Hayes' first solo album Spin was released in 2002, carrying on in the same musical vein as Savage Garden, with a less soft rock sound and more edgy R&B vibe, although the first single Insatiable was a ballad, reaching Number 3 in Australia. Other singles "Strange Relationship", "Crush (1980 Me)" and "I Miss You" also performed well in charts.
Hayes spent two years working on his second solo album, The Tension And The Spark. Other than the track "I Forgive You" which was produced with Madonna collaborator Marius De Vries, the entire album was produced by Darren himself and Robert Conley (with whom he had previously toured and recorded Crush (1980 Me) for Spin). The album marked a bold change of direction from Hayes. Conley's production was almost entirely electronic, with acoustic instruments buried under walls of sequenced sounds. Although artistically this was a huge step forward and earned Hayes the strongest praise of his career, it seemed to alienate a large portion of his audience who were expecting another album of radio friendly pop songs. The first single Pop!ular was released on July 12, 2004. This single reached Number One on the US Dance Charts, and fared well in the UK. His follow up single, Darkness, failed to chart, leaving Dublin Sky - the planned third release - in limbo. Ironically, "Dublin Sky" was considered by many to be one of the strongest and most accessible songs on the album and the most likely to be a hit.
Truly Madly Completely, Savage Gardens greatest hits album was released in late 2005 and featured two new songs - So Beautiful and California. The tour, 'A Big Night In with Darren Hayes' followed in 2006. In July 2006, Hayes announced that he had married his boyfriend of two years, Richard Cullen, in a Civil Partnership Ceremony.
Hayes released a double album, This Delicate Thing We've Made, on 20 August 2007 on his newly formed independent label ''Powdered Sugar''. "The record features 25 songs recorded with the help of a Vintage 1983 Fairlight CMI syth - a cinematic, theatrical and epic Pop Opus." The first single to come from Hayes' third album was On the Verge of Something Wonderful to be followed by Me, Myself and (I) later in 2007.
In mid 2010, Hayes announced the completion of this fourth solo album. It is being mixed by Robert Orton. The album will be released in 2011.
The first single from Darren's new album Secret Codes and Battleships is called 'Talk Talk Talk' and will be released on iTunes worldwide on June 24 the same day it is delivered to radio and the music video is released online and debuts on T.V.
Darren wrote and recorded the song in Sweden with producer Carl Falk - it was mixed by Robert Orton and mastered by Bob Ludwig.
On iTunes there'll also be a b-side - Darren's cover version of Madonna's 'Angel'.
2022: Do You Remember?
On 26 January 2022, Hayes released a new single, "Let's Try Being in Love". A music video for the song was released the same day, starring Hayes and featuring actor Scott Evans. The video was directed by Andrew Putschoegl.[20] Referred to as a "queer anthem"[21] by NME, in promotional interviews, Hayes explained “I’ve been married to Richard [Cullen] for almost 17 years, [and] I’m in this really comfortable place in my life. But at the same time at mid-life I’m grieving the fact I never got to celebrate who I really was at the period of my life where I was most famous. I look at this world we live in now where someone like Lil Nas X can push forward his true self, full of pride and self-love and have the chance to be loved for who he truly is [...] A lot of the time I was my most famous, I was deeply sad.” Less than 24 hours of release, "Let's Try Being in Love" debuted at number 96 on the Official UK Singles Download Chart Top 100 and at number 98 on the Official UK Singles Sales Chart Top 100.[22][23] “I wanted to show I love the feminine in me, be proud of the gay me. There’s a dance scene that is so passionate, everything’s alive and thriving and blooming. That’s how I feel in general about music. And that’s a hugely sharp contrast to how I felt 10 years ago.”
On 27 January 2022, Hayes announced he would be headlining the 2022 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade and would be performing on 5 March 2022.[24] Hayes performed "The Animal Song", "I Want You", "Affirmation" plus, live for the very first time, "Let's Try Being in Love".[25][26][27]
Since 2013, Hayes stopped his music career and tried to build stand-up comedy career. At the same time, he kept creating short singing videos in his social media accounts for his fans. In 2018 Hayes briefly returned on stage with one-off performance of two songs, including "I Knew I Loved You". In 2019, Hayes featured on Cub Sport’s single “I Never Cried So Much in My Whole Life”. He did not appear in the official video. In 2020 he recorded a new version of "Truly Madly Deeply" with slightly modified lyrics. The video of his studio performance was released on YouTube on 24 April.
On 2 March 2022, Hayes announced the "Do You Remember?" Tour that would be performed in six Australian cities between January and February 2023 and would feature songs from his musical career as part of Savage Garden and as a solo artist. On 10 March 2022, Hayes released the single "Do You Remember?",[28][29][30] following with the official video on 16 March 2022.[31]
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darren_Hayes
A Hundred Challenging Things A Boy Can Do
Darren Hayes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He spent his whole life in a hole in the ground
Smashing pieces of earth
He never really saw the sky
It was a hard life
But little black rocks make the televisions work
and put food on the table
Until the unions cast him aside
Now there's a hundred challenging things a boy can do
When you've waved goodbye and held more tears in
than anyone ever should
And all my sorrows pale to insignificance
That's why I love you
She was in a strange land
She taught herself to read from doing crosswords
and hiding her accent
She cast her dreams aside
She had a spark in her eye
She never saw her son on his wedding day
Or our cherry blossoms, falling down from the sky
Now there's a hundred challening things a boy can do
When you've waved goodbye and held more tears in
than anyone ever should
And all my sorrows pale to insignificance
That's why I love you.
No coal mines
No not a trace
Now shopping malls take their place
No picket lines
The sacrifice
Dreams overrun
Hopes for a future for her son, in Ollerton
Now there's a hundred challenging things a boy can do
When you've waved goodbye and held more tears in
than anyone ever should.
And all my sorrows pale to insignificance
That's why she loves you
A hundred challenging things a boy can do
Wave goodbye
Wave goodbye
A hundred challenging
Say goodbye to you
The lyrics of Darren Hayes's "A Hundred Challenging Things A Boy Can Do" speak of the lives of two people who endured hardships and sacrifices. The first verse talks about a man who lived his entire life in a coal town, where he had to work hard, in a hole in the ground, to provide for his family. Despite the difficult circumstances, he never gave up and continued to work until he was cast aside by the unions. The second verse speaks of a woman who lived in a strange land, taught herself to read, and had to hide her accent. She abandoned her dreams and never witnessed significant milestones, such as her son's wedding or seeing cherry blossoms falling from the sky. Both these characters endured pain, heartache, and compromise. In their own unique way, they demonstrated strength, resilience, and determination, which are all captured in the chorus.
The chorus of the song talks about a hundred challenging things a boy can do, which seems to be a metaphor for the challenges that life can throw our way. When you have faced adversity and have held more tears in than anyone ever should, the hundred things that seemed so daunting before start to pale in insignificance. The song seems to suggest that love can provide comfort and support when we face difficult situations. It is a tribute to the sacrifices that people make in life and the challenging circumstances that they endure.
Line by Line Meaning
It was a coal town
The singer lived his whole life in a town that relied heavily on coal mining
He spent his whole life in a hole in the ground
The singer worked in the coal mines all his life
Smashing pieces of earth
His job involved breaking the rocks underground to extract coal
He never really saw the sky
Due to being underground all the time, he never got to see the sky and natural light much
It was a hard life
Working in the coal mines was tough and grueling
But little black rocks make the televisions work
Coal is crucial in producing electricity which powers most electrical devices including televisions
and put food on the table
Coal mining provided for the singer's livelihood and helped him support his family
Until the unions cast him aside
The artist lost his job due to union disputes and was left without work
Now there's a hundred challenging things a boy can do
There are endless possibilities of what one can do after being left without work and directionless
When you've waved goodbye and held more tears in
The artist was deeply affected by losing his job and saying goodbye to his colleagues and livelihood
than anyone ever should
The emotional toll of losing one's job was too much for the singer
And all my sorrows pale to insignificance
The artist's sorrows and hardships seem small compared to the love and support he receives
That's why I love you
The singer is grateful for the love and support he receives during this tough time
She was in a strange land
The singer's wife was living in a foreign land away from her home
She taught herself to read from doing crosswords
Despite being in an unfamiliar country, the singer's wife was resourceful and taught herself how to read by doing crosswords
and hiding her accent
To fit in with the locals, the artist's wife tried to hide her accent and blend in
She cast her dreams aside
The artist's wife had to give up on her dreams due to the difficult circumstances she was in
She had a spark in her eye
Despite the hardships, the singer's wife had a hopeful and optimistic attitude
She never saw her son on his wedding day
The singer's wife missed important family milestones due to living in a foreign country
Or our cherry blossoms, falling down from the sky
The artist's wife missed out on experiencing the beauty and wonders of nature back home
No coal mines
The coal mines that once provided livelihood for many are no longer in existence
No not a trace
There is no sign of the coal mines that once dominated the town
Now shopping malls take their place
The town has undergone significant changes, with shopping malls replacing the coal mines
No picket lines
There are no longer protests and strikes as the unions and coal mines no longer exist
The sacrifice
The long-standing sacrifices made by coal miners are now forgotten
Dreams overrun
The hopes and dreams of many were crushed by the decline of the coal industry
Hopes for a future for her son, in Ollerton
The singer's wife had hopes for a better future for their son but had to abandon those dreams due to the grim reality of the town
Wave goodbye
Saying goodbye is difficult and painful
Say goodbye to you
The artist is saying goodbye to something or someone who has been significant in their life
Contributed by Austin K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.