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OK, you've come from out of nowhere with "I Want You". What's the story?
Darren Hayes: Well, for us, it's probably been a three-year sort of thing, I guess. We were a covers band, then it ended up being two guys writing songs and having a great management team. It was a lot of stuff behind the scenes for the last two years leading up to this. We just decided to make a record, to be honest. We sat in a room for about eight months, wrote songs, sent a demo and basically got signed after that first demo.
Did "I Want You" break in the Brisbane charts first?
Darren: No, Melbourne radio picked it up first.
Daniel Jones: I guess it was all done without the hype. It was like, "Here's our song, make of it what you will," and I think radio took a genuine interest in it.
Darren: Brisbane was one of the last places to get on board, even though we're from there.
What about this whole Roxette-soundalike thing? Are you fans of theirs?
Darren: No, never have been. I respect them but I've never bought a Roxette single. I think when people hear our next single "To the Moon and Back" they'll see we're not like Roxette.
Daniel: I think the whole Roxette thing came from an industry mag. A reviewer said something about "I Want You" sounding like Roxette, so, of course, when most DJs read it they think, "Blah blah Roxette!"
Do you two have similar taste in music?
Darren: No, we're pretty much different all the way down the line. I'm a really big music fan so I listen to lots of different stuff. I'm a big Prince fan, I love U2, Michael Jackson, and I grew up listening to Fleetwood Mac and Motown.
Daniel: I'm a song-person really, but I don't have any real idols. If George Michael or Sheryl Crow come up with a really good song I'd like it. It's not dishonest to the artist...but of they please me with a good song over and over again then they get all my credit and I respect them.
How does your relationship work in terms of writing and performing?
Daniel: We haven't got a set ingredient yet and that's good 'cause were still finding our feet...
Darren: ... but we write everything together.
Do you guys ever argue?
Darren: Not about music.
Daniel: We did during the recording. But we were going through a lot of changes - here we are from Brisbane, two guys who came from nowhere, sitting in a room with Charles Fisher, who is a fantastic producer. Three in one room is better than two but not easier than two. Two people in one room is easy!
Darren: It was like a family, you end up siding with one.
Daniel: It was really difficult because sometimes Darren and Charles would agree on something and then sit out on it. And then sometimes me and Darren would agree on something.
Darren: But in terms of our relationship together, we muddled that out years ago! There's a chemistry here that works. On the friendship basis, we try not to spent a lot of time together. When we work, it's really intense.
Do you worry about being a pop group in Australia when bands like You Am I and Regurgitator get all the press?
Daniel: Well, we can't get away with not being a pop group because that's what we are. And we believe in what we do.
Darren: I listen to Triple J so I don't listen to a lot of commercial music. But I'm not going to apologize for my commerciality because it's not a compromise. We are commercial - that's the music we write.
Daniel: To be honest, I'd just rather do what's in my heart. Just because we're commercial doesn't mean out hearts are marketing strategies... Besides the lyric content is fantastic and a lot of the arrangements are great.
Daniel, do you ever get mixed up with Daniel Jones form Silverchair?
Daniel: No, but once they called me "Daniel Jones, but not the one from Silverchair" on the radio the other day.
What's your new single "To The Moon And Back" about?
Darren: It's about a very dear friend. It was one of the first songs we wrote together and it's probably the reason we got signed. It's a beautiful song and we're really happy with it. It features the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
Daniel: Even if it doesn't do anything on the charts we're releasing it to get away form the whole Roxette thing.
What's your Favourite Roxette song?
Darren: The only song I really liked is "Listen To Your Heart", that's a great song.
Daniel: "It Must Have Been Love" was good.
What is the meaning of life according to Savage Garden?
Darren: (in Swedish accent) To listen to your heart.
Daniel: To come join the joyride.