Interview from TOPP magazine

DarrensPassion · September 27th, 2004, 12:10 PM

Thanks to Beanie who originally posted this over on the f/c site.

My father beat me

Darren Hayes, former member of Savage Garden, has a dark side that not everyone knows about. We met an open and honest Darren in Oslo.

In the limo: Henrik Lysell

WE just picked up Darren Hayes at Gardermoen Airport and is sitting in the back of a limosin (sp?) on our way to Oslo City. He is in a great mood, but is tired after yesterday's late party with 50 Cent. Now he is doing an interview with TOPP. Darren is a very polite and intelligent man, and we are sure that he can talk about nothing and everything all the way to the hotell in Oslo. Forunately, the nothing and everything chatting ends after a little while, and we start asking him about the lyrics for the new songs on his new album.
"There are many people out there who seem to think that the sun has always shone on me, but I have a quite dark past," says Darren, and looks out of the window of the car.
"When I was young, we lived in a caravan park. We didn't have money and the family nights consisted of alcoholism and violence."
- Did your father hit you?
"Yes, he did. But I'd rather not get into that in detail. I had a tough childhood, but today, amazingly enough, my father and I are friends. He is my hero. We have talked about and sorted out the painful things of the past. This album is extremely personal and was quite painful to to make, but I am happy now," says Darren and smiles.
- Personal and warm lyrics, but the sound is quite electronic and cold?
"The great thing about this record is that the musical image creates an amazing contrast to the lyrics. But it is also a symbol of the change in my life. I was sick and tired of music after the last solo album, and I spent two years doing anything other but music. I had a lot of unfinished business. My childhood. Girlfriend. Everything had to come out on this album. A friend of mine with a lot of credibility in the music business really wanted to produce "The Thension and the Spark", so we we started recording songs in my bedroom actually. We worked with talented people that have worked with Madonna, Depeche Mode, Massive Attack and Bjork."
- How was it like becoming rich over night?
"I remember the first time I received money for making music. I couldn't believe how fast the millions came into my account, but I was still unhappy. All the money in the world couldn't make me happy until I had made things right with my father. I am a very emotional person, and I need to get things out of my system, or I will explode. My directness can seem kind of extreme to people, I am aware of that."
- What happened to Savage Garden?
"We drifted further and further apart. Daniel actually hated the spotlight all along."
- Do you think the fans will like "The Tension and the Spark"?
"Yes, I do think they will. It's not such a weird album really. It's still pop," says Darren, and smiles.
"I bet you were sceptival when you were going to listen to my album?" says Darren, and gives us a curious look. We have to be honest, and admit that we were, but we can assure Darren that we liked what we heard.
The limo stops, we are outside the Grand Hotel in the heart of Oslo City. The 4o minutes from the airport has felt like five, but we hope it won't be too long until we see Darren again. Darren is such a jolly chap and asks us to say hello to all the readers of TOPP magazine.
_________________

**twizzle** · September 27th, 2004, 12:13 PM

*uses this post to ask Janie if she could empty her PM inbox....again [img]tongue.gif[/img] lol*

Thanks for posting that. It makes for an interesting read. *wonders how many things got misinterpreted though* [img]confused.gif[/img]