Written on August 24th, 2000. Updated October 9, 2000.
Darren Stanley Hayes was born on May 8th, 1972, to parents June and Robert Hayes in Brisbane, Australia. He was the youngest child in the family, with a brother and a sister before him. From the start, Darren loved music, (his idol was Michael Jackson) and would sing so much that sometimes his parents told him to be quiet!
When Darren was old enough to start schooling, he was enrolled in a school called Mabel Park Infants, and after he graduated from elementary school, he attended Mabel Park High. His favourite academic subjects were Biology and Science, but unfortunately, he didn't do so well in Math.
That hardly mattered to him as his classmates and friends started discovering Darren's amazing talent for singing. He landed gigs in many of the school's plays and choir productions.
After he graduated from the twelfth grade, he was accepted into a performance academy, but because his girlfriend at that time hadn't been selected to attend, he refused to go without her. (She dumped him six months later.) Instead, he concentrated on getting a teaching degree at Kelvin Grove University. It was there that he met Colby Taylor, and it was love at first sight. At least for Colby, 'cos that's what SHE said. Anyways...
After completing the degree in teaching, Darren went on to teach kindergarten, but his heart was now set on music and singing. In 1992, Darren had an issue of the free music guide Time Off, and he saw an ad by a band, Red Edge, advertising for a lead singer. He replied to the ad and showed up at the audition along with 20 other ambitious applicants.
He was the last person to sing, and it was his first time doing anything like this before, and he hardly knew how to put up the mic stand when it was his turn! He did eventually get it right :-) and sang, beautifully.
It was little surprise that he grabbed the role as lead singer for Red Edge after the group heard his emotional voice.
After a year in Red Edge, Darren, along with fellow band member Daniel Jones, grew tired of doing cover songs, and split from the band to make their own way in the music industry.
Then, in 1994, Darren married his sweetheart, Colby. He quit from teaching in 1996, when his newly formed band, Savage Garden, made it's first chart topper, I Want You.
The road to fame was finally starting for Darren. Savage Garden's first album heaped up 10 ARIA awards in 1997, and sold millions of copies worldwide. He was married, and living a wonderful life.
But, alas, all good things must come to an end. Darren began to sense that he and Colby were growing apart as people. His career and fame didn't have anything to do with his marriage failing; they just didn't fit. So sadly, the couple split in 1999. It was a completely mutual divorce (but not an OFFICIAL divorce...yet) with no antagonism on either sides.
It was then that he wrote the lyrics for the upcoming Savage Garden album, Affirmation. Most of the lyrics hold a sense of melancholy to them, talking about lost love and sadness. One song, I Knew I Loved You, is even dedicated to Colby.
After living in New York for 18 months, Darren moved to San Fransisco to a reportedly 2 million dollar house in the summer of 1999, and is living there still.
Correction!! Darren now lives in Marin County after moving there in August or September of 2000. It's a rumour...