Australian pop duo Savage Garden formed in Brisbane at the end of 1996, their name inspired by fantasy author Anne Rice's term for the savage and isolated world of vampires. Within nine months of formation they had attained two domestic hit singles ("I Want You" and "Halfway To The Moon"). This achievement came without the benefit of any live performances or even promotional interviews. Their sudden popularity became a global phenomenon when "I Want You", officially the biggest-selling Australian single of 1996, became an international bestseller later in the year.
The duo, singer Darren Hayes and multi-instrumentalist Englishman Daniel Jones, met while playing in bar bands in Queensland in 1994. However, they elected to form a band more suited to their personal tastes - an amalgamation of influences including XTC and Peter Gabriel. A demo was sent to veteran manager John Woodruff (associated with Australian success stories including the Angels, Baby Animals and Diesel). He immediately signed them to his JDM record label.
Their self-titled debut album was recorded in Sydney in June 1996, with Hoodoo Gurus and Air Supply producer Charles Fischer at the helm. "I Want You" climbed to US number 4 in May 1997, and they enjoyed a huge transatlantic hit during the early months of 1998 with "Truly Madly Deeply", the single topping the US charts and spending several weeks in the UK Top 10. On the back of their singles success, Savage Garden rose to number 3 on the US album chart in April. The follow-up single, "To The Moon And Back", peaked at US number 24 in August 1998, but climbed to number 3 in the UK chart. The song had originally stalled at number 55 in February. The duo's follow-up, Affirmation, was recorded in the luxurious studios of San Francisco, and included the huge US chart-topper, "I Knew I Loved You".