--->Chic-a Cherry University
Savage Garden History I
PROLOUGE--Before they were Rock Stars
Well once upon a time in a far away land (i.e., January 1993 in Brisbane, Australia) Daniel Jones was in a band with his two older brothers and some friends called Red Edge. The band needed a singer, so Daniel placed an ad in a Brisbane music newspaper called Time Off Magazine. The ad read: "Serious lead vocalist wanted for commercial musical outfit presently financed by major publishing company." Well Darren Hayes saw the ad and though he'd never been to an audition before, he decided to go (thank goodness for that). He was the last of 20 people to audition (the audition song was the female soul lead in "Skid Row" from "Little Shop of Horrors"...he has since sung it on the Rosie O'Donnell Show) and even though he sang off key and his voice split, he got the job because he and Daniel clicked on a more personal level than anything else. After a while Daz & Dan broke away from Red Edge to form their own band...
But that's not the end of the story now! They spent nearly a year writing and recording. They sent out demos (which contained "Truly Madly Deeply", "Mine", "A Thousand Words" and two others) and they got the response they deserved--a recording contract!
And their name? That duo we know and love had originally bought the name "Crush" from another Aussie band...but whatdaya know...there was already a band by that name who was hitting the charts with "Jellyhead". So they came up with about four names (such as Bliss and Dante's Inferno) but all the names were taken...boo hoo. Darren, who is a HUGE Anne Rice fan, came up with the final name- from a quote in her book The Vampire Lestat in which Lestat describes a vampire's life as a "savage garden." (ah hah!) It's actually Lestat's "pet phrase" and appears in most of the Vampire Chronicles that follow, even when Lestat isn't the narrator. (Curiously, the reference does not appear in the books published after 1998... about the same time SG became a household name in the US!)
ACT ONE--The Beginning of the Road
D & D spent months recording their first album, and then a fateful thing happened--"I Want You" was released in Australia. The song with its fast-paced, nonsensical lyrics got everyone's attention, so much so that it snagged an ARIA Award nomination after only two weeks on the charts! And the hits just kept on coming... "To the Moon & Back" hit #1 and "Truly Madly Deeply" did likewise.
But no, Savage Garden was destined for fame outside their home country as well. While on a business trip in Australia, an American radio deejay picked up a copy of "I Want You", fell in love with the song, brought it back with him to the US, and began to play it over the radio. Soon the single was in demand to be circulated across the country...and a bidding war erupted between record companies to get Savage Garden on their label. Columbia won, and proceeded to release "I Want You" worldwide.
Success is a beautiful thing! While the second US single, "To the Moon & Back", was doing poorly, Savage Garden made ARIA Award history at the 1997 award show. They set the record for not just the most nominations (thirteen) but also the most awards won (ten)! Way to go, Daz and Dan! On a winning streak, they released "Truly Madly Deeply" in the US. The song became in instant smash--not only doing better than "I Want You" but making up for "To the Moon & Back"'s flop at the same time. "Truly" hit #1 and stayed there for three weeks...and stayed in the Top 30 a full year, the only song in Billboard chart history ever to perform the feat. It was also the first song in over ten years by an Australian band to hit #1 (the last being INXS with "Need You Tonight" in 1987), and the most played song in America in five years.
More singles were released in Australia ("Break Me Shake Me", "Universe", "All Around Me") and our fav duo began their first world tour, The Future of Earthly Delites Tour, in Australia, then continued with sold-out shows to Asia, Europe, and the US. "Break Me Shake Me" was released worldwide and did considerably well, while "To The Moon & Back" was given a second chance in America. While doing a little better than its first release, it again fell below the standards set by "I Want You" and "Truly Madly Deeply". When the tour ended, Darren and Daniel took a vacation--soon to be back in the recording studio again to start over again.
ACT TWO--The Return of Savage Garden
During the American leg of the 1998 world tour, Daz and Dan were offered the chance to write a song for the soundtrack of a new movie called The Other Sister. Thinking that this would be an excellent opportunity to do a little something between albums, the guys agreed to the offer. While Darren was vacationing in New York City and Dan was back home in Australia, they began to write the new song, under the working title "The Animal Song" by way of zip disks and international mail. Soon the writing was completed, and our fav duo finally met up in Los Angeles with producer Walter Afanisieff to record the still untitled track. Even when it was completely finished and still yet untitled...so it was decided to just call it "The Animal Song", afterall. "The Animal Song" went gold in presales alone, then was finally released--and was the most added track to Australian and American radio in its release week. Like wildfire it flew up the Australian charts, finally peaking at #3, while moving to a slightly lower #19 in the US. Then the song made its way to Europe and Asia, becoming an instant smash there as well.
Meanwhile, Daniel and Darren finished their much-needed vacation and were back in Los Angeles to record their sophomore album, Affirmation. After months of hiding away in the studio, the guys finally let the world know what was coming! Daniel returned to Australia to work with the backup band on the new music, while Darren remained in New York (where he had since moved to) to do interviews for Sony Music. Finally the news arrived that a new single was on the way..."I Knew I Loved You".
Just as the 1999 ARIA nominations were being released, including nominations for Savage Garden for the fourth year in a row, "I Knew I Loved You" landed in Australia so suddenly that the music buisiness didn't know what had hit it. In the single's release week, it became the most added radio track in history in Australia, and when it arrived America, the most added track to radio that week. Although the single's success lagged behind in the US as usual, the song zoomed up the Australian charts with no diffuculty.
Sounds like de ja vous... As Affirmation's release date drew nearer, the ballad climbed even higher. Another 10 points on Savage Garden's success scale: Affirmation debuted at #1 down under (like their debut album), gold in presales alone, and #6 in America (the highest ever for an Australian act). No sophomore slump for this duo; it went double platinum within three weeks of going on sale. During all this, Daniel and Darren began a whirlwind promo tour, making stops just about everywhere: Australia, Asia, America, Canada, and Europe. "I Knew I Loved You" was a hit nearly everywhere, propelling Affirmation to sell 4 million copies within two months. The title track was released in Australia and a week later, "I Knew I Loved You" made #1 in the US. It remained there for a total of four weeks, and just as Australian tour dates for the new world tour were released, "Crash and Burn" landed in Europe, North America, and later in Australia. Even though it was still 4 singles later, the unstoppable "Truly Madly Deeply" finished its run of 123 weeks on the American Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, amid the first months of the Affirmation World Tour 2000. "Affirmation" was released in Europe and a month or so later, in North America. While it did fairly well in the former, the song barely got airplay in the latter. Shortly after, the guys played at the closing ceremonies of the Olympics in Sydney, and then right back into the European leg of the tour. By the close of Year 2000, the guys were on a long needed vacation.
INTERMISSION--Separation Is Bittersweet
It was time to take the phrase "time off" literally. While clearing up rumors and claiming that the break did not signal the final act, Darren began the slow process of recording material for his debut solo album. Daniel worked on his own material and launched his record label, Meridien Musik. He produced the album and wrote three songs for the band Aneiki, a duo made up of SG's former backup singer Jennifer Waite and pal Grant Wallis. In July 2001, Aneiki's first single became the most added song to Australian radio playlists in its release week. Shortly thereafter, Darren contributed to Bono's (of the band U2) all-star remake of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On," the proceeds of which were slated to go to AIDS research when the song was released on World AIDS Day. It was instead released in early October in honor of the terrorist attacks in the US, and the funds divided between AIDS research and disaster relief for New York City.
ACT THREE--The Beginning of the End
Days after "What's Going On" hit radio airways, the news leaked out to the public: Savage Garden had permenantly disbanded. Darren and Daniel verified the rumor almost immediately and by the weekend the news had been in almost every music news website and Australian newspaper. The guys retained that they were as good friends as always and the reason behind the breakup was simply that Daniel could not take anymore of the traveling, touring, and limelight. Darren also admitted that they had temporarily broken up shortly before the release of Affirmation in 1999, but that he convinced Daniel to keep on by promising to do all the promotion himself. The future of Savage Garden would remain as the guys' independent projects.
Darren's soliliquy... December 2001 rolled around and with it came Darren's first solo single, "Insatiable," in Australia. The song was a quick hit, and was released worldwide in the new year. It very slowly gained airplay in the US-- so due to heavy promotion and filming of two elaborate music videos for the single, a second single for Australia was delayed. Spin was released to most of the world at the end of March. It sold exceptionally well in Australia and the UK, but poorly in America. More worldwide singles followed: "Strange Relationship" and "Crush (1980 Me)." By fall 2002, Darren embarked on his first world tour as a solo artist.
Back to Map::Back to CCU