Savage reaction to flops
20 JUN 2002
By NUI TE KOHA, Herald Sun


FORMER Savage Garden front man Darren Hayes has been dumped as a high priority act by his US record label.
Hayes, 30, had the same status as Celine Dion, Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira.

But Columbia Records, which pegged Hayes for solo fame after a highly successful stint in Savage Garden, has revoked his superstar access card.

Sources at the label's headquarters in New York told the Herald Sun a failed single and flop album had forced a rethink about Hayes' marketability.

The San Francisco-based singer's single Insatiable and album Spin have struggled to chart in the US Top 40 -- a far cry from Savage Garden's chart-topping heyday.

"Savage Garden should have been a stepping stone to greatness for Darren Hayes," a source said yesterday.

"But it should have been a step up, not two steps down."

Not helpful was Hayes' decision to scrap an $800,000 music video after complaining that the choreography looked "too gay".

The record label also expressed concern about Hayes reverting to his natural blond hair.

"He is the face of Savage Garden, and the record company needs the audience to recognise him," a source told the Herald Sun in January.

"As it stands, the music video looks like it's from some blond guy named Darren Hayes."

Hayes said he dyed his hair black during his Savage Garden days as a symbolic showbiz mask. "It was a metaphor for feeling like I had to become someone else," he said.

Locally, Hayes scored top five hits with Insatiable and Spin, but his new single Strange Relationship has gone unnoticed.

In 1995, Melbourne singer Tina Arena was given priority status by Columbia Records, which committed an unlimited budget to establishing her as a world star.

Arena was also invited to perform in Rome for the label's executives, including Sony Music CEO Tommy Mottola.

But her 1997 album In Deep was a commercial disappointment and Arena was yanked from the priority list.

*argh