Darren Stanley Hayes (born 8 May 1972, in Brisbane, Queensland,
Australia) is a singer-songwriter. He is perhaps best known
for his part in the hugely popular duo Savage Garden, whose
international hit singles included the songs "I Want
You," "To The Moon And Back," "I Knew
I Loved You," and "Truly Madly Deeply." He
has also released two solo albums since 2002 which have
enjoyed (somewhat) limited success.
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.
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).
Source:The Music Network, Australia, November,
2005
Truly Madly Completely - From the desk of John Woodruff
Publisher of the Music Network
'Let's Start The Celebration With The Truth'
Hayes recorded his first solo album, Spin, which was released
in 2002. The album was produced by Walter Afanasieff, the
producer of Affirmation. "Spin" carried on in the
same musical vein as Savage Garden, with a less soft rock
sound and more edgy R&B vibe, although the first single
"Insatiable" was a ballad, reaching Number 3 in
Australia. Other singles "Strange Relationship,"
"Crush (1980 Me)" and "I Miss You" also
performed well in charts.
Hayes spent two years working on his second solo album, The
Tension And The Spark. Other than the track "I Forgive
You" which was produced with Madonna collaborator Marius
De Vries, the entire album was produced by Darren himself
and Robert Conley (with whom he had previously toured and
recorded "Crush (1980 Me)" for Spin). The album
marked a bold change of direction from Hayes. Conley's production
was almost entirely electronic, with acoustic instruments
buried under walls of sequenced sounds. Although artistically
this was a huge step forward and earned Hayes the strongest
praise of his career, it seemed to alienate a large portion
of his audience who were expecting another album of radio
friendly pop songs. The first single "Pop!ular"
was released on July 12, 2004. This single reached Number
One on the US Dance Charts, and fared well in the UK. One
of his out-takes from the "Spin" sessions, "When
You Say You Love Me," was an Australian top 20 single
in April 2004 for Human Nature off their Walk The Tightrope
album, and was also covered by American Idol season two runner-up
Clay Aiken for his Measure of a Man album. His follow up single,
"Darkness," failed to chart, leaving "Dublin
Sky" - the planned third release - in limbo. Ironically,
"Dublin Sky" was considered by many to be one of
the strongest and most accessible songs on the album and the
most likely to be a hit.
Darren Hayes is currently renovating a house in England, and
is writing and recording his third solo album, to be released
in (early) 2007. Darren has returned to the old Savage Garden
formula, and has recorded a new track called "So Beautiful,"
included on a Savage Garden Greatest Hits Compilation (released
in October 2005). Truly Madly Completely - The Best Of Savage
Garden, also includes a second new track by Darren entitled
"California." Both of these tracks hark back to
Hayes' early sound, although still retaining some of the electronic
flourishes from "The Tension and the Spark."
"..."
Darren Hayes married his British boyfriend of two years, Richard
Cullen, on 19 June 2006, in London. In keeping with his usual
practice of not talking about his sexuality, he did not announce
the civil partnership until 17 July, when the information
appeared on his websiteHe has now returned to the recording
studio for his third solo album.
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