The Darren Zone

Spin Doctor
(Herald Sun Hit Mag, March 21)

As the Authors of Truly Madly Deeply and I knew I love you, Savage Garden were behind "our son" for couples the world over. But theres a very different "our song" on Darren Hayes solo debut, Spin. Its called Heart Attack and, while Hayes doesnt admit it, it effectively serves as the post-mortem of the Savage Garden split and his feelings about former musical partner Daniel Jones.
Some lyrics from Heart Attack: "You do whatever you please, everybody else is left to bleed.You stabbed me in the backā€¦.you hit me harder than a heart attack."
And: "We used to stick together, you and me, stay that way forever, but now to my surprise youve become what we despised, one thing keeps bugging me, tell me how you sleep at night...bye bye now."
Hayes admits he wrote a few songs about Daniel ("One that didnt end up on the record, it was too close to home") but refuses to confirm whether Heart Attack is the one that made it on Spin.
"I think (Daniel) will work it out," Hayes laughs. "Thats an angry song. There were some moments of anger and some moments of sadness. Im dramatic, Im an artist.
"Im always desperate for inspiration. And that (split) was incredible inspiration. But this isnt the John Lennon/Paul McCartney retaliation record. Its not. Theres one song that deals with it a little bit."
Silence.
"Ok, a lot!"
Whats the line "becoming what we despised" about?

"Selling out. I never wanted to become corporate. I thought about starting a record label but its just not me. Im an artist. I dont want to become them. I donā€™t want to become the record company."
Readers should note here that Daniel Jones started his won record label and signed Aneiki, the band Hayes found out Hones was working with before Savage Garden split and he felt betrayed.
But many will scoff when they see Darren Hayes, the multi-millionaire who lives in a plush San Francisco apartment that Truly Madly Deeply built, saying he never wanted to be corporate.
Is there a difference between commercial and corporate?
"Totally. Commercial isnt a sin, commercial is being digestible. Im a consumer, I love pop culture."
And one listen to Spin demonstrates that love, from the glaringly obvious (the musical homages to Prince, Michael Jackson and George Michael), to the obscure (the line in ā€˜Good Enough, audible only through headphones, where Hayes sings: "I like everything Spielbergs done" and then quietly adds "except A.I.")
Hayes talks excitedly about Spin, recalling the kid-in-the -sonic-candy-store feeling he had while he was making it.
The success of Savage Garden means that if Hayes wants to work with someone, a few phone calls later, theyre on board.
Hayes reverted to his concept of Electronic Heartbeat, the album he wanted Savage Gardens Affirmation to be, "but Daniel kept sending me songs that werent electronic!"
He had guidelines in his head: analogue keyboards, no "live" instruments bar some strings. He called up the people behind his favourite records: Marius DeVries (Bjork, Madonna) and Dallas Austin (TLC).
When nothing came of that, he hooked up with songwriter Rick Nowels, whose name he first saw on a Stevie Nicks album in the early 80s. Since then he has written for everyone from Belinda Carlisle to (and this is important to Hayes) Madonna- he wrote for the Ray of light album, a Hayes favourite.
The plan was to do half the album with Nowels, half with Walter Afanasieff, producer of Affirmation and a ballad king best known for his work with Mariah Carey.
Then something happened. It was called Heart Attack.
I was working with Rick on this record, and it was sort of what youd call folk electronica, it wasnt really what I was into," Hayes says. "I got concerned. When it comes down to it, Im a control freak. I want someone who can facilitate what I want." Enter Walter A and his incredibly large Wallyworld studio outside San Francisco, with huge plaques boasting of 50 million sales of Mariah here, 20 million sales of Michael Bolton there.
Hayes played Walter A a handful of songs: Burning Up y Madonna, Michael Jacksonā€™s Dirty Diana and tracks from Thriller such as PYT, several Nile Rodgers grooves and albums by Daft Punk and Craig David.
"That was the sound pool he could draw from," Hayes says.
"I had a key phrase"˜Drop that ghetto blaster. Everything had to be programmed. I didnt think that was his kind of record. He came up with the groove for Heart Attack and the melody just came out.
"We wrote more songs and by the time we had Insatiable, I had to pull the record from Rick, he was devastated."

Hayes talks of "liberation" at jamming during the recording of Spin.
"I wrote like I was in a band, ironically Im not now. When I was in a band we wrote separately. Now I sit in a room, go through loops, someone will play a chord, Ill sing. That was very exciting to me," he says.
"Id only ever written with Daniel. The first time I wrote with Rick Nowels was so liberating because it made me feel justified about what my contribution to Savage Garden was, that it was 50/50.
"And with Walter, hes a concert piano player. I could hum a song to him and he could show me six versions of the chord. Those things I was never involved with in Savage Garden."
While Affirmation documented his divorce, Hayes is slightly more candid about the relationships that revolve around Spin.
"Those things are precious. Akiss, a love affair, how much chocolate cream you like spread on your nipples...that stuff is sacred to me. If you talk about it, its a bit like prostitution, youve cheapened it.
"This record is not all autobiographical. A lot of it is hopeless romantic posturings, some things I havent experienced but want to. I definitely live for love."
Hes still enjoying perpetuating the mystery of his love life.
"Its like a game, like striptease. The reveal and conceal thing is important. Too many celebrities tell it all."
He will state that hes "optimistic" romantically and says that anyone who doesnt know what he does for a living is 20 per cent more attractive.
"Im 30 this year. I know what Im looking for is someone to grow old with, as boring as that sounds, who you also want to shag like crazy. Its a difficult match."

Is he difficult to date?
"I think Im a fcuking dream! Im simple and sincere and generous and loyal. A lot of the shock over the Savage Garden split was over issues of loyalty."
Spin should also shake perceptions of Hayes. As well as PG- rated lyrics to songs like Dirty, there was a line cut from Instatiable.
"There is a line in there about "I fall asleep inside of you". Thats a double entendre, I like to think I could get inside someones mind as opposed to inside their body with my penis. But there was something more explicit. It was something like, "Im already hard". We decided maybe 12 year old girls didnt need to hear that from their Uncle Darren!"
Is Uncle Darren how Hes perceived?
"Yeah, sometimes. But I am sometimes. I walk the line. I am the sweetest guy youll meet and I can also be dirty. Ive just become famous for being apple pie. Ive defined myself in that role, I need to deconstruct that a little bit.
"I need to do it so I can make certain types of records, otherwise Id get bored and make music I cant dig."
Spin he digs, and has big plans for it.
"I want this record to sell more than anything Ive done before. I have to make the connection that this face sings that song. I want to look Australian in photos and videos, Ive never looked it before, and I do look Australian. I want to be proud of my accent.
"The more records I sell, the more I can do, I can make more videos I want, do the tour I want to do. Ill get paid anyway, Ill make money for the rest of my life for writing Truly Madly Deeply and I knew I loved you, but for me, its about having the credit I feel like Ive earned."