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Conversations

Encore: Darren Hayes on the dark side of his fame with Savage Garden

6/18/202651 min

Darren Hayes rose to fame in the 1990s as part of the musical duo Savage Garden but the scars of his violent childhood nearly ended everything.

The band ended up selling 35 million albums and won numerous awards with hits like 'Truly Madly Deeply'.

On the surface, Darren had achieved wealth, adoration and stardom —everything he dreamt of as a kid growing up in Logan, on the outskirts of Brisbane.

This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2024

Further information

Unlovable is published by Penguin 

Help and support is always available:

Call 1800 737 732  (1800 Respect) to speak to a counsellor if you are experiencing domestic violence. They are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Clips

Suicidal Behind the Spotlight
Did You Ever Feel Safe?
Front Row Epiphany with Michael
Dry Drunk's Hidden Terror
Target Equals Extraordinary
Monster to Defeat Monsters

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Sarah Kanowski· Host0:00

    ABC Listen, podcasts, radio, news, music and more. When Darren Hayes was 15, he saw his hero, Michael Jackson, in concert. Back then, Michael was everything Darren wanted to be, a genius, beautiful, adored. And that night, Darren made a pact with the universe. He decided to become famous. And unlike most pacts that teenagers make with the universe, this one came true. Darren became the lead singer and songwriter of Savage Garden, the band from the outskirts of Brisbane who ended up selling over 35 million albums, had a slew of number one singles in Australia, the USA and Canada, and won numerous ARIAs and APRA songwriting awards. But all this success, all this fame, didn't make Darren feel the way he had imagined it would back when he was a teenager screaming along with the rest of the fans at the Michael Jackson concert. What had gone on in Darren's childhood left him with scars that only he could heal. His new memoir is called Unlovable. Hi, Darren.

  2. Darren Hayes· Guest1:13

    Hi, Sarah. That was such a lovely introduction. Gosh, it was like diving into a lake. It was really beautiful.

  3. Sarah Kanowski· Host1:20

    Well, let's swim around and see what we find in here.

  4. Darren Hayes· Guest1:22

    [laughs] Yeah.

  5. Sarah Kanowski· Host1:23

    [laughs] I want to start with that Michael Jackson concert that had such a big impact on you. How clearly do

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