Neil Finn
Encyclopedia
Neil Mullane Finn, OBE (born 27 May 1958) is a New Zealand Pop recording artist. Along with his brother Tim Finn
, he was the co-frontman for Split Enz
and is now frontman for Crowded House
. He has also recorded several successful solo albums and assembled diverse musicians for the 7 Worlds Collide
projects.
Finn rose to prominence in the late 1970s after replacing singer songwriter Phil Judd
in his brother Tim Finn
's band Split Enz
. With the group, Finn wrote the hits "One Step Ahead", "History Never Repeats
", "I Got You
" and "Message to My Girl
", among others. Finn rose from prominence to international fame after Split Enz broke up in 1984. While his brother Tim Finn left for England, Neil was the founder of Crowded House
with Split Enz's final drummer Paul Hester
in 1985. The group achieved international success in 1987 when they released the single "Don't Dream It's Over
" written by Neil.
He ended Crowded House in 1996 to embark upon what was to become a moderately successful solo career, and has released two albums with his brother Tim under the title the Finn Brothers
. In 2006, following the death of Hester, Finn reformed Crowded House (adding Beck
's former drummer Matt Sherrod) and released the first studio album in over 13 years, Time on Earth
, and the band began a world tour. In 2010, Finn commenced another world tour with Crowded House in support of their 2010 release, Intriguer
.
Neil Finn was born the youngest of four children to Dick and Mary Finn in Te Awamutu
, New Zealand
. His mother, a devout Catholic
who moved to New Zealand from Ireland
at the age of two, maintained a religious influence over the family. Speaking of Catholicism, Finn stated "It's a great fertile ground for pulling lyrics out. [There's] lots of good stuff going on in there, good rituals and imagery and lots of guilt. It's a very potent combination. I think you're blessed, really, to be brought up with some kind of weird dogma like that." His father, the son of a farmer from Waikato, served in the army in Italy
and became an accountant
during World War II
. His parents instilled an "inspiring admiration of music" in young Finn; the family would often engage in sing-alongs around the family piano
. In addition to music, Finn also enjoyed sports, particularly swimming
, rugby
, tennis
, and biking.
As a child, Finn would often perform at family gatherings with his older brother Tim
. Finn recalled, "We'd sing all night. It was very much part of our upbringing...That was the first inkling of the seduction of live performance." He idolized his brother and wished to imitate his actions, learning to play guitar and piano at the same time Tim did. Finn was more public about his musical aspirations, and won ten shillings in his school's annual talent contest shortly after enrolling. When Tim left to study at Sacred Heart College
, a boarding school in Auckland
, eight-year-old Finn started playing a guitar that he had left behind. A naturally willing performer, Finn was nicknamed 'The Ant' by his family due to his determined and ambitious nature.
He attended Sacred Heart boarding school
and Te Awamutu College. He decided to become a musician at the age of 12 and throughout his school years performed in prisons and hospitals as well as at home gatherings. Neil finished school in 1975. A year later he formed a group known as After Hours with Mark Hough, Geoff Chunn
and Alan Brown. Not long after the band's debut performance, Neil was invited to London to join Split Enz
, the band formed by his elder brother Tim
. By 1980, he was sharing lead singer duties. He wrote their first international hit "I Got You" and contributed significantly to all their later albums, even briefly assuming leadership of the band after Tim left in 1984, soon before its breakup.
(Mullane being both his middle name and his mother's maiden name) with Split Enz drummer Paul Hester
, guitarist Craig Hooper
of The Reels
and bassist Nick Seymour
(younger brother of Hunters & Collectors
leader Mark Seymour
), whom Neil had met on the final Split Enz tour. Hooper left just before they recorded their first album, at which time the band was renamed Crowded House
, inspired by the rental home they shared while recording in Los Angeles.
Crowded House went on to enormous success worldwide, in particular with two major hits: "Don't Dream It's Over
" (US #2, 1987) and "Weather With You
" (UK #7, 1992). Both Neil and his brother Tim were invested as Officers of the Order of the British Empire
(OBE) for services to New Zealand music in the 1993 Queen's Birthday Honours List. After releasing four albums, Crowded House
, Temple of Low Men
, Woodface
, and Together Alone
, the group broke up in 1996, and followed this action by releasing a greatest hits
album Recurring Dream
. Following this, Neil went solo. Later the album Afterglow
was released, which contained Crowded House tracks not previously found on any of the band's albums.
In January 2007, it was announced that Crowded House were reforming with Neil, Nick Seymour
, Mark Hart
and new drummer Matt Sherrod
(following the suicide of Paul Hester in 2005). The group's new album Time on Earth
was released in June 2007; in the pre-release build up, they headlined a show at Coachella
in April 2007, then commenced a world tour.
In March 2009, Neil joined brother Tim on stage with son Liam Finn
at Melbourne's charity Sound Relief
concert at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
in support of the 2009 Victorian Bushfires.
(1998) and One Nil
(2001). (One Nil was released in the US and Canada – remixed, reordered and renamed One All – in 2002.) In addition, he and brother Tim have collaborated on two Finn Brothers
albums, Finn
(1995) and Everyone Is Here
(2004).
In 2001, he released a live album/DVD (7 Worlds Collide
) consisting of songs recorded at St James Theatre
in Auckland, New Zealand with the likes of Lisa Germano
, Sebastian Steinberg
(Soul Coughing
), Ed O'Brien
and Phil Selway
(Radiohead
), Johnny Marr
(The Smiths
), Eddie Vedder
(Pearl Jam
), Paul Jeffrey, Tim Finn
, and Betchadupa
. Finn was additionally heavily involved in creating the 2001 soundtrack for the motion picture Rain.
Finn has contributed solo music to various film and TV soundtracks including Rain, Boston Legal
, Boston Public
, The Waiting Game
, Antz
, and Sports Night
.
release Taking the Long Way
has a song co-written with Finn, entitled "Silent House". It deals with people suffering from Alzheimers disease, slowly finding that familiar faces and items long cherished are slipping away from their memory. Neil Finn was also featured as a backing vocalist on the Sheryl Crow
song, "Everyday is a Winding Road" from her self-titled second album, released in 1997. He also produced the song "Greenstone
" from Emma Paki
's debut album "Oxygen Of Love
". Finn has also produced and recorded with various New Zealand acts such as Bic Runga
, The Mutton Birds
and Dave Dobbyn
.
In 2006, Neil and Tim Finn were both honoured by a slew of women re-recording and re-interpreting a selection of their songs with the album She Will Have Her Way
which featured artists performing Neil Finn's songs such as Kasey Chambers
, Clare Bowditch
, Boh Runga
with her band Stellar*, Renée Geyer
, Brooke Fraser
, Holly Throsby
, Sarah Blasko
, Amiel
and Natalie Imbruglia
.
Neil played solo at New Zealand WOMAD 2008 festival, filling in at short notice for another performer who had become unwell.
In December 2008 several of the 7 Worlds Collide lineup reconvened in Auckland, New Zealand to record The Sun Came Out
, a charity album for Oxfam
to be released 29 September 2009. It was recorded in Finn's own Roundhead Studios and will feature all-new material, with singing and songwriting contributions divided amongst the group. Most of the original members of Crowded House have returned, along with several new additions including Jeff Tweedy
and three other members of Wilco
, Scottish
singer-songwriter KT Tunstall
, and notable New Zealand songwriters Don McGlashan
and Bic Runga. As in 2001 the group gave a series of live performances, though at three nights the run was shorter and the venue was more intimate.
Finn had a cameo appearance
acting role on the BBC Radio Show Flight of the Conchords.
Finn appeared on fellow musician Missy Higgins
' CD, On a Clear Night
(2007). He played electric guitar for the song "Peachy
", and sang backing vocals on "Going North".
from Mental As Anything
, Eddie Rayner, Tim Finn
, Nick Seymour
and Paul Hester
of Crowded House
, Geoff Stapleton, Mark Callaghan and Robbie James of GANGgajang
, Mary Azzopardi of Rockmelons
, Andrew Barnum of The Vitabeats, Lissa Barnum, Michael Barclay, Peter Blakely, Deborah Conway
, Jenny Morris, Danny De Costa, Greg Herbert (The Promise), Spencer P Jones, Sean Kelly (Models
), John Kennedy, Paul Kelly
, Martin Plaza
(Mental as Anything), Robert Susz (Dynamic Hepnotics
) and Rick Swinn (The Venetians
). The Rock Party released a 12" single "Everything To Live For", which was produced by Joe Wissert, Phil Rigger and Phil Beazley.
In February 2007, Neil Finn performed with his son Elroy and Jimmy Barnes
at a charity benefit concert for cerebral palsy
. The event was held at the Roxburgh Hall, Stowe School
, Stowe in Buckinghamshire, UK. The benefit was in aid of he UK charity Scope
(formerly "The Spastics Society"), England's largest charity working for people living with cerebral palsy and their families.
s in her workshop in Auckland, many of which featured on stage in the 2004–05 tours promoting the Everyone Is Here album. She has appeared on backing vocals on various albums such as Crowded House
and Alex Lloyd
's Watching Angels Mend She also features prominently on the new 7 Worlds Collide project, co-writing (and sharing lead vocal) the track 'Little By Little' with her husband and sings on the track 'Isolation' on the new Crowded House album, Intriguer.
Finn and wife Sharon formed a band of their own titled 'Pajama Club
' after their two sons moved out of the family home and they were left with a lot of free time. They released their self titled debut album in September 2011.
They have two sons, Liam Mullane Finn
(born 1983) (Split Enz's "Our Day" was written about his birth) and Elroy Timothy Finn (born 1989). Both sons are multi-instrumentalists, like their father, and often perform alongside him on tour and in the recording studio. Liam had his own band, Betchadupa
, originally based in Auckland
, then London before releasing a solo album, I'll Be Lightning
in 2008. He also played in Crowded House
's touring band lineup in 2007. Elroy Finn is also following in his father and brother's musical footsteps as drummer for the psychobilly
band The Tricks and has previously filled in on drums for Cut Off Your Hands
. Elroy began touring as Liam's drummer in 2011 to promote Liam's second album 'FOMO'.
.
, Crowded House discography
and The Finn Brothers' discography for other related works.
Tim Finn
Brian Timothy "Tim" Finn, OBE is a New Zealand singer and musician. Finn is most known for his music with New Zealand 1970s and 1980s rock group Split Enz, and later for his solo work, a temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowded House and his joint efforts with Neil Finn as the Finn...
, he was the co-frontman for Split Enz
Split Enz
Split Enz were a New Zealand band of the 1970s and early 1980s featuring Phil Judd and brothers Tim Finn and Neil Finn. They achieved chart success in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada during the early 1980s ‒ most notably with the single "I Got You", and built a cult following elsewhere...
and is now frontman for Crowded House
Crowded House
Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia and led by New Zealand singer-songwriter Neil Finn. Finn is the primary songwriter and creative director of the band, having led it through several incarnations, drawing members from New Zealand , Australia and the United States...
. He has also recorded several successful solo albums and assembled diverse musicians for the 7 Worlds Collide
7 Worlds Collide
7 Worlds Collide is a musical project by New Zealand singer/songwriter, Neil Finn. The project brings together Finn and other musicians in support of charity....
projects.
Finn rose to prominence in the late 1970s after replacing singer songwriter Phil Judd
Phil Judd
Philip Judd is a New Zealand singer-songwriter known for being one of the founders of the bands Split Enz and The Swingers.-Split Enz:...
in his brother Tim Finn
Tim Finn
Brian Timothy "Tim" Finn, OBE is a New Zealand singer and musician. Finn is most known for his music with New Zealand 1970s and 1980s rock group Split Enz, and later for his solo work, a temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowded House and his joint efforts with Neil Finn as the Finn...
's band Split Enz
Split Enz
Split Enz were a New Zealand band of the 1970s and early 1980s featuring Phil Judd and brothers Tim Finn and Neil Finn. They achieved chart success in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada during the early 1980s ‒ most notably with the single "I Got You", and built a cult following elsewhere...
. With the group, Finn wrote the hits "One Step Ahead", "History Never Repeats
History Never Repeats
"History Never Repeats" was a single written by Neil Finn and recorded by Split Enz for their 1981 Waiata album. The song remains one of their most popular. The video was one of the first to be played on MTV upon its launch in 1981....
", "I Got You
I Got You (Split Enz song)
"I Got You" is a 1980 song by New Zealand rock group Split Enz from their studio album True Colours. Split Enz's most commercially successful single, "I Got You" was written by Neil Finn and released in January 1980.-Music video:...
" and "Message to My Girl
Message to My Girl
"Message to My Girl" is a 1983 song by New Zealand art rock group Split Enz from their second last studio album Conflicting Emotions. It was written by Neil Finn and released as a single in 1984, peaking at #6 in Australia, #28 in New Zealand and #13 in the Netherlands, where it was Split Enz'...
", among others. Finn rose from prominence to international fame after Split Enz broke up in 1984. While his brother Tim Finn left for England, Neil was the founder of Crowded House
Crowded House
Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia and led by New Zealand singer-songwriter Neil Finn. Finn is the primary songwriter and creative director of the band, having led it through several incarnations, drawing members from New Zealand , Australia and the United States...
with Split Enz's final drummer Paul Hester
Paul Hester
Paul Newell Hester was an Australian musician and television personality; he was the drummer for the related bands Split Enz and Crowded House.-The early years:...
in 1985. The group achieved international success in 1987 when they released the single "Don't Dream It's Over
Don't Dream It's Over
-12": Capitol / 12CL 438 United Kingdom :* also available on CD and MC-Personnel:*Neil Finn: Vocals and guitar*Nick Seymour: Bass guitar*Paul Hester: Drums and backing vocals*Mitchell Froom: Keyboards-Release history:- Charts :...
" written by Neil.
He ended Crowded House in 1996 to embark upon what was to become a moderately successful solo career, and has released two albums with his brother Tim under the title the Finn Brothers
Finn Brothers
The Finn Brothers is a New Zealand Rock musical duo consisting of brothers Neil and Tim Finn. In June 1993 both members were awarded the OBE for their contribution to music....
. In 2006, following the death of Hester, Finn reformed Crowded House (adding Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
's former drummer Matt Sherrod) and released the first studio album in over 13 years, Time on Earth
Time on Earth
Time on Earth is the fifth studio album by the pop-rock band Crowded House. Tracks have been produced by both Ethan Johns and Steve Lillywhite and the album was released on 30 June 2007 in Australia, 2 July in the United Kingdom and 10 July in North America...
, and the band began a world tour. In 2010, Finn commenced another world tour with Crowded House in support of their 2010 release, Intriguer
Intriguer
Intriguer is the sixth studio album by alternative pop group Crowded House, released on 13 June 2010. It is the band's followup to the group's 2007 reunion album Time on Earth, and the first to feature all four current band members, including multi-instrumentalist Mark Hart and drummer Matt...
.
Early years / Split Enz
Te Awamutu
Te Awamutu is a town in the Waikato in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the council seat of the Waipa District and serves as a service town for the farming communities which surround it...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. His mother, a devout Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
who moved to New Zealand from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
at the age of two, maintained a religious influence over the family. Speaking of Catholicism, Finn stated "It's a great fertile ground for pulling lyrics out. [There's] lots of good stuff going on in there, good rituals and imagery and lots of guilt. It's a very potent combination. I think you're blessed, really, to be brought up with some kind of weird dogma like that." His father, the son of a farmer from Waikato, served in the army in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and became an accountant
Accountant
An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy or accounting , which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.The Big Four auditors are the largest...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. His parents instilled an "inspiring admiration of music" in young Finn; the family would often engage in sing-alongs around the family piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
. In addition to music, Finn also enjoyed sports, particularly swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, rugby
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, and biking.
As a child, Finn would often perform at family gatherings with his older brother Tim
Tim Finn
Brian Timothy "Tim" Finn, OBE is a New Zealand singer and musician. Finn is most known for his music with New Zealand 1970s and 1980s rock group Split Enz, and later for his solo work, a temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowded House and his joint efforts with Neil Finn as the Finn...
. Finn recalled, "We'd sing all night. It was very much part of our upbringing...That was the first inkling of the seduction of live performance." He idolized his brother and wished to imitate his actions, learning to play guitar and piano at the same time Tim did. Finn was more public about his musical aspirations, and won ten shillings in his school's annual talent contest shortly after enrolling. When Tim left to study at Sacred Heart College
Sacred Heart College, Auckland
Sacred Heart College is a secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand. It is a Catholic, Marist College set on of land overlooking the Tamaki Estuary in Glen Innes.- History :The college was opened in 1903 in Ponsonby, by the Marist Brothers...
, a boarding school in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, eight-year-old Finn started playing a guitar that he had left behind. A naturally willing performer, Finn was nicknamed 'The Ant' by his family due to his determined and ambitious nature.
He attended Sacred Heart boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
and Te Awamutu College. He decided to become a musician at the age of 12 and throughout his school years performed in prisons and hospitals as well as at home gatherings. Neil finished school in 1975. A year later he formed a group known as After Hours with Mark Hough, Geoff Chunn
Geoff Chunn
Geoff Chunn is a New Zealand musician, best known as an early member of Split Enz.Chunn was a teenage friend of Tim Finn. Together the two of them and Chunn's elder brother, Mike Chunn, founded the band Stillwater while at high school in the late 1960s...
and Alan Brown. Not long after the band's debut performance, Neil was invited to London to join Split Enz
Split Enz
Split Enz were a New Zealand band of the 1970s and early 1980s featuring Phil Judd and brothers Tim Finn and Neil Finn. They achieved chart success in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada during the early 1980s ‒ most notably with the single "I Got You", and built a cult following elsewhere...
, the band formed by his elder brother Tim
Tim Finn
Brian Timothy "Tim" Finn, OBE is a New Zealand singer and musician. Finn is most known for his music with New Zealand 1970s and 1980s rock group Split Enz, and later for his solo work, a temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowded House and his joint efforts with Neil Finn as the Finn...
. By 1980, he was sharing lead singer duties. He wrote their first international hit "I Got You" and contributed significantly to all their later albums, even briefly assuming leadership of the band after Tim left in 1984, soon before its breakup.
Crowded House
After the breakup of Split Enz in 1984. Finn formed a new band called The MullanesThe Mullanes
The Mullanes were a New Zealand/Australian rock group which was formed by Neil Finn after the demise of Split Enz in 1984. Mullane is Neil Finn's middle name and was his mother's maiden name...
(Mullane being both his middle name and his mother's maiden name) with Split Enz drummer Paul Hester
Paul Hester
Paul Newell Hester was an Australian musician and television personality; he was the drummer for the related bands Split Enz and Crowded House.-The early years:...
, guitarist Craig Hooper
Craig Hooper
Craig Hooper is an Australian musician who was a core member of Indie rock band The Reels and was in bands The Mullanes , The Church and The Crystal Set...
of The Reels
The Reels
The Reels is an Australian rock/indie pop group which formed in Dubbo, New South Wales in 1976 and initially disbanded in 1991, they eventually reformed in 2007. Their 1981 song, "Quasimodo's Dream", was voted one of the Top 10 Australian songs of all time by a 100-member panel from Australasian...
and bassist Nick Seymour
Nick Seymour
Nick Seymour is a musician, painter, and record producer. He is best known for being the bass guitarist in the Australasian rock group Crowded House and brother to Mark Seymour of another successful group; Hunters and Collectors.- Biography :Born in Benalla, Victoria, Australia, Seymour studied...
(younger brother of Hunters & Collectors
Hunters & Collectors
Hunters & Collectors were an Australian rock music band formed in Melbourne in 1981, fronted by singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Seymour, they developed a blend of pub rock and art-funk...
leader Mark Seymour
Mark Seymour
Mark Seymour is an Australian musician and vocalist best known for his work as the frontman and songwriter of rock band Hunters & Collectors...
), whom Neil had met on the final Split Enz tour. Hooper left just before they recorded their first album, at which time the band was renamed Crowded House
Crowded House
Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia and led by New Zealand singer-songwriter Neil Finn. Finn is the primary songwriter and creative director of the band, having led it through several incarnations, drawing members from New Zealand , Australia and the United States...
, inspired by the rental home they shared while recording in Los Angeles.
Crowded House went on to enormous success worldwide, in particular with two major hits: "Don't Dream It's Over
Don't Dream It's Over
-12": Capitol / 12CL 438 United Kingdom :* also available on CD and MC-Personnel:*Neil Finn: Vocals and guitar*Nick Seymour: Bass guitar*Paul Hester: Drums and backing vocals*Mitchell Froom: Keyboards-Release history:- Charts :...
" (US #2, 1987) and "Weather With You
Weather with You
"Weather with You" is a 1991 song by rock group Crowded House. It was the third and most successful single released from the group's third studio album Woodface, reaching top fifty charts in six countries with a peak of #7 in the United Kingdom....
" (UK #7, 1992). Both Neil and his brother Tim were invested as Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(OBE) for services to New Zealand music in the 1993 Queen's Birthday Honours List. After releasing four albums, Crowded House
Crowded House
Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia and led by New Zealand singer-songwriter Neil Finn. Finn is the primary songwriter and creative director of the band, having led it through several incarnations, drawing members from New Zealand , Australia and the United States...
, Temple of Low Men
Temple of Low Men
Temple of Low Men is Crowded House's second studio album, released in 1988. The album had five singles, Sister Madly, I Feel Possessed, Into Temptation, When You Come and Better Be Home Soon.-Album:...
, Woodface
Woodface
Woodface is the third studio album by the band Crowded House. The album was produced by Mitchell Froom and released by Capitol in July 1991. It features five singles "Chocolate Cake", "Fall at Your Feet", "Weather with You", "Four Seasons in One Day", and "It's Only Natural"...
, and Together Alone
Together Alone
Together Alone is the fourth studio album by the band Crowded House. It was released in October 1993 and was their first album to feature multi-instrumentalist Mark Hart as a full band member. Unlike the band's first three albums, which were recorded in the US and Australia and produced by Mitchell...
, the group broke up in 1996, and followed this action by releasing a greatest hits
Greatest hits
A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
album Recurring Dream
Recurring Dream
Recurring Dream is a compilation album by rock group Crowded House, released in 1996. It includes most of their singles, as well as three new songs, "Not the Girl You Think You Are", "Instinct", and "Everything Is Good for You".-Background:...
. Following this, Neil went solo. Later the album Afterglow
Afterglow (Crowded House album)
Afterglow is a Crowded House compilation album, released in 1999. It includes a selection of rarities and outtakes. The tracks were recorded between 1985 and 1994. Seven of the songs were originally recorded for the Woodface album before Tim Finn became involved...
was released, which contained Crowded House tracks not previously found on any of the band's albums.
In January 2007, it was announced that Crowded House were reforming with Neil, Nick Seymour
Nick Seymour
Nick Seymour is a musician, painter, and record producer. He is best known for being the bass guitarist in the Australasian rock group Crowded House and brother to Mark Seymour of another successful group; Hunters and Collectors.- Biography :Born in Benalla, Victoria, Australia, Seymour studied...
, Mark Hart
Mark Hart
Mark Hart , is a multi-instrumentalist best known for his participation as a member of Supertramp and Crowded House....
and new drummer Matt Sherrod
Matt Sherrod
Matt Sherrod is an American drummer, musician, and since 2007, a member of the New Zealand band Crowded House. Sherrod first became known as a musician playing drums for rock artist Beck...
(following the suicide of Paul Hester in 2005). The group's new album Time on Earth
Time on Earth
Time on Earth is the fifth studio album by the pop-rock band Crowded House. Tracks have been produced by both Ethan Johns and Steve Lillywhite and the album was released on 30 June 2007 in Australia, 2 July in the United Kingdom and 10 July in North America...
was released in June 2007; in the pre-release build up, they headlined a show at Coachella
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is a three-day annual music and arts festival, organized by Goldenvoice and held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Inland Empire's Coachella Valley...
in April 2007, then commenced a world tour.
Liam Finn
Liam Mullane Finn is a New Zealand musician and songwriter. Born in Australia, he moved to New Zealand as a child...
at Melbourne's charity Sound Relief
Sound Relief
Sound Relief was a multi-venue rock music concert held on 14 March 2009, which was announced by the Premier of Victoria, John Brumby on 24 February 2009...
concert at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
in support of the 2009 Victorian Bushfires.
Solo work
Finn has recorded two solo albums to date: Try Whistling ThisTry Whistling This
Try Whistling This is the debut solo album released in 1998 by New Zealand singer/songwriter Neil Finn. The Japanese version of the album has a bonus track called "Tokyo", which also appears on the UK release of the single Sinner...
(1998) and One Nil
One Nil
One Nil, released in 2001, is the second solo album by New Zealand singer-songwriter, Neil Finn. When released in the United States the following year, the album had a slightly different track listing and was issued under the name One All....
(2001). (One Nil was released in the US and Canada – remixed, reordered and renamed One All – in 2002.) In addition, he and brother Tim have collaborated on two Finn Brothers
Finn Brothers
The Finn Brothers is a New Zealand Rock musical duo consisting of brothers Neil and Tim Finn. In June 1993 both members were awarded the OBE for their contribution to music....
albums, Finn
Finn (album)
Finn is the first album by The Finn Brothers, a music project of New Zealand brothers Tim and Neil Finn.The album was produced by Tchad Blake and the Finn Brothers in Auckland, New Zealand...
(1995) and Everyone Is Here
Everyone Is Here (album)
Everyone Is Here is the second album by The Finn Brothers, a music project of New Zealand brothers Tim and Neil Finn.The album was recorded twice, once in upstate New York with famed Bowie producer Tony Visconti, then again six months later in Los Angeles with Crowded House stalwart Mitchell Froom...
(2004).
In 2001, he released a live album/DVD (7 Worlds Collide
7 Worlds Collide
7 Worlds Collide is a musical project by New Zealand singer/songwriter, Neil Finn. The project brings together Finn and other musicians in support of charity....
) consisting of songs recorded at St James Theatre
St. James Theatre, Auckland
The St James Theatre is a heritage stage theatre and cinema located on Queen Street in Auckland, New Zealand. Built in 1928, it was a replacement for the older Fuller's Opera house and was originally designed for vaudeville acts...
in Auckland, New Zealand with the likes of Lisa Germano
Lisa Germano
Lisa Germano is an American singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has released seven albums featuring her often-hushed vocal style, confessional lyrics, and distinctive violin. Her 1994 album Geek the Girl received widespread critical acclaim, including being featured as a top album of...
, Sebastian Steinberg
Sebastian Steinberg
Sebastian Steinberg is an American bass player, best known for his work in the band Soul Coughing.- Biography :Steinberg played with Soul Coughing throughout the band's entire history, from 1992–2000. He also recorded and performed with guitarist Marc Ribot and appeared on William Shatner's 2004...
(Soul Coughing
Soul Coughing
Soul Coughing was a popular New York-based alternative rock band. The band found modest mainstream success during the mid-to-late 1990s. Soul Coughing developed a devout fanbase and have garnered largely positive response from critics. Steve Huey describes the band as "one of the most unusual cult...
), Ed O'Brien
Ed O'Brien
Edward John O'Brien is an English musician, songwriter and guitarist for the rock band Radiohead. He is also responsible for harmony vocals during live concerts and on many tracks from the band's albums...
and Phil Selway
Phil Selway
Philip James "Phil" "The Graf" Selway is an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of English rock group Radiohead. He also drums and provides backing vocals, along with occasional guitar and lead vocals, for 7 Worlds Collide...
(Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
), Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr is an English musician and songwriter. Marr rose to fame in the 1980s as the guitarist in The Smiths, with whom he formed a prolific songwriting partnership with Morrissey. Marr has been a member of Electronic, The The, and Modest Mouse...
(The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
), Eddie Vedder
Eddie Vedder
Eddie Vedder is an American musician and singer-songwriter who is best known for being the lead singer and one of three guitarists of the alternative rock band Pearl Jam. He is widely considered a cultural icon of alternative rock.He is also involved in soundtrack work and contributes to albums...
(Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
), Paul Jeffrey, Tim Finn
Tim Finn
Brian Timothy "Tim" Finn, OBE is a New Zealand singer and musician. Finn is most known for his music with New Zealand 1970s and 1980s rock group Split Enz, and later for his solo work, a temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowded House and his joint efforts with Neil Finn as the Finn...
, and Betchadupa
Betchadupa
Betchadupa is a New Zealand pop/rock group.Formed in 1997, in Auckland, the band features Liam Finn, son of Neil Finn, of Crowded House and Split Enz and Matt Eccles, son of Brent Eccles ....
. Finn was additionally heavily involved in creating the 2001 soundtrack for the motion picture Rain.
Finn has contributed solo music to various film and TV soundtracks including Rain, Boston Legal
Boston Legal
Boston Legal is an American legal dramedy created by David E. Kelley, which was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for the ABC...
, Boston Public
Boston Public
Boston Public is an American drama television series created by David E. Kelley and broadcast on Fox. It centered on Winslow High School, a fictional public high school located in Boston, Massachusetts. The show was named for the real public school district in which it takes place...
, The Waiting Game
The Waiting Game
"The Waiting Game" was the third UK single released from Squeeze's seventh album, Babylon and On. It was not released as a single in North America.-Track listing:7"# "The Waiting Game" # "The Prisoner " 12"...
, Antz
Antz
Antz is a 1998 American computer animated action adventure film produced by DreamWorks Animation. It features the voices of well-known actors such as Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Jennifer Lopez, Sylvester Stallone, Dan Aykroyd, Anne Bancroft, Gene Hackman, Christopher Walken, and Danny Glover as...
, and Sports Night
Sports Night
Sports Night is an American television series about a fictional sports news show also called Sports Night. It focuses on the friendships, pitfalls, and ethical issues the creative talent of the program face while trying to produce a good show under constant network pressure...
.
Collaborations
The Dixie ChicksDixie Chicks
The Dixie Chicks are an American country band which has also successfully crossed over into other genres. The band is composed of founding members Martie Erwin Maguire and Emily Erwin Robison, and lead singer Natalie Maines...
release Taking the Long Way
Taking the Long Way
-Public reception:On May 31, 2006, the album took three number one spots on the charts of Billboard magazine. It was number one on the Hot Country Albums, Top Digital Albums, and on the Billboard 200 chart, going Gold in its first week with 526,000 units sold....
has a song co-written with Finn, entitled "Silent House". It deals with people suffering from Alzheimers disease, slowly finding that familiar faces and items long cherished are slipping away from their memory. Neil Finn was also featured as a backing vocalist on the Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop...
song, "Everyday is a Winding Road" from her self-titled second album, released in 1997. He also produced the song "Greenstone
Greenstone
Pounamu is several types of hard, durable and highly valued nephrite jade, bowenite, or serpentinite found in New Zealand. Pounamu is the Māori name. The rocks are also generically known as "greenstone" in New Zealand English....
" from Emma Paki
Emma Paki
Emma Paki is a New Zealand singer/songwriter.She won Most Promising Female Vocalist, Best Song Writer and Best Video at the 1993 New Zealand Music Awards....
's debut album "Oxygen Of Love
Oxygen of Love
Oxygen of Love is an album by New Zealand singer/songwriter Emma Paki released in 1996.'Oxygen Of Love', produced by Crowded House and Supertramp’s Mark Hart, released in 1996 reached Gold status in New Zealand...
". Finn has also produced and recorded with various New Zealand acts such as Bic Runga
Bic Runga
Briolette Kah Bic Runga MNZM is a New Zealand pop recording artist whose first solo album, Drive, debuted at number one on the New Zealand RIANZ charts. She has since become one of the highest-selling New Zealand artists in recent history...
, The Mutton Birds
The Mutton Birds
The Mutton Birds was a band from New Zealand formed in 1991 by Don McGlashan, Ross Burge, and David Long.-History:All three members came into the band with experience: McGlashan came from Blam Blam Blam and The Front Lawn, guitarist Long had played in the Six Volts and Burge had played in the...
and Dave Dobbyn
Dave Dobbyn
Dave Dobbyn, ONZM is an award-winning New Zealand musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. In his early career he was a member of the rock group Th' Dudes and was the main creative force in pop band DD Smash...
.
In 2006, Neil and Tim Finn were both honoured by a slew of women re-recording and re-interpreting a selection of their songs with the album She Will Have Her Way
She Will Have Her Way
She Will Have Her Way is a compilation album featuring female Australian and New Zealand musicians performing songs written by Neil Finn and Tim Finn , members of Split Enz and Crowded House...
which featured artists performing Neil Finn's songs such as Kasey Chambers
Kasey Chambers
Kasey Chambers is an Australian country singer-songwriter. She is the daughter of steel guitar player Bill Chambers, and the sister of musician and producer Nash Chambers.-Solo success:...
, Clare Bowditch
Clare Bowditch
Clare Bowditch is an Australian musician from Melbourne, Victoria. She released her fourth album Modern Day Addiction via Island Records on 13 August 2010. It became both 3RRR Album of the Week and ABC Radio National's Album of the Week. MDA is the first of Bowditch's album's to enter the Top Ten...
, Boh Runga
Boh Runga
Boh Runga is a New Zealand recording artist and was the lead singer and guitarist in New Zealand rock band Stellar*. She comes from a musical family - both her sisters have been in bands...
with her band Stellar*, Renée Geyer
Renée Geyer
Renée Rebecca Geyer is an Australian singer who has long been regarded as one of the finest exponents of jazz, soul and R&B idioms. She had commercial success as a solo artist in Australia, with "It's a Man's Man's World", "Heading in the Right Direction" and "Stares and Whispers" in the 1970s and...
, Brooke Fraser
Brooke Fraser
Brooke Gabrielle Fraser Ligertwood, better known as Brooke Fraser is a New Zealand award-winning folk-pop and Christian music artist...
, Holly Throsby
Holly Throsby
Holly Throsby is a songwriter, vocalist, guitarist and pianist from Sydney, Australia. Throsby was nominated for an Australian Recording Industry Association 'Best Female Artist' Award in 2006 for Under the Town and in the same category in 2008 for A Loud Call.- Career :Holly Throsby was raised...
, Sarah Blasko
Sarah Blasko
Sarah Elizabeth Blaskow , is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. After fronting Sydney-based band Acquiesce from the mid-1990s, Blasko developed her solo career from 2002. In 2007, she won the 'Best Pop Release' for What the Sea Wants, the Sea Will Have at the ARIA Music Awards, which...
, Amiel
Amiel Daemion
Amiel Muki Daemion born on in New York, is an Australian pop singer, songwriter and actress. She moved to Australia with her family at the age of two and starred in films in the 1990s, including The Silver Brumby which also starred Russell Crowe and Caroline Goodall. Her music career shot to fame...
and Natalie Imbruglia
Natalie Imbruglia
Natalie Jane Imbruglia is an Australian singer-songwriter, model and actress. In the early 1990s, Imbruglia was known to audiences as Beth Brennan in the popular Australian soap Neighbours. Three years after leaving the programme, Imbruglia launched a singing career with the international hit,...
.
In December 2008 several of the 7 Worlds Collide lineup reconvened in Auckland, New Zealand to record The Sun Came Out
The Sun Came Out
The Sun Came Out is a charity studio album released on 31 August 2009 by New Zealand singer/songwriter Neil Finn for the benefit of Oxfam. The album was recorded at Neil Finn's Roundhead Studios and is a follow up to the 7 Worlds Collide live album of 2001...
, a charity album for Oxfam
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
to be released 29 September 2009. It was recorded in Finn's own Roundhead Studios and will feature all-new material, with singing and songwriting contributions divided amongst the group. Most of the original members of Crowded House have returned, along with several new additions including Jeff Tweedy
Jeff Tweedy
Jeffrey Scot "Jeff" Tweedy is an American songwriter, musician and leader of the band Wilco. Tweedy joined rockabilly band The Plebes with high school friend Jay Farrar in the early 1980s, but Tweedy's musical interests caused one of Farrar's brothers to quit...
and three other members of Wilco
Wilco
Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John...
, Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
singer-songwriter KT Tunstall
KT Tunstall
Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist from St Andrews, Scotland. She broke into the public eye with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on Later... with Jools Holland...
, and notable New Zealand songwriters Don McGlashan
Don McGlashan
Don McGlashan is a New Zealand musician and songwriter who has been a member of bands such as The Plague, From Scratch, The Whizz Kids, Blam Blam Blam, The Front Lawn, The Mutton Birds and, from 2009, The Bellbirds. He composed several pieces for the Limbs Dance Company...
and Bic Runga. As in 2001 the group gave a series of live performances, though at three nights the run was shorter and the venue was more intimate.
Finn had a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
acting role on the BBC Radio Show Flight of the Conchords.
Finn appeared on fellow musician Missy Higgins
Missy Higgins
Melissa "Missy" Morrison Higgins is an Australian pop singer-songwriter, musician and actor. Her No. 1 albums in Australia are The Sound of White and On a Clear Night , and her Top Ten singles are "Scar", "The Special Two", "Steer" and "Where I Stood". From a musical family in...
' CD, On a Clear Night
On a Clear Night
On a Clear Night is the second studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins, released by Eleven on 28 April 2007. Higgins started work on the album straight after finishing her 2004 debut, The Sound of White. She spent six months of 2006 in Broome, Western Australia, writing new...
(2007). He played electric guitar for the song "Peachy
Peachy
"Peachy" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins and the third single released from her second album, On A Clear Night. The track features a guest appearance by Neil Finn playing electric guitar...
", and sang backing vocals on "Going North".
Charity work
In 1986 Finn performed with The Rock Party a charity project initiated by The National Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NCADA), which included many Australasian musicians such as Reg MombassaReg Mombassa
Reg Mombassa is the pseudonym of Chris O'Doherty, a New Zealand born artist and musician. Resident in Australia, he is as well known there for his musical exploits — founder and former member of the popular Australian band Mental As Anything and member of Dog Trumpet - as he is for his art...
from Mental As Anything
Mental As Anything
Mental As Anything are an Australian New Wave–rock music band formed at an art school in Sydney in 1976. Their most popular line-up was Martin Plaza on vocals and guitar; Reg Mombassa on lead guitar and vocals; his brother Peter "Yoga Dog" O'Doherty on bass guitar and vocals; Wayne "Bird"...
, Eddie Rayner, Tim Finn
Tim Finn
Brian Timothy "Tim" Finn, OBE is a New Zealand singer and musician. Finn is most known for his music with New Zealand 1970s and 1980s rock group Split Enz, and later for his solo work, a temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowded House and his joint efforts with Neil Finn as the Finn...
, Nick Seymour
Nick Seymour
Nick Seymour is a musician, painter, and record producer. He is best known for being the bass guitarist in the Australasian rock group Crowded House and brother to Mark Seymour of another successful group; Hunters and Collectors.- Biography :Born in Benalla, Victoria, Australia, Seymour studied...
and Paul Hester
Paul Hester
Paul Newell Hester was an Australian musician and television personality; he was the drummer for the related bands Split Enz and Crowded House.-The early years:...
of Crowded House
Crowded House
Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia and led by New Zealand singer-songwriter Neil Finn. Finn is the primary songwriter and creative director of the band, having led it through several incarnations, drawing members from New Zealand , Australia and the United States...
, Geoff Stapleton, Mark Callaghan and Robbie James of GANGgajang
GANGgajang
Gang Gajang are an Australian rock band who formed in 1984. The three principal figures in the original lineup were former Riptides frontman Mark "Cal" Callaghan and two former members of popular Australian hard rock band The Angels, bassist Chris Bailey and drummer Graham "Buzz"...
, Mary Azzopardi of Rockmelons
Rockmelons
Rockmelons, often referred to as the Rockies, are an Australian Pop/Dance/R&B group formed in 1983 in Sydney. They are based around Bryon Jones, his brother Jonathon Jones and Raymond Medhurst. They had two Top Five hit singles in the early 1990s with "Ain't No Sunshine" and "That Word ", both sung...
, Andrew Barnum of The Vitabeats, Lissa Barnum, Michael Barclay, Peter Blakely, Deborah Conway
Deborah Conway
Deborah Ann Conway, is an Australian rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, and had a career as a model and actor. She was a founding member of the 1980s rock band Do-Ré-Mi with their surprise top 5 hit "Man Overboard"....
, Jenny Morris, Danny De Costa, Greg Herbert (The Promise), Spencer P Jones, Sean Kelly (Models
Models (band)
Models were an alternative rock group formed in Melbourne, Australia, in August 1978 and went into hiatus in 1988. They are often incorrectly referred to as The Models. They re-formed in 2000, 2006 and 2008 to perform reunion concerts. "Out of Mind, Out of Sight", their only No. 1 hit,...
), John Kennedy, Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly (musician)
Paul Maurice Kelly is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and harmonica player. He has performed solo, and has led numerous groups, including the Dots, the Coloured Girls, and the Messengers. He has worked with other artists and groups, including associated projects Professor...
, Martin Plaza
Martin Plaza
Martin Plaza is the pseudonym of Martin Edward Murphy , who is a vocalist/guitarist/songwriter with Australian pop/R&B band Mental As Anything. Plaza also has a solo music career and in 1986 had a #2 hit in Australia with his cover of the 1960s Unit 4+2 song "Concrete and Clay"...
(Mental as Anything), Robert Susz (Dynamic Hepnotics
Dynamic Hepnotics
The Dynamic Hepnotics were a successful Australian soul/blues/funk band during the 1980s. They had major success with their chart topping song Soul Kind Of Feeling in 1984 and 1985, followed up by Gotta Be Wrong later that year....
) and Rick Swinn (The Venetians
The Venetians (Australian band)
The Venetians were an Australian synthpop act that had several hit records in Australia during the middle 1980's.-Biography:The Venetians formed in late 1982, when Rik Swinn arrived in Australia with a 24-track master demo of a song he'd recorded in England. He read a newspaper advert placed by...
). The Rock Party released a 12" single "Everything To Live For", which was produced by Joe Wissert, Phil Rigger and Phil Beazley.
Jimmy Barnes
James Dixon Swan , better known as Jimmy Barnes, is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer-songwriter. His father Jim Swan was a prizefighter and his older brother John Swan is also a rock singer. It was actually John who had encouraged and taught Jim how to sing as he wasn't really interested at...
at a charity benefit concert for cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....
. The event was held at the Roxburgh Hall, Stowe School
Stowe School
Stowe School is an independent school in Stowe, Buckinghamshire. It was founded on 11 May 1923 by J. F. Roxburgh, initially with 99 male pupils. It is a member of the Rugby Group and Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The school is also a member of the G20 Schools Group...
, Stowe in Buckinghamshire, UK. The benefit was in aid of he UK charity Scope
Scope (British charity)
Scope is a London-based charity, which operates in England and Wales, focusing on people with cerebral palsy particularly, and disabled people in general. Its aim is that disabled people achieve equality....
(formerly "The Spastics Society"), England's largest charity working for people living with cerebral palsy and their families.
Personal life
Finn married Sharon Dawn Johnson, on 13 February 1982. The song "I Love You Dawn", available on Afterglow (an album of unreleased Crowded House tracks and B-sides) was penned in her honour. Sharon creates chandelierChandelier
A chandelier is a branched decorative ceiling-mounted light fixture with two or more arms bearing lights. Chandeliers are often ornate, containing dozens of lamps and complex arrays of glass or crystal prisms to illuminate a room with refracted light...
s in her workshop in Auckland, many of which featured on stage in the 2004–05 tours promoting the Everyone Is Here album. She has appeared on backing vocals on various albums such as Crowded House
Crowded House (album)
The original release of the album in Australia and New Zealand featured "Can't Carry On" as track 8. This song was replaced by a re-recording of the Split Enz song "I Walk Away" for other markets...
and Alex Lloyd
Alex Lloyd
Alex Lloyd is an Australian singer-songwriter. His most popular album Watching Angels Mend, which includes the songs "Amazing" and "Green", was released in 2001 went double platinum. His third album Distant Light released in 2003 featured three songs that made the Australian top 40 singles charts...
's Watching Angels Mend She also features prominently on the new 7 Worlds Collide project, co-writing (and sharing lead vocal) the track 'Little By Little' with her husband and sings on the track 'Isolation' on the new Crowded House album, Intriguer.
Finn and wife Sharon formed a band of their own titled 'Pajama Club
Pajama Club
Pajama Club are a band formed in 2011 featuring Neil Finn, Sharon Finn, Sean Donnelly and Alana Skyring ....
' after their two sons moved out of the family home and they were left with a lot of free time. They released their self titled debut album in September 2011.
They have two sons, Liam Mullane Finn
Liam Finn
Liam Mullane Finn is a New Zealand musician and songwriter. Born in Australia, he moved to New Zealand as a child...
(born 1983) (Split Enz's "Our Day" was written about his birth) and Elroy Timothy Finn (born 1989). Both sons are multi-instrumentalists, like their father, and often perform alongside him on tour and in the recording studio. Liam had his own band, Betchadupa
Betchadupa
Betchadupa is a New Zealand pop/rock group.Formed in 1997, in Auckland, the band features Liam Finn, son of Neil Finn, of Crowded House and Split Enz and Matt Eccles, son of Brent Eccles ....
, originally based in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, then London before releasing a solo album, I'll Be Lightning
I'll Be Lightning
I'll Be Lightning is the 2007 debut album by New Zealand artist Liam Finn. The album was recorded at his father Neil's Roundhead Studios in Auckland, New Zealand. The album is notable in that Liam plays most of the instruments himself. The cover references singer-songwriter Elliott Smith's 1995...
in 2008. He also played in Crowded House
Crowded House
Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia and led by New Zealand singer-songwriter Neil Finn. Finn is the primary songwriter and creative director of the band, having led it through several incarnations, drawing members from New Zealand , Australia and the United States...
's touring band lineup in 2007. Elroy Finn is also following in his father and brother's musical footsteps as drummer for the psychobilly
Psychobilly
Psychobilly is a fusion genre of rock music that mixes elements of punk rock, rockabilly, and other genres. It is one of several subgenres of rockabilly which also include thrashabilly, trashabilly, punkabilly, surfabilly and gothabilly...
band The Tricks and has previously filled in on drums for Cut Off Your Hands
Cut Off Your Hands
Cut Off Your Hands are an indie pop band from New Zealand influenced largely by post punk and indie pop groups such as The Smiths, Gang of Four, Orange Juice, Talking Heads, as well as NZ post-punk of The Mint Chicks and This Night Creeps...
. Elroy began touring as Liam's drummer in 2011 to promote Liam's second album 'FOMO'.
Recent work
Both Tim and Neil Finn share the stage and have released an album under the name The Finn Brothers. They have also performed with Neil Finn's son Liam FinnLiam Finn
Liam Mullane Finn is a New Zealand musician and songwriter. Born in Australia, he moved to New Zealand as a child...
.
Neil Finn solo discography
This discography relates to solo releases by Neil Finn only. See Split Enz discographySplit Enz discography
This is a complete discography listing for Split Enz, a New Zealand originated experimental rock-pop group. Their creative output includes several albums, singles, music videos, compilations as well as having albums pay tribute by other artists....
, Crowded House discography
Crowded House discography
This is a discography for the rock band Crowded House.The cover art for every Crowded House album has been created by or created under the direction of the group's bass player Nick Seymour, who is also a professional artist....
and The Finn Brothers' discography for other related works.
Albums
| Album | Release | Charts | Singles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Try Whistling This Try Whistling This Try Whistling This is the debut solo album released in 1998 by New Zealand singer/songwriter Neil Finn. The Japanese version of the album has a bonus track called "Tokyo", which also appears on the UK release of the single Sinner... |
1998
|
UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... ) Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... ) Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... ) Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical... ) |
Sinner (Neil Finn song) "Sinner" is the debut solo single by New Zealand singer/songwriter, Neil Finn, released in 1998.An acoustic version of the song was performed live and released on Radio Austin 107.1 KGSR's "Broadcasts Vol. 6" album.-Track listings:#Sinner#Astro... " She Will Have Her Way (song) "She Will Have Her Way" is a 1998 solo single by New Zealand singer/songwriter and Crowded House lead singer Neil Finn. The music video for this song is a spoof of the science fiction movie Attack of the 50 Foot Woman and the film The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock including film clips from both movies... " |
|
| Sessions at West 54th Neil Finn: Sessions at West 54th Sessions at West 54th is a solo live album released in 2000 by New Zealand singer-songwriter, Neil Finn as part of the US live musical television series Sessions at West 54th... |
2000
Sessions at West 54th Sessions at West 54th was an American television program that featured music performances, and was in some ways a pop music variation on the theme set by the long-lived Austin City Limits, though the featured musicians represented a number of musical genres. It was called Sessions at West 54th... . |
|
||
| One Nil One Nil One Nil, released in 2001, is the second solo album by New Zealand singer-songwriter, Neil Finn. When released in the United States the following year, the album had a slightly different track listing and was issued under the name One All.... |
2001
|
UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... ) Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical... ) |
|
|
| 7 Worlds Collide 7 Worlds Collide (album) 7 Worlds Collide is an album released in 2001 by New Zealand singer-songwriter Neil Finn. It is a live recording culled from a series of five shows recorded at the St James theatre in Auckland, New Zealand from April 2 to April 6, 2001... |
2001
Eddie Vedder Eddie Vedder is an American musician and singer-songwriter who is best known for being the lead singer and one of three guitarists of the alternative rock band Pearl Jam. He is widely considered a cultural icon of alternative rock.He is also involved in soundtrack work and contributes to albums... of Pearl Jam Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready... , Lisa Germano, Sebastian Steinberg, Johnny Marr Johnny Marr Johnny Marr is an English musician and songwriter. Marr rose to fame in the 1980s as the guitarist in The Smiths, with whom he formed a prolific songwriting partnership with Morrissey. Marr has been a member of Electronic, The The, and Modest Mouse... , Tim Finn Tim Finn Brian Timothy "Tim" Finn, OBE is a New Zealand singer and musician. Finn is most known for his music with New Zealand 1970s and 1980s rock group Split Enz, and later for his solo work, a temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowded House and his joint efforts with Neil Finn as the Finn... , Betchadupa Betchadupa Betchadupa is a New Zealand pop/rock group.Formed in 1997, in Auckland, the band features Liam Finn, son of Neil Finn, of Crowded House and Split Enz and Matt Eccles, son of Brent Eccles .... and New Zealand originated musicians and members of UK band Radiohead Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992... . |
UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... ) Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical... ) |
There Is a Light That Never Goes Out "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" is a song by the British alternative rock group The Smiths, written by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr. It was originally featured on their third album The Queen Is Dead , and was released as a single in 1992, five years after The Smiths split up... " |
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| The Sun Came Out The Sun Came Out The Sun Came Out is a charity studio album released on 31 August 2009 by New Zealand singer/songwriter Neil Finn for the benefit of Oxfam. The album was recorded at Neil Finn's Roundhead Studios and is a follow up to the 7 Worlds Collide live album of 2001... |
2009
Johnny Marr Johnny Marr is an English musician and songwriter. Marr rose to fame in the 1980s as the guitarist in The Smiths, with whom he formed a prolific songwriting partnership with Morrissey. Marr has been a member of Electronic, The The, and Modest Mouse... , Tim Finn Tim Finn Brian Timothy "Tim" Finn, OBE is a New Zealand singer and musician. Finn is most known for his music with New Zealand 1970s and 1980s rock group Split Enz, and later for his solo work, a temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowded House and his joint efforts with Neil Finn as the Finn... , Liam Finn Liam Finn Liam Mullane Finn is a New Zealand musician and songwriter. Born in Australia, he moved to New Zealand as a child... , Elroy Finn, Sharon Finn, Ed O'Brien & Phil Selway of Radiohead Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992... , Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt, Glenn Kotche & Pat Sansone of Wilco Wilco Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John... , KT Tunstall KT Tunstall Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist from St Andrews, Scotland. She broke into the public eye with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on Later... with Jools Holland... , Bic Runga Bic Runga Briolette Kah Bic Runga MNZM is a New Zealand pop recording artist whose first solo album, Drive, debuted at number one on the New Zealand RIANZ charts. She has since become one of the highest-selling New Zealand artists in recent history... , Don McGlashan Don McGlashan Don McGlashan is a New Zealand musician and songwriter who has been a member of bands such as The Plague, From Scratch, The Whizz Kids, Blam Blam Blam, The Front Lawn, The Mutton Birds and, from 2009, The Bellbirds. He composed several pieces for the Limbs Dance Company... , Nile Marr, Spencer Tweedy. |
UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... ) |
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Singles
| Date | Single | Album | Charts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ | AU | UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
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| 1996-06 | "Message to My Girl" (ENZSO Enzso ENZSO was an orchestral project started by former Split Enz keyboardist Eddie Rayner.-History:The project began with Eddie Rayner. He wanted something more from the old Split Enz songs, and doing orchestral arrangements seemed perfect... with Neil Finn) |
ENZSO Enzso (album) ENZSO is the eponymous debut album by the ENZSO project led by Eddie Rayner. The orchestral recording sessions were held at Symphony House in Wellington and National Radio Studios for the New Zealand Youth Choir.-Track listing:... |
– | 56 | – |
| 1998-06-14 | "Sinner Sinner (Neil Finn song) "Sinner" is the debut solo single by New Zealand singer/songwriter, Neil Finn, released in 1998.An acoustic version of the song was performed live and released on Radio Austin 107.1 KGSR's "Broadcasts Vol. 6" album.-Track listings:#Sinner#Astro... " |
Try Whistling This Try Whistling This Try Whistling This is the debut solo album released in 1998 by New Zealand singer/songwriter Neil Finn. The Japanese version of the album has a bonus track called "Tokyo", which also appears on the UK release of the single Sinner... |
– | 40 | 39 |
| 1998-06-21 | "She Will Have Her Way She Will Have Her Way (song) "She Will Have Her Way" is a 1998 solo single by New Zealand singer/songwriter and Crowded House lead singer Neil Finn. The music video for this song is a spoof of the science fiction movie Attack of the 50 Foot Woman and the film The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock including film clips from both movies... " |
Try Whistling This | 19 | 61 | 26 |
| 1999-02 | "Last One Standing" | Try Whistling This | – | – | – |
| 1999-06-27 | "I Can See Clearly Now I Can See Clearly Now -Certifications:-Charts:-Other covers:The song also appears in various other films, such as Grosse Pointe Blank, The Break-up, Thelma & Louise, Antz, Deep Blue Sea, Envy, Hitch, Shrek 2s Far Far Away Idol, Viktor Vogel – Commercial Man and Jennifer's Body, as well in a 2009 advertisement for Lipton... " |
16 | 88 | – | |
| 1999-10-03 | "Can You Hear Us" | 1 | – | – | |
| 2001-03-25 | "Rest of the Day Off" | One Nil One Nil One Nil, released in 2001, is the second solo album by New Zealand singer-songwriter, Neil Finn. When released in the United States the following year, the album had a slightly different track listing and was issued under the name One All.... |
29 | 77 | – |
| 2001–04 | "Wherever You Are" | One Nil | – | – | 32 |
| 2001-07-24 | "Last to Know" | One Nil | – | – | – |
| 2001–09 | "Hole In the Ice" | One Nil | – | – | 43 |
| 2001–11 | "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out There Is a Light That Never Goes Out "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" is a song by the British alternative rock group The Smiths, written by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr. It was originally featured on their third album The Queen Is Dead , and was released as a single in 1992, five years after The Smiths split up... " |
7 Worlds Collide | – | – | – |
As performer
- Live at the World Café: Vol. 15 - HandcraftedLive at the World Café: Vol. 15 - HandcraftedLive at the World Café: Handcrafted is the fifteenth volume in an ongoing series of compilation albums showcasing artists that appear on the radio program "World Cafe". "World Cafe" is a two-hour long nationally syndicated music program that originates from WXPN, a non-commercial station on the...
(2002, World Café) – "Driving Me Mad" - 107.1 KGSR Radio Austin - Broadcasts Vol.10 (2002) – "Private Universe"
- Andrew Denton Breakfast Show Musical Challenge (2000) – "Billie Jean"
- Andrew Denton's Musical Challenge V.2: Even More Challenged (2001) – "Sexual Healing"
- Through Space To Your Place (2001) – "Norwegian Wood"
- Maybe This Christmas (2002) – "Sweet Secret Peace"
- Antz Soundtrack (1998) – "I Can See Clearly Now"
As producer
- "No Commotion" (1983, single) - Karen Ansell
- Greenstone (1994, album) - Emma Paki
- Twist (1994, album) - Dave Dobbyn
- Nature (1995, album) - The Mutton Birds
- Moana and The Moahunters (1998, album) - Moana and The Moahunters
- Brand New (1999, album) (as executive producer) - The Stereo Bus
- Soul Lost Companion (1999, album) - Mark Lizotte
As session musician
- Just Drove Thru Town (1979, album) - Citizen BandCitizen BandCitizen Band were a New Zealand band formed by the brothers Geoff and Mike Chunn, both of whom had previously been members of Split Enz.- Band members :...
- Sing (1984, album) - Big Choir
- "Everything To Live For" (1986, maxi-single) - The Rock Party
- Rikki & Pete (1988, soundtrack)