Savage Garden’s ‘The Singles’ Compilation Includes A Previously Unreleased Ballad: Listen To “She”

Australian duo Savage Garden had a lock on pop radio in the late ’90s with a string of blockbuster hits like “I Want You,” “Truly Madly Deeply” and “I Knew I Loved You.” The delightfully-coiffed gents only released two albums (1997’s self-titled LP and 1999 opus Affirmation), but they have a combined sales tally of 10 million copies. In the US alone. There should be plenty of interest then, in a previously unreleased ballad.

A pre-fame demo from 1994, “She” is a bonus track on new greatest hits compilation The Singles. “She sacrifices time, she sells her dreams for mine,” Darren Hayes croons over pretty piano keys. “She is beauty undefined, she would search through space and time for me.” The bare-bones production imbues the song a timeless quality that wouldn’t sound out of place on AC radio today.

It’s enough to make you wish for a comeback, but don’t get your hopes up. Darren has been studying acting and improv comedy (check out the retired singer’s He Said, He Said podcast), while Daniel Jones now works in real estate. “The decision I made back then [to leave the band] is still the right decision for myself,” he recently told an Aussie newspaper. “I never loved the lifestyle of the band or the existence of touring.” Check out their lost gem below.

Listen to “She (1994 Demo)”:

Here’s a selection of Savage Garden’s biggest hits:

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