90s pop icon who sold 200m records reveals they’ve swapped fame for painting houses

An iconic 90s pop star who was part of the biggest band at the time selling 200 million records has revealed how they’ve swapped fame for painting houses.

Musician and songwriter Daniel Jones, 50, was part of the iconic music group Savage Garden alongside Darren Hayes. The pair founded the band in 1993.

The duo shot to fame with hits such as Truly Madly Deeply and Crash and Burn before they publicly split in 2001, just two years after releasing their second album and despite selling millions of copies from both albums.

Daniel who notoriously hated touring has since swapped his singing career for a completely different trade and is now flipping houses.

Speaking to News.com.au the former pop star said: “I’m pretty good on the tools and quite hands on. I’ve always thoroughly enjoyed doing hard work.

“I’ll be painting one day, putting up stud work one day, plastering the next day. I’m doing that on houses mainly through Las Vegas where I purchase them at a low deflated price and then hold onto them and flip them.

“I’ve got a small crew who work with me… for me. It’s so far away from music right?”

Away from his hands on career, Daniel also prides himself on being a doting father to his two daughters and husband to Kathleen de Leon Jones.

Kathleen is an actress, dancer and singer who was part of the award-winning Australian children’s musical group Hi-5, the pair tied the knot in 2005.

Talking about family life he went on to say “I’m number one a father, number two a husband and number three I dabble in property” before adding “music is sitting on the backburner now”.

Daniel explained that he “still enjoys it” and still writes, records and plays around “purely for fun” the same way he did “20 years ago with Darren.”

He added: “But I don’t take it as seriously any more as far as the dream I dreamt. Which I realised wasn’t really my ideal dream.

“The dream I’m dreaming now is another one I’ve dreamt but I’m happy and that is a family. Two beautiful daughters and a beautiful wife, everything’s good.”

The band split in 2001 after a reported rift between the pair.

While appearing on Kyle And Jackie O Show last year, former bandmate Darren clarified the reason behind the Savage Garden split.

After host Kyle Sandilands casually stated that he was the one to leave the band, Darren interjected: “Well hang on, let me clarify that – Daniel left Savage Garden.”

He added: “I loved it, I would have been in that band forever.”

When asked if the pair were friendly when in the band, Darren replied: “Uh, no. I was really supportive of him [but] he absolutely hated the experience of being famous.

“He decided before the release of that second album that he didn’t want that life – which is totally his right.”

In 2015, Daniel also spoke of their split and shared that the pair still have “an amazing amount of respect for each other” regardless of their differences.

He went on to add “We don’t really have a relationship anymore, because of the distance and he’s moved on and I’ve moved on”, before adding “I still hear him speak highly of me and it’s reciprocated.”

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