This time last year, no one had heard of Savage Garden. Now they are one of the most successful Australian bands of recent times. Lets recap what they've achieved: Their hot debut single I Want You went platinum and became the biggest selling Aussie single for 1996. It peaked at no. 3, and earned the lads an ARIA nomination for Best Debut Single. This success was quickly followed by the haunting To The Moon & Back, which rocketed to number one! Now the boys have a new single out and their self-titled debut album has also hit the streets. STAR! had a chat with Darren and Daniel, who were recently in LA filming a video. From Brisbane video store to Beverly Hills studio, Savage Garden has Truly, Madly, Deeply bloomed.

Hi guys, are you staying in a nice hotel?

Darren: Yeah, we're in Beverly Place in Beverly Hills, basically.

Daniel: (yells out in background) It's so nice to hear an Australian accent!

You're shooting a film clip for I Want You with the same director who did the Oasis videos- how did that come about?

Darren: We signed to Columbia Records out of New York, and they had a fantastic video department there, and basically we had a budget that we could only dream of at home- it was huge! Basically we took the reels and reels of direction, and he was the one.

I Want You is being played on 78 commercial stations- have you heard it play on air in the States yet?

Darren: Ha...ha...ha...no, not as yet, it's funny, it's playing on a couple of stations here, but we really haven't had a chance to listen to the radio. We hopping in the car...actually this week it's (I Want You) the most added track to the radio in America. We were looking in a radio magazine and there was a full-page ad of us staring back in full colour.

Have you seen any stars in LA yet?

Darren: No, Daniel thinks he saw Madonna, and I went chasing after. No I don't think so, not yet.

Are you really busy with work or have you had time to chill out and see the sights?

Darren: We've been really busy. Actually, it's been pretty full on. I actually forgot about this interview. We just popped into our hotel to have a drink and then the phone rang. Thank God we were here! Apparently we have a day off after we finish shooting, we're actually going to Disneyland.

What are your plans after you leave LA?

Darren: We're going to Sydney for two or three days, then we're going back to Brisbane for full on rehearsals with the band, and then a couple of acoustic sets around the place. That weekend prior to the release (of the album) we've got a Hey Hey performance and a bunch of instores and things around the country.

Do you get recognized on the street much?

Darren: It's starting to happen now. It's quite funny. It's just really flattering actually. Mainly people walk past, then they look at you, and then they do a double take, and a couple of times they'll come up to you when you're eating a kebab, lettuce between every possible tooth, and they'll say, aren't you that guy from...

Do you have a message for your fans back in Australia?

Darren: Hang in there, thanks for your support, because we love it, and we're counting on you coming to see us, basically.

What are you doing for the rest of the day?

Darren: We have two very lovely stylists, sitting in our room right now, we're just about to go and get dressed for them, and think of ways to make me look thin and Daniel look muscly and then we've got more meetings with production people tonight, and then we've got like a 7 am start for a video shoot tomorrow morning.

Write to: Savage Garden, GPO Box 145, Brisbane, Old, 4001.