Drowned Madonna: Hi Darren, welcome to Drowned Madonna! You were born in Brisbane, Australia. Tell us something about your childhood...
Darren Hayes: My childhood was amazing and terrible all at the same time really. I'm always grateful for the way I grew up because it made me strong and made me develop a sense of escapism. My Father was a violent alcoholic growing up and we really struggled for money as a family. Saying that, I love my family and my father is a hero to me because he changed and got sober. But as a child, and the youngest of three children, his anger and my fear of it was a powerful catalyst to becoming a performer.

DM: Do you miss Australia?
DH: I've lived overseas for 11 years now. 7 in the U.S in San Francisco and 4 here in London. I'm sort of getting used to the long flight home to see family. I always miss Australia. But I'm lucky I travel home so much.

DM: What were you doing and what were your dreams before you started the Savage Garden?
DH: I was always going to do this. I remember singing from the age of 4 or 5. Younger even. My first memories involve music and performing. I excelled at artistic endeavors and theatre at school and it was expected that I would have a career in show business. My father, however, was not pleased with this at all and insisted I 'get an education' first. So I was at university studying to become a teacher when I first met Daniel Jones, my band mate in Savage Garden. I was 22 I think.

DM: Ten years ago you started the band Savage Garden with Daniel Jones. How this adventure start? Is it true that you answered a newspaper ad?
DH: Well it was in 1995 that we met and yes, he put an ad in a street paper for musicians called 'Time Out'. It was for a terrible covers band who needed a singer. But that's how we met.

DM: Why did the Savage Garden end seven years ago?
DH: It's hard to speak for someone else but the truth is he just didn't want to do it anymore. The public side, the traveling and the press really didn't sit well with him and it made him miserable. Looking back now I'm sure he was just exhausted but he made a decision to leave the public arena and that was that.

DM: Are you still in contact with Daniel?
DH: No.

DM:“Truly, Madly, Deeply” is the most famous Savage Garden song. Is it also your favorite?
DH: No. Haha. In fact on this recent tour it's the first time in my career that I'm not performing it. I understand that it and 'I knew I loved you' were U.S number one hits and they got me where I am today - but they're in retirement for a little while.

DM: How was recording as a solo artist for the first time? Were you a little scared and under pressure?
DH: It was fun actually. I took to the process very naturally and although my first solo album isn't my favorite, I still love many of the songs on the record
and the experience is one I remember with much fondness.

DM: Your third solo album, “This Delicate Thing We’ve Made”, has been released in August. Tell us something about the recording sessions… Any anecdotes?
DH: Where do I start? Honestly it was a magical experience. I truly felt as though we were divining Kate Bush and perhaps Annie Lennox on the Eurythmics album Savage. The album was recorded in Mayfair Studios in Primrose Hill and it was a joy every day. Most of the album was recorded using a vintage Fairlight Synthesizer from 1983 which, although temperamental, provided a unique and warm piece of electronic nostalgia.

DM: Your last solo album was critically acclaimed. So… did you feel the pressure when you were recording “This Delicate Thing We’ve Made”?
DH: Yes and no. Some of the best reviews of my career came from that album and this new one. But they've both had awful reviews as well. It depends who's listening and what the criteria is. For me, I knew I turned a corner with 'The Tension and The Spark' and it was the right decision for me as an artist. My sound changed permanently so I knew that if people liked the last record they'd like this one. Similarly if they hated it then then one would finish them off!

DM: Which are your favourite tracks on the album? I know that it’s hard for you to choose, and you maybe love all of them…
DH: I adore the stranger things. Casey and How To Build a Time Machine are favorites but I also love Waking the Monster and Neverland.

DM: Your music today is very different from what you were doing with the Savage Garden. Why and how did this change take place?
DH: It was evolve or dissolve. Simple as that. Most of my heros have done similar things in their careers. You risk alienated your existing fan base but you also stand to create a whole new audience. If you're lucky you can keep bits of both. I loved my time in a pop band, but as an artist I have come into my own as a solo artist.

DM: Can you describe your creative process of writing and producing songs today?
DH: It's very random. I usually start with a feeling or a concept I want to explore and then I look for someone to help me achieve that. For example, with Justin Shave, the co producer on most of this album, I wanted someone to provide dance floor culture and sounds but with a symphonic or cinematic quality. I did up a mix tape of songs in the mood of what I wanted this album to feel like. We then sat about arranging songs and writing songs that fit my brief. Sometimes I write songs on my own, but most times I'm collaborating and sparking of a player. It's wonderful to hear a chord and suddenly I hear the whole song in my head and I can sing most of it. It comes very quickly and furiously when it's good.

DM: Are you going to tour with your new album?
DH: My tour is going to be extraordinary! It's designed by Willie Williams (who did the George Michael stadium tour recently) and is most famous for his productions for U2. It begins in Glasgow on September 24 and makes it's way around the UK before landing at the Royal Albert Hall on October 3. This is the largest production I've ever done and involves a custom designed and manufactured stage. Costumes. Lasers. Huge band. Amazing. I would recommend anyone even curious about me to see this show because I may never do something on this scale ever again.

DM: What do you think about the new technologies and internet?
DH: Honestly, I have mixed feelings.. I love email. I despise gossip. I love Ebay. I don't love the exposure that the internet gives paparazzi and tabloid culture. I love ordering groceries and movie tickets on line. I don't love it when my album leaks 2 months early. I love instant messaging. I love blogging. But I really don't love the vulture mentality of rumors on the internet. It's pretty fair to say that I think a lot of things that I despise about being a celebrity are made a million times worse because of the internet.

DM: What about working with the major labels? Did they encourage you to alter yourself and your creativity? Was it hard to keep unsullied your integrity?
DH: Major labels are dead. They used to hold some integrity and some real power. To me, everyone I loved got fired when Sony and BMG merged. So it's lucky that I got out. Towards the end, yes it was a miserable experience being told by a man with a degree in marketing how I should write songs. That was depressing. But rather than get caught up in the negativity I just decided to be pro active and take full creative reign.

DM: Before you realized that you are gay, you married your college girlfriend, Colby Hayes Taylor in 1994. Was it hard to realize who you are?
DH: Um. Yes! We're great friends still. I think my story is a very common one. I doubt I'm the first gay man who fell in love with his best female friend.

DM: When and why did you decide to tell the world about your homosexuality?
DH: I didn't really decide to tell the world I was gay. I came out to my friends, family and work mates in 1998. I just didn't hold a press conference. I didn't want my sexuality to overtake my career at a time when I was single and unhappy. When I married Richard I knew he was a permanent part of my life and I wanted my fans to know that.

DM: Weren’t you scared about the music business and your fans reaction?
DH: Nope. I've got very cool and evolved fans. I hate to even call them fans. They're honestly like friends. We have a unique bond and it's beyond the idol/worship cliche. I'm an artist and they encourage and support me. I'm forever grateful for that.

DM: Nowadays, things have changed a lot… but there’s so much more to do for gay rights. What do you think about it?
DH: Honestly I think sexuality is no more or less significant than race. And to discriminate or judge someone based on sexuality - a facet of your DNA that you inherit - is as unforgivable and ignorant as racism. One day I'm sure we'll look back with shame at how we made generations of human beings feel just because they were gay.

DM: Why most of the gay artists conceal their sexuality? What’s your point of view?
DH: I can't answer for other artists. I never lied about who I am and I was always conscious never to deny who I was. I just chose not to spell it out. But there's a huge difference between saying 'No I'm not Gay' and 'I don't want to talk about my private life'. Those who lie about it I guess do so because they see themselves as only an object of desire to the opposite sex. I never saw that as my role. I am very flattered that people find me attractive but I have always felt secure that the attraction was less than physical and more so to do with my music and performance. I guess that made my sexuality much less of a big deal.

DM: How was performing at London’s G-A-Y Astoria in August to premiere “This Delicate Thing We’ve Made”?
DH: Weird. Because only half the audience is there to see you. The other half is there to have a club night and you kind of have to win them over. That's a weird feeling. I'd much rather play to a room full of people who had paid to see just you. That being said, I loved the production and it was the debut of our green lasers that we'll be taking out on tour so I loved that! And seeing all the familiar faces in the first few rows. Bless 'em!

DM: We know that you are a big fan of Madonna. When did you become a fan of her?
DH: From the second she hatched. I adore her. It was probably 'Burning Up' that really grabbed me. The hair, the chain around the neck. The bleached hair with dark roots. I just thought she was a rocket and I couldn't get enough. The debut album is still in my top 3 favorites of her career. I adore that album, Ray of Light and American Life.If I could take just those 3 albums from her catalogue I'd be a happy man.

DM: What are your favourite songs, albums, videos and tours?
DH: My top 3 songs of hers would be 'Mother and Father' 'Angel' and 'The Power of Goodbye'. But then my pop sensibilities make me adore songs like 'Dress You Up' and 'Into the Groove'. 'Ray of Light' and 'Like a Prayer' go without saying. They are the Holy Grail of pop to me. My favorite tours are probably everyone's. Blonde Ambition and Reinvention. Though I have to say I think Reinvention wins. Beginning the show standing on her head and singing Vogue! Amazing.

DM: What do you like the most of Madonna?
DH: You know what? Everyone always talks about her image or her personality or her political stance. But for me it's actually the voice and the songs. I think she is totally underrated as a vocalist and as a songwriter. She deserves so much more credit for her melodic sense and her emotive voice. I don't know why people haven't joined the dots yet but you can pretty much put her in a room with anyone and she'll come up with the goods. That's a producer right there. That's a talent.

DM: Have you ever met her?
DH: Yes. Only briefly. I went to a dinner party once at a mutual friend's house and it was a belated birthday celebration for her. Richard and I turned up very under dressed and unaware of the special guest of honor. I'm glad though because we met in a very informal way and she was utterly charming. And stunning.

DM: Would you like to work with her?
DH: Not at all. I can't imagine what we'd bring to each other. I enjoy being a fan and I'm sure she's probably never listened to one of my records. And that's just fine with me. Sometimes it's nice to have someone to admire and a myth that remains intact. She is that to me.

DM: Madonna is one of the very few singers who throw herself into gay rights heart and soul, but she faced the consequences, especially with “Erotica”. What do you think about it?
DH: I think there's always more poignance when a mainstream straight artist takes up gay rights and that was very brave of her in the 90's. It was the height of her fame and at a time when most people were running away from being associated with AIDS. She deserves praise for her courage then.

DM: Why critics and media always misunderstand her and manipulate everything she does or says?
DH: Oh please. That's their job. The media are an industry based on gossip. I think I've made my opinion of gossip pretty clear!

DM: Madonna is a gay icon… probably the gay icon par excellence. This even before she embraced their cause. What do you think about it?
DH: She's a gay icon because she represents strength amidst adversity. I think gay men and women identify very much with the fact that she has never fit in and yet managed to prosper and thrive.

DM: What do we have to expect from you in the future?
DH: The best tour ever! More experiments in sound. And surprises. The reason I adore Madonna is because she is a survivor. I identify with that very much.

DM: Thank you so much Darren for the privilege. Is there anything you would like to say to your fans and to Madonna’s fans?
DH: I just want to thank you for having such a wonderful site. It's my source of all things M. To all your readers I'd say come say hi if you see me at an M concert. Chances are, you'll probably see me at one!