Darren Hayes, the Minnie Mouse-voiced former lead singer of Australian swoon meisters Savage Garden is back to pluck at the heart strings of vulnerable ladies everywhere.......

That Darren Hayes is a right soppy old so and so isn't he? As one half of Savage Garden ,he crooned hopelessly lovelorn ballads such as To the Moon and back Truly Madly Deeply and I Want You. Now solo Dazza is still obsessed with the dizzying joys of l'amour. His album Spin is chock full of tender tunes such as I Miss You and Cant Ever Get Enough of You. If Mr Hayes were ever to place one of those Lonely Hearts contact ads ,it would probably read "Sensitive Romantic Aussie musician WLTM soulmate I enjoy poetry midnight walks on the beach kicking autumn leaves and candlight dinners" "My ideal partner must like listening to Kenny G ,while soaking in a hot tub ,cute little fluffy animals ,and watching Meg Ryan films"

Darren confirms "Im a very emotional person I think people work better when they are in a loving relationship .It brings out the best in them .Im pretty loved up at the moment but I think Im a difficult match .My job places a lot of demands on me and I have big expectations from relationships .I think you need to put a lot of time into making it successful." The modern day pop equivalent of Lord Byron takes an uncharacteristic break from such concerns with his new song Crush (1980 me ).Released on Monday ,the track is a synth pop homage to the trashy decade of decadence that Darren has such fond memories of. "My album as a whole is influenced by the 80s and Crush is a final farewell to that inspiration "he says "The video is very tongue in cheek. Its like a John Hughes film (director of the Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink). There are nods to retro films such as Flashdance with legwarmers and everything!! Its very funny but also about the cheapest video we ever made.

In the spirit of the era that bought us Miami Vice, Duran Duran and Dallas, Darren admits that he wasnt quite so adverse to some questionable fashion accessories. "I used to dress like I was from the wrong side of the tracks he cringes I was into garish pastel colours mullet hairstyles and brown loafers !" Crush was also the name of Darrens first band which he formed as a teenager with precociously talented musician Daniel Jones in their native Brisbane. The two eventually renamed themselves Savage Garden and only the novelty summer smash Macarena kept their debut single I want You from the number one spot in 1996. However ,it seemed a pretty insignificant fact when the band went on to rack up a staggering 30 million album sales over the next five years. Savage Garden split amicably in 2001,and Darren has since gone it alone, penning Spin at his home in San Fransisco. Darren says "I was definately a bit of a national treasure back home because Savage Garden were huge there, but my solo album hasn't been at all successful in Oz .Going solo definitely wasnt considered the best carreer move .My expectations were really quite low. I thought I would have to start from the bottom and work my way up all over again. But the response here in the UK has been unbelievable. The singles have been hits and it was a big deal for me selling out Hammersmith Apollo. That blew me away. I actually plan for me to come over here and spend a period of time living in England writing and recording new songs." "I am also basically stalking Basement Jaxx who I would love to work with."