition just taught me so much. Affirmation is all about life lessons. It is all about things that I noticed growing up and from being given this gift of traveling the world. I still close my shows with this song and I am sure that I always will.
One of my favourite memories of this song is ~ I had my parents in the front row at a concert and I looked at them both when I sang [the lyric] I believe your parents did the best job they knew how to do. Those are very powerful moments, being able to look my mother in the eye and sing that to her...”

So Beautiful (The new single)
“I guess I’m famous for writing love songs but I haven’t really written a love song or had a hit with a love song for a while because… I haven’t been in love really for many years! So Beautiful is a very honest and sincere song; it was from the heart. It was a song that I was writing for my third solo album originally and the record company had a demo version of the song and fell in love with it.
When we decided that we wanted to put out this greatest hits collection this year we realized that we wanted there to be some new music on it as well and it was sort of a perfect opportunity for me to test out maybe where my new direction might be going and give this song an early debut I guess."

MADLY
The Record: Tell us about some of the craziest things you have experienced while on tour?
darren: Maddest?! Phew! Well, I've fallen off stage before, several times ~ literally! One tour we built this catwalk that went out into the audience of nearly 15,000 people in our hometown in Brisbane, and I remember just walking right off the end of it. I think a lot people thought I was clueless or trying to be Jim Morrison. [Laughs] But I wasn't! I couldn't walk for days afterwards. And…let's see…a transvestite asked me to autograph her nipple once, does that count?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Savage Garden: The story behind the split & Greatest Hits album

Reported by AAA - Wednesday, November 9 2005

Together, they were one of the most successful Australian artists
ever selling over 23 million albums, 15 million singles, and have
number one hits in 51 countries... we're talking about Savage Garden!

In an article posted in this week's Music Network, manager John
Woodruff spilled the beans - the entire TRUE story of the duo's split
which, by media reports, was a lot more dramatic than it really was.

On the eve of the band's world-wide Greatest Hits album, 'Truly,
Madly, Completely: The Best of Savage Garden', Woodruff explains why
in fact two new Darren Hayes tracks features on the album rather than
two Savage Garden tracks.

Before we get in to the explanation, we should point out that Savage
Garden are still very much in demand with their Greatest Hits album
already close to shipping platinum status (70,000 copies) in
Australia and over 750,000 throughout the rest of the world!

In the article, Woodruff reveals:

"At the conclusion of the recording of Savage Garden's second
album, 'Affirmation', Daniel, having considered everything carefully,
which he has always done, started saying to both myself and Darren
that he was really having problems with some parts of the actual
business of being a star."

"He found a lot of the attitudes around the music business on the
whole false. More than that he didn't feel quite right about the
adulation afforded to him by some of the fan base, having never
actually met most of them in person. At the same time he pointed out
that the business had been more than kind to him, as had the fans,
and further that he loved writing and producing the music, but being
on the road was becoming a pain in the ar*e. In particular Daniel
made it clear that he was not at all comfortable doing press and TV
interviews. In short he was considering calling it a day and simply
writing, recording and producing music."

On the other hand Darren who was, quite rightly, enormously excited
by the way the album had turned out, felt that the two of them had
much further to go, and asked him to stay, at least until they had
finished the tour on "Affirmation". In fact Darren even offered to do
most of the press on his own, whilst for obvious reasons Daniel would
have to keep performing live and on TV. This should not be
interpreted as laying blame or otherwise at any one individual's
feet, it was simply both guys being, as they had always been,
completely honest with each other about how they felt.

"After almost a year of trying to explain to the media where the
other half of the duo was, etc., the explanation of illness or
incapacity became a little thin. The label was starting to wonder if
all was well and Darren was starting to push, although at that stage
rather nervously, towards his own post-Savage Garden solo career. For
contractual reasons all three of us agreed, perhaps for three
different reasons, that we would not announce that Savage Garden had
actually gone their seperate ways until it was a "given"."

"When Darren finished his first solo album, he was enormously excited
about the result, as were we both. In his haste to play it to
a 'friend' in the media, and convince him that he was serious about
his own solo career, Darren confided that in fact he and Daniel
had 'broken up'. I hasten to point out that it was and still is
typical of Darren's attractive personality that he was naive enough
to believe that you could ever confide in a 'friend from the media'.
Naturally the individual involved couldn't wait to get out of the
studio in San Francisco and get it on the wire back to Australia.
Equally naturally, when confronted by a TV crew at his front door at
7am that morning and having been given no warning whatsoever about
the 'confidential' discussion, Daniel, as agreed, denied all
knowledge of the break-up. The media took up the chase and it seems
it is still on."

"Sony have for some years been pushing to release a Greatest Hits
album. Bearing in mind the amazing success of the two albums and
associated singles you can hardly blame them! It has always been a
fact that a new song on a compilation such as this makes a tremendous
difference to the marketing and consequent sales. I therefore pushed
both the guys to get back togeteher to write and perform new tracks
for the album. For a while both of them could see the logic in doing
this. Darren invited Daniel to his studio in London but given
Daniel's workload and his imminent marriage he found that impossible
to put together."

"As it turned out, Darren had a short opportunity to come to
Australia and there was a limited chance for them to collaborate in
Daniel's studio on the old home town. After considering this idea for
a while, Daniel decided not to go ahead on this basis as he felt the
time allocated was too short and that in order to get the best out of
the two of them together they would need to write enough songs for
another album - based on the logic that that is what it took in the
past to come up with the one or two gems. One more time his reasoning
was difficult to fault."

"As Darren was writing frantically for his new solo album at the
time, and several of the new songs were some what similar to the
style of Savage Garden, plus the decision by the US arm of SonyBMGG
that they were going ahead with the release with or without new
tracks, it was decided that the new tracks on the compilation record
were to be Darren tracks. Initially it was though that they may be
titled as Savage Garden featuring Darren Hayes, but again both guys
insisted on 'going back to the truth'."

"Truly, Madly, Completely: The Best Of Savage Garden" is instores on
November 20.

For your chance to win a mega Savage Garden pack including the
limited edition best of album, standard edition of the Best of album,
Savage Garden's album back catalogue and Darren Hayes autographed
merchandise... click here!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Teletext Article (Page 385) Nov 8th 2005

A Roll In The Hayes

Former Savage Garden man Darren Hayes is back in the charts with So Beautiful and is looking forward to the release of his old band's greatest hits alb. Truly Madly Completely is out next week and includes all the hits from the duo who sold a staggering 20 million albs worldwide in their 4 years together. Even so, solo star Darren tells Ace: "I can't imagine a reunion. We were so young and innocent then."

Solo singer Darren Hayes may not have enjoyed success on the scale he did when he was in SG but he says he would never go back. "I see the band in a time capsule. It was a short burst of fun and then it was over", he says. "It gave me so many opportunities. It was a beautiful time in my life. But the greatest hits finally marks the end of something. It's necessary".

When he first left the multi-million-selling Savage Garden, Darren Hayes says he was intimidated by the likes of Justin Timberlake. "It's very weird how music goes in cycles", says the 33 year old. "I had a bit of an identity crisis when I put out the first album. I wasn't an artist like Justin or Enrique Iglesias. I don't dance and I'm not a pin-up. I don't need to be now though!"

With Daniel Powter and James Blunt doing so well, Darren Hayes thinks now is a great time for the more mature singer-songwriter. "I was glad to get into my 30s" he tells us. "28, 29 and 30 were the most turbulent years of my life. You're not a kid but you don't feel like an adult. When I look back I don't recognise myself. I was desperate
to be liked. My goals have changed now."

When he burst on to the pop scene with SG, he was a fresh-faced 25 year old, but Darren Hayes wouldn't go back in time for anything. "I think of wrinkles as trophies" he tells Ace. "There's this myth that youth equals beauty. All the magazines push it, but I've loved getting older". Don't expect him to start wheeling out dad-rock either. "I won't be putting my synthesiser away any time soon", he
says.

Darren Hayes is inspired by and eclectic range of artists. "I really like Kaiser chiefs. I think they're hilarious. They have a great lead singer. I love Hard-Fi and KT Tunstall too" he says. "I'd love to do a duet with Annie Lennox – or Daft Punk. I wrote to them recently saying, `please work with me.' They're yet to return my call though!"

After leaving SG, Darren Hayes moved to the US but he's keeping the Aussie connection going. "I'm lucky my manager is my Australian best friend and my assistant is also an Aussie. I still speak to (ex-bandmate) Daniel a lot too," he says. "I left a message for Kylie recently also. I really believe in the power of positive thinking (in her situation). I love her – she's amazing".

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Savage Garden Blooms Again
CCTV - Beijing,China

cctv.com 5 Nov-2005 14:54

With sales of over 23-million copies, the Australian pop
outfit "Savage Garden" is one of the most successful duos of all
time. Four years after splitting-up, "Truly Madly Completely - The
Best Of Savage Garden" celebrates the global impact of this short-
lived group.

Emerging from the musical outback of Brisbane, the rise of Darren
Hayes and Daniel Jones began thanks to word-of-mouth rather than
record company spin.

They released their self-titled debut album in 1997 and soon took the
world by storm with three global hits: "I Want You","To The Moon And
Back" and the record-breaking "Truly Madly Deeply", which topped the
American Billboard charts for over two months.

But suddenly the Savage Garden meteoric rise was snuffed out when
Daniel Jones left the combo. Darren Hayes threw some light on the
less than amicable split.

Darren Hayes of Savage Garden said, "We were about a week away from
releasing the second record when he just dropped this bombshell on
everyone and he said 'I can't do this anymore' and at the time,
selfishly I thought about myself, I remember thinking 'you are going
to ruin my career, what am I going to do?', I couldn't imagine not
continuing on. But when you love someone you want them to be happy
and I can tell you those eight months of the world tour, when he knew
that he was going to leave at the end of it, it was the happiest
memories I have of him."

The new album also includes two new singles by Hayes. "So Beautiful"
was released a week ago. The singer is happy to admit that the new
love song is autobiographical.

He also said, "I haven't been able to write a love song for five
years for a reason and I think that when you are lucky enough to find
love you do want to shout it from the roof tops. I was listening to
John Lennon songs like 'Beautiful Boy' and 'Woman' and his love for
Yoko Ono, there was a simplicity to that and in the song writing and
in the production and that's definitely where 'So Beautiful' came
from for me."

The Best Of CD, "Truly Madly Completely - The Best Of Savage Garden",
will be released on next Monday worldwide. Darren Hayes has a third
solo album set for release next New Year.

Editor:Liu Fengming  Source:CCTV.com

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Undercover News Story

Savage Garden Compilation Short on Collaboration

by Paul Cashmere

October 31 2005

When it first surfaced that Savage Garden was going to release a
Greatest Hits album, speculation was that founders Darren Hayes and
Daniel Jones were going to reform to record some new songs for the
record. It didn't happen.

Undercover hears to Daniel Jones was ready to get back to work with
his former partner to complete two new tracks but Hayes is said to
have finished them off by himself.

The result is that `Truly Madly Completely – The Best of Savage
Garden' contains two Darren Hayes solo songs instead of the much
anticipated Savage Garden reunion tracks.

Savage Garden only recorded two albums. While short of material, the
duo had a remarkable success with sales. `Savage Garden' (1997)
and `Affirmation' (1999) collectively sold more than 23 million
albums world wide.

Since their less than amicable break-up, Hayes went on to a solo
career but failed to match the successes of Savage Garden with his
two solo albums `Spin' (2002) and `Tension and the Spark' (2004).

Jones has been involved in production, songwriting and nurturing new
talent ever since the break-up. He is currently working with 15 year
old Tori Horgan at his Meridien Musik Studios in Brisbane and
recently worked on the debut album for Melbourne band The Wish. 32
year old Jones also came in at 47th position in the BRW Young Rich
List of 2005 for his estimated wealth of $21 Million.

Jones married his girlfriend of 5 years, Hi-5's Kathleen de Leon, a
few weeks back in Queensland.

Savage Garden Truly Madly Deeply tracklisting:

1. I Want You (from Savage Garden, 1997)
2. I Knew I Loved You (from Affirmation, 1999)
3. To The Moon And Back (from Savage Garden, 1997)
4. Hold Me (from Affirmation, 1999)
5. Santa Monica (from Savage Garden, 1997)
6. Crash and Burn (from Affirmation, 1999)
7. Break Me Shake Me (from Savage Garden, 1997)
8. Truly Madly Deeply (from Savage Garden, 1997)
9. The Animal Song (from Affirmation, 1999)
10. Affirmation (from Affirmation, 1999)
11. So Beautiful - by Darren Hayes
12. California - By Darren Hayes
The B Sides
13. I Don't Care (Aus Bside Affirmation)
14. I'll Bet He Was Cool (US Bside Truly Madly Deeply)
15. Love Can Move You (Aus Bside Universe)
16. Fire Inside The Man (Aus Bside I Want You)
17. This Side of Me (Aus Bside Universe)

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So Beautiful - Darren Hayes
Reported by AAA - Friday, October 7 2005

Darren Hayes returns with a stunning new single that is reminiscent to that of Savage Garden than his solo material of late.

'So Beautiful' is a simple, yet powerful ballad that continues to set the trend that made Savage Garden a household name around the globe.

Lyrically, Hayes continues to excell as a songwriter with a mix of heartfelt vocals complete with his trademark falsetto's.

The track is one of two tracks that Darren contributes to the forthcoming best of Savage Garden album titled 'Truly, Madly, Completely' which is released instores on November 6.

The album features 17 tracks including 12 digitally re-mastered Savage Garden classics, 5 rare b-sides and two brand new Darren Hayes songs -'So Beautiful' and 'California'.

Our Rating: 5/5