Hayes album a dark story
By LUCY CARNE
29aug04

FORMER Savage Garden star Darren Hayes has revealed he spent his childhood dealing with domestic violence and alcoholism.

The multi-millionaire singer who grew up "poor" in the Brisbane suburb of Woodridge with an older brother and sister, has spoken to the Sunday Herald Sun about his painful past.
"My father was an alcoholic and we experienced domestic violence," Hayes said.

"It's a very difficult decision to admit this and talk about this, out of respect for my family, but I only talk about it because we are survivors.

"It's really hard to say that, because I love my Dad. He is my hero and he hasn't had a drink in 20 years . . . he is an amazing man now."

Hayes, 32, who now lives alone in San Francisco, said he tried to escape his pain by becoming a performer.

"My life, up until the age of about 12, was filled with turbulence and violence. It was definitely the reason I became a performer. I wanted to reinvent myself, I wanted to escape.

"I've been searching for the love of my father all of my life, that's why I became a performer."

Hayes formed Savage Garden with fellow Brisbane boy Daniel Jones.

Their two albums have sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. They topped the charts with songs like Truly Madly Deeply, I Want You and To the Moon.

But at the height of Savage Garden's success in 2001 the duo split.

Jones stayed in Brisbane while Hayes moved to the US to pursue a solo career.

On his new autobiographical album The Tension and The Spark, which will be launched in Australia on September 13, Hayes deals with the effects of his troubled childhood and his struggle to reveal his past.

"As an adult, when you get to a point where I was, where I had sold 23 million records, had No. 1s in America, I was supposed to be happy, right? Well I wasn't.

"I'm not going to lie to you, it's heavy, but it's a beautiful feeling to really truly say I forgive and I am proud of my dad.

"I don't have to lie about who I was as a child. I don't have to get everyone's approval.

"Now I can move forward and I feel so much more honest about who I am today."


http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/com...5E2902,00.html

Janie xx