Darren Hayes has shared his next hit of addictive synth-pop in new single All You Pretty Things, taken from his first new album in 10 years Homosexual.
The song is dedicated to all the people who lost their lives at the Pulse Nightclub in 2016.
Hayes also describes the song as a tribute to the LGBTQI+ music pioneers who have influenced his life and music, as well as a celebration of the activists who have fought – and continue to fight – for the freedom that he enjoys today.
Hayes explains “In 2016, 49 people lost their lives at the Pulse nightclub shooting in Florida. Like all of you I was devastated by the horror of this violent act upon the mostly Latin LGBTQ+ community. All You Pretty Things is my tribute to those we lost.”
“I decided to write a song about their happiness frozen in time in a way they deserved to be remembered. I connected that joyful moment to the LGBTQI musical pioneers who have inspired me, now long passed, and those political activists responsible for the freedoms I enjoy today.
“I came up with my own way to say thank you with a simple phrase: ‘We’ve Got To Dance to Remember Them.’ Ultimately, that’s where my own freedom began. I really came out and into myself on the dance floor and that’s where my tribute continues.” Hayes said.
After a decade away from making music Hayes is ready to step into a new stage of his career, and maybe for the first time really brining his whole self to the party.
“I named my album Homosexual for a variety of reasons.” he says. “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. 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.”
Take a listen to ‘All You Pretty Things”.
