It’s been a little over ten years since Darren Hayes released a solo album, but the wait has been well worth it. Darren Hayes has announced his new record, Homosexual, to be released on October 7th.
The album’s name is deeply personal to Darren Hayes, who was closeted for many years, including during the height of his Savage Garden success. By reclaiming the word homosexual, Hayes is taking back a term that has been used to shame and demonize gay people for decades.
To celebrate the announcement of his upcoming album, Hayes has released his new single, “All You Pretty Things,” a deeply moving dance track intended to serve as a tribute to the 49 individuals who lost their lives in the 2016 Pulse nightclub attack.
In addition to paying tribute, Hayes has also said that he wanted the song to serve as a love letter to the LGBTQ+ community. “All You Pretty Things” follows the release of a deeply personal single/video “Poison Blood,” which articulates Hayes’ experience with depression and suicide, as well as singles “Let’s Try Being In Love” and “Do You Remember?”
Darren comments on the meaning of the album’s title below:
“I named my album ‘Homosexual’ for a variety of reasons. The most obvious, is that I’m a
gay man who grew up in an era when that word was used to shame and vilify people like me,
so I wanted to reclaim it. I’m also a recording artist who came up in an era where being
openly gay was frowned upon and I experienced first hand, the attempted erasure of my true
identity from the marketing department of a major record label.
But perhaps the most important reason I chose this title is that in 2022, I’m living in a time and in a country where the freedoms of LGBTQI+ people are more at risk than they’ve ever been,” shares Hayes.
“Moments like the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill in Florida, or the constant attacks on trans people,
have made it clear to me that now is the time to be as loud as possible about who I am. So
on the front cover of my album, I’m proudly lounging upon my version of a stairway to
heaven.
Emblazoned across me, in the brightest hot pink neon, is a word the 11 year old me
used to be terrified of. I lounge proudly underneath the electric buzz of this symbol, this
term that used to be used to denigrate people like me. Now it’s my word. Now it means
whatever I want it to mean.
If you haven’t worked it out yet, I think it means something magical, amazing, unique and essential. My name is Darren Hayes. And I’m a proud Homosexual.”
2022 marks the 20th anniversary of Darren Hayes as a solo artist and the 25th anniversary of Savage Garden’s debut album. Darren Hayes will return to Australian and UK stages for the first time in over a decade in January/February 2023 with his ‘Do You Remember?’ Tour – 25 Years Of Savage Garden, Solo Hits And More. For more information and ticket info -visit: www.darrenhayes.com.
