Darren Hayes’ Video For New Single Is A Throwback To The ’80s And His First Gay Kiss
Hayes has been away from the musical spotlight for years now but is roaring back to our consciousness with a flurry of activity, including a successful promotional visit of Australia, a banging headline set to a sold-out crowd of 40,000 at the 2022 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade and announcement of his 2023 Australian tour, where he’ll be performing in six Australian cities between January and February next year.“More of a mini-film than a video – come spend seven minutes in heaven with me and my gang in our fictional CLUB U WISH!”, Hayes posted on social media.The music video, totally conceptualised by Hayes, couldn’t be described better than how the press release did it: “Hayes continues to present a version of his past that is clearly a peach tinted re-imagining of his actual life.
Timelines blur with the neon and pastel of the 1980’s sitting comfortably next to a Dandy-esque 60’s presentation of the singer portraying himself having a blast.”The single is inspired by the “late 80’s drum-machine, synth-bass heavy R&B pop that influenced his youth” Savage Garden fans will know that Hayes had previously alluded to his first kiss in the 1999 song Chained To You.“Acting like a mover shaker dancin’ to Madonna then you kissed me,” Hayes sang on Savage Garden‘s sophmore record.In 2022, he re-visits the moment, but this time it is an out and proud Hayes re-telling the story and its queer elements.“After so many years of being placed in a neat and tidy package, it’s nice to remember why I got into this business in the first place: to be an artist.
