Savage Garden

Australian pop duo Savage Garden achieved global success without relying on major-label promotion or the usual calculated career blueprint typical for many pop acts. Daniel Jones grew up immersed in music and began performing on keyboards and drums in bars and hotels by age ten. Darren Hayes had accumulated performance experience solely through numerous school productions. When Jones placed an ad seeking a vocalist for the band he had formed with his brothers, the eager but unseasoned Hayes proved to be the sole respondent. Although he did not fit the requirements of a covers outfit working Queensland’s Gold Coast resorts, Hayes sparked a new creative direction for Jones, prompting the two to separate and begin composing original material.

Under the name Crush they dispatched 150 demo recordings worldwide and awaited responses. The sole encouraging reply arrived from Australian music figure John Woodruff, previously manager of the Angels and Baby Animals. Woodruff arranged a recording contract with Roadshow’s fledgling label, an independent distributor through Warners that lacked an established history. He paired the duo with veteran Australian producer Charles Fisher, whose prior work had yielded international breakthroughs for Air Supply and Moving Pictures. Their debut single “I Want You,” issued in July 1996, climbed to number two in the wake of the “Macarena” phenomenon, then yielded consecutive chart-toppers with “To the Moon and Back” and “Truly Madly Deeply.” The self-titled debut album, released in April 1997, debuted at number one and held the summit for thirteen weeks, marking the third-longest reign by any domestically produced Australian release. Meanwhile a Dallas station began airing “I Want You,” leading the pair to sign with Sony’s Columbia imprint. Both “I Want You” and “Truly Madly Deeply” became international successes, the latter reaching number one in the United States in January 1998. The album ultimately sold eleven million copies worldwide and earned Savage Garden ten Australian ARIA Awards.

Hayes and Jones processed their rapid ascent differently. The singer concluded his marriage on amicable terms, relocated to a New York apartment, and began mingling with fellow artists. Jones remained in Brisbane, preferring to focus exclusively on songwriting and studio work. Their follow-up album Affirmation was composed largely via telephone and computer from opposite sides of the globe. It was produced in Los Angeles by Grammy-winning Walter Afanasieff, recognized for collaborations with Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, and Barbra Streisand. In January 2000 the lead single “I Knew I Loved You” delivered Savage Garden its second U.S. number-one hit.