His other acknowledged influences are Stevie Nicks, Madonna,[11] Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush,[12] Annie Lennox,[13] Prince and Marvin Gaye,[14] and he has cited U2's "With or Without You" as the most touching song he has ever heard.

[17] The five-piece version of Red Edge played pubs and clubs from southern Queensland to northern New South Wales, while Hayes and Jones started to write original material.

[19] John Woodruff (The Angels, Baby Animals, Diesel) provided a positive response;[17] he became their talent manager and negotiated a contract with Roadshow Music/Warner Music.

[24][25] Their local success drew interest from international labels and they were signed for overseas releases with Columbia Records in late November.

[17] The label's executives had Woodruff arrange for Hayes and Jones to reside in a Kings Cross hotel for 8 months, where they wrote songs for a debut album to be released in 1997.

4 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 and by April had achieved gold status according to Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

[1][30] By the end of 1998, "Truly Madly Deeply" was the most played song on US radio[1] and became the only one-sided single to spend a year in the top 30 of the Billboard Hot 100.

[1] According to Australian music journalist Ed Nimmervoll, it was "basically written by phone and computer from their separate corners of the world" with Hayes in New York and Jones in Brisbane.

Spin[41] carried 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.

In the United States, the album failed to make the same impact as Savage Garden's previous releases, reaching Number 35 on Billboard.

Although artistically this was a huge step forward and earned Hayes the strongest praise of his career, it alienated a large portion of his audience, who were expecting another album of radio-friendly pop songs.

It was later covered by Human Nature, resulting in an Australian top 20 single in April 2004 off their Walk The Tightrope album, and was then re-recorded in 2008 featuring Hayes himself.

Many of the tracks were co-written with Robert Conley, and a great deal of the album was written with and produced by Justin Shave, who played keyboards for part of Hayes's Time Machine tour.

In June 2007, Hayes embarked on a small tour of USA and Canada, stopping in New York, Toronto, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles, along with the band Temposhark.

Hayes did a mini tour in the US in November and December 2007, making appearances at Borders stores and performing two shows in New York City and Philadelphia.

The DVD featured selected songs from the album, arranged in a new sequence, and set to visuals that told a loose, abstract animated narrative.

[45][non-primary source needed] On 8 May, Hayes announced, via his MySpace page, that he and Robert Conley had produced an album together titled We Are Smug.

Hayes completely finished his fourth solo album in mid-2010, working with top writer/producers from around the world and having the record mixed by Robert Orton.

[49][non-primary source needed] It was announced on 20 June, via Hayes's Facebook page, that his new album would be titled Secret Codes and Battleships.

[53][non-primary source needed] He later confirmed the music video was being shot for "Stupid Mistake", which was released as the album's fourth single in May 2012.

[55] Referred to as a "queer anthem"[56] 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.

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."

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.

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.

[66] In June 2022, Hayes released "Poison Blood",[67][68][non-primary source needed][69] which details his life living with depression, and others affected by it.

Hayes released the official "Poison Blood" music video on 26 June 2022,[70][71][non-primary source needed] announcing UK Tour dates on the same day.

"[99] While promoting his 2022 single "Poison Blood", Hayes told Retro Pop Magazine: "I describe my depression as a blessing, a gift and a curse all at once.

I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy and yet I'm aware I am a deeply sensitive person, and that my unique brain allows me to feel depths of emotions that many people don't experience [...] I have learned to use those moments to channel melodies and stories that I hope are so real and so relatable they might reach someone else who is in pain, like me, and remind them to stay, like I choose to, every single day.

[103] After JoJo's Bizarre Adventure licensed the Savage Garden song "I Want You" to be used in the television adaptation of Diamond Is Unbreakable, Hayes expressed his gratitude and also revealed that he is a fan of the series.

[104] Studio albums The Australasian Performing Right Association awards were established by APRA in 1982 to honour the achievements of songwriters and music composers.