Savage Garden biography
Savage Garden was an Australian pop rock performance and songwriting duo. Darren Hayes (vocals) and Daniel Jones (keyboards, sequencing, guitar) formed the group in Brisbane, Queensland in 1994. Their international success occurred between 1997 and 2001, including the number-one hit singles "I Want You", "To the Moon and Back", "Truly Madly Deeply", "The Animal Song" and "I Knew I Loved You". Their two studio albums, Savage Garden and Affirmation reached number-one in Australia and peaked in the top ten in both the United Kingdom and United States.
The group won a record number of ten ARIA Music Awards in 1997 for their debut album and its related singles. The band took a hiatus in 2000, and while they originally intended to reform, Hayes announced its break-up in 2001.
History
Formation
In 1993, multi-instrumentalist and producer Daniel Jones placed an advertisement in Brisbane newspaper
Time Off seeking a vocalist for his five-piece covers band Red Edge which he had formed with his brothers. Darren Hayes, who was studying at university, was the only respondent and joined after his first audition. Red Edge played venues along the Gold Coast pub and club circuit, while Hayes and Jones started to write original material.
In June 1994, Hayes and Jones left Red Edge to pursue a career together originally as Crush. The new duo was renamed Savage Garden after a phrase from The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice, "The mind of each man is a savage garden".
By year's end, the pair had enough songs for a demo tape, they sent 150 copies to various record companies around the world. John Woodruff (The Angels, Baby Animals, Diesel) was the only positive response, he became their manager and negotiated a contract with Roadshow Music/Warner Music. In 1995, they entered the studio to work on their debut album with producer, Charles Fisher (Air Supply, Moving Pictures, 1927).
Debut album
In July 1996, Savage Garden released their debut single "I Want You" under Roadshow Music. It peaked at No. 4 on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Singles Chart and on the 1996 End of Year Singles Chart was highest placed by an Australian artist. On 30 September, they received their first ARIA Award nomination, in the category 'Breakthrough Artist - Single', for "I Want You". Their success garnered interest from international labels and they signed to Columbia Records. In November, "To the Moon and Back", was released which reached No. 1 in January 1997.
"I Want You" was released in North America in February, where it peaked at No. 4 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 and by April had achieved gold status according to Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It peaked at No. 1 on the Canadian Singles Chart. "Truly Madly Deeply", the band's third Australian single, was released in March and reached No. 1 and soon became their signature song. In March, the duo's debut album, Savage Garden, entered the Australian charts at No. 1 and peaked there for a total of 19 weeks. According to rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, "It revealed the influence of 1980s UK pop on Hayes and Jones' songwriting. Tears for Fears melodies blended seamlessly with Eurythmics-like arrangements, while Cure-styled guitar provided the icing on the cake". The album was released internationally two weeks later. "I Want You" was released across Europe in April and reached No. 11 on the United Kingdom Singles Chart. At the end of May, "To the Moon and Back" was the most played song on US radio.
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