Neil Finn - WikiHQ

Neil Mullane Finn (born 27 May 1958) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known for being a principal member of Split Enz and for being the lead singer of Crowded House. He was also a member of Fleetwood Mac from 2018 until 2022. Ed O'Brien of Radiohead has hailed Finn as popular music's "most prolific writer of great songs".

Finn joined Split Enz in 1977 after the departure of founding member Phil Judd and facilitated the band's shift away from art rock towards new wave pop. Gradually rising in creative prominence within the band, he wrote the majority of the band's hits in the 1980s, including "I Got You", "One Step Ahead", "History Never Repeats", and "Message to My Girl". After Split Enz broke up in 1984, Finn helped form Crowded House with Split Enz's final drummer Paul Hester and served as the band's lead singer and principal songwriter. Crowded House achieved international success in 1987 when they released the single "Don't Dream It's Over", written by Finn.

After Crowded House disbanded in 1996, Finn and his brother released two albums as the Finn Brothers before reforming Crowded House in 2006. In April 2018, Finn joined Fleetwood Mac for their tour that year and was a member of the band until they disbanded in 2022. Finn has also recorded several successful solo albums, assembled diverse musicians for the 7 Worlds Collide project, and contributed to several film and television soundtracks.

Early life

Neil Mullane Finn was born on 27 May 1958, the youngest of four children, to Dick and Mary Finn in Te Awamutu, New Zealand. His mother, a devout Roman 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 idolised his brother and wished to imitate his actions, learning to play guitar and piano at the same time Tim did. Tim was more public about his musical aspirations, and won ten shillings in his annual talent contest at school shortly after enrolling. When Tim left to study at Sacred Heart College, a boarding school in Auckland, eight-year-old Neil started playing a guitar that his older brother left behind. A natural performer, Finn was nicknamed 'The Ant' by his family due to his determined and ambitious nature.

Finn attended Sacred Heart boarding school in Auckland and Te Awamutu College in Te Awamutu, Waikato. 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.

Career

1977–1984: Split Enz

In 1976, Finn formed the group After Hours, with Mark Hough, Geoff Chunn, and Alan Brown. Not long after the band's debut performance, Finn's brother Tim invited him to join Split Enz in London, replacing original singer-songwriter Phil Judd. By 1980, he was sharing lead singer duties and wrote their first international hit, "I Got You". Finn contributed significantly to the band's later albums, and even briefly assumed leadership in the band's final days when Tim Finn left in 1984.

1985–1996: Crowded House

thumb|200px|Finn during Crowded House's heyday, San Francisco, 1987

After the breakup of Split Enz in 1984, Finn formed a new band called The Mullanes (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) who Finn 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 enjoy worldwide acclaim; particularly, with its two major hits "Don't Dream It's Over" (1987: US No. 2; Canada and New Zealand No. 1) and "Weather With You" (1992: UK No. 7). Both Neil and his brother Tim were appointed as Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to music in the 1993 Queen's Birthday Honours. Finn penned a theme song for the All Blacks' participation in the 1999 Rugby World Cup, "Can You Hear Us?", that made it to the top of the New Zealand charts in October.

Finn has recorded four solo albums, Try Whistling This (1998), One Nil (2001), Dizzy Heights (2014), and Out of Silence (2017). One Nil was released in the US and Canada in a remixed version with two new tracks, one track deleted and reordered, and was renamed One All (2002). Neil and Tim Finn also collaborated on a Finn Brothers album, Finn, that was released in 1995.

In 2001, Finn released a live album/DVD (7 Worlds Collide) consisting of songs recorded at St James Theatre in Auckland with several other artists. Finn was also heavily involved in creating the 2001 soundtrack for the motion picture Rain. Everyone Is Here, a second Finn Brothers album, was released in 2004.

2006–present: Reformation of Crowded House, family collaborations and Fleetwood Mac

In January 2007, Crowded House reformed with Finn, Nick Seymour, Mark Hart, and new drummer Matt Sherrod, as Paul Hester had died 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. The band then commenced a world tour.

Finn appeared on fellow musician Missy Higgins' CD, On a Clear Night (2007).

thumb|180px|right|Finn playing at Calvin Theatre, August 2007

Finn and his wife Sharon began a side project called Pajama Club in 2011. After Finn's children, Liam and Elroy, left the family home to pursue their own musical careers, the two wondered what to do to fill the time left open by their children's absence.

During February and March 2013, Finn and Paul Kelly undertook their collaborative Goin' Your Way Tour of Australia. One of their performances at the Sydney Opera House was recorded for the live album, Goin' Your Way (8 November 2013). It was also issued as a DVD, which peaked at No. 1 on the ARIA Music DVD Chart.

Finn's solo album, Dizzy Heights, was released in Australia and New Zealand on 7 February 2014 via Kobalt Label Services. His sons and his wife also play on the album. Dizzy Heights is his third solo album.

thumb|left|Finn and [[Stevie Nicks performing in Fleetwood Mac, 2018]]

On 15 April 2018, Fleetwood Mac announced that Finn had joined the band along with Heartbreakers' lead guitarist Mike Campbell. In 2018, Finn joined Fleetwood Mac as a touring member following following the departure of Lindsey Buckingham and performed with the band on their 2018-2019 world tour, contributing guitar, keybaords and vocals.

In August 2018, Finn released the album Lightsleeper as a collaboration with his son Liam.

Charity work

In 1986, Finn performed with The Rock Party, a charity project initiated by the National Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NCADA) that included many Australasian musicians such as Reg Mombassa from Mental As Anything, Tim Finn, and Nick Seymour and Paul Hester of Crowded House.

Film and television

Finn has contributed solo music to various film and TV soundtracks including Rain, Boston Legal, Boston Public, The Waiting Game, Antz, and Sports Night. In 2012, Finn recorded the song "Song of the Lonely Mountain", which was featured in the end credits of Peter Jackson's film adaptation The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Finn and his wife have two sons, Liam Finn and Elroy Finn. Both are musicians.

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| AUS

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| UK

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| NOR

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| NLD

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| US Heat

! scope="row"| Try Whistling This

Released: 16 June 1998
Label: Parlophone (72434 95139 2 1)

| 1

| 5

| 18

| 88

| 19

ARIA: Platinum

! scope="row"| Sessions at West 54th

Part of the US television series Sessions at West 54th.
Released: 19 December 2000
Label: Sony BMG

| —

! scope="row"| One Nil

Released with the title One All in the United States in 2002.
Released: 19 March 2001
Label: Parlophone (7243 5 32112 2 6)

| 1

| 9

| 14

| —

| 26

ARIA: Gold

! scope="row"| 7 Worlds Collide

Released: 26 February 2002
Label: Parlophone (5366452)

| 5

| —

| 140

| —

| 45

! scope="row"| The Sun Came Out

Released: 31 August 2009
Label: Sony (88697583451)

| 2

| 39

| 58

| —

! scope="row"| Goin' Your Way

With Paul Kelly
Released: 8 November 2013
Label: EMI (3758245)

| —

| 5

| —

ARIA: Gold

! scope="row"| Dizzy Heights

Released: 7 February 2014
Label: Lester, Kobalt

| 5

| 6

| 22

| —

| 53

| —

! scope="row"| Out of Silence

Released: 1 September 2017
Label: Lester

| 10

| 9

| 71

| —

! scope="row"| Lightsleeper

Released: 24 August 2018
Label: Inertia, PIAS

| 8

| 21

| 83

| —

|colspan="9" style="font-size:90%"| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Live albums

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"

! Title

! Album details

! scope="row" | Solo at the Seymour Centre, 2010

Released: 1 October 2019

Format: CD (limited), DD, streaming
Label: Neil Finn, Black Box Records/ MGM Distribution

Singles

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"| Title

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:2.5em;"| Year

! scope="col" colspan="4"| Peak chart positions

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Album

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| NZ

! scope="row"| "Dots on the Shells" (Yothu Yindi with Neil Finn)

| 1994

| —

| Freedom

! scope="row"| "Message to My Girl" (ENZSO with Neil Finn)

| 1996

| —

| 56

| —

| ENZSO

! scope="row"| "Sinner"

| rowspan="2" | 1998

| —

| 40

| 39

| 12

| rowspan="3" | Try Whistling This

! scope="row"| "She Will Have Her Way"

| 19

| 61

| 26

| —

! scope="row"| "Last One Standing"

| rowspan="3" | 1999

| —

! scope="row"| "I Can See Clearly Now"

| 16

| 88

| —

| rowspan="2"| Non-album single

! scope="row"| "Can You Hear Us"

| 1

| —

! scope="row"| "Rest of the Day Off"

| rowspan="5"| 2001

| 29

| 77

| —

| rowspan="4"| One Nil

! scope="row"| "Wherever You Are"

| —

| 32

| —

! scope="row"| "Last to Know"

| —

! scope="row"| "Hole in the Ice"

| —

| 43

| —

! scope="row"| "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out"

| —

| 7 Worlds Collide

! scope="row"| "Driving Me Mad"

| 2002

| —

| 17

| One All

! scope="row"| "Dizzy Heights"

| rowspan="2" | 2014

| —

| rowspan="2" | Dizzy Heights

! scope="row"| "Flying in the Face of Love"

| —

! scope="row"| "More Than One of You"

| rowspan="2" | 2017

| —

| rowspan="2"| Out of Silence

! scope="row"| "Second Nature"

| —

! scope="row"| "Find Your Way Back Home" (with Stevie Nicks & Christine McVie)

| 2020

| —

| Non-album single

| colspan="7" style="font-size:90%"| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Other contributions

As performer

Diana, Princess of Wales: Tribute (1997) – "Don't Dream It's Over (acoustic)"
Antz soundtrack (1998) – "I Can See Clearly Now"
Andrew Denton Musical Challenge (2000) – "Billie Jean"
Andrew Denton's Musical Challenge Volume 2: Even More Challenged (2001) – "Sexual Healing"
Through Space To Your Place (2001) – "Norwegian Wood"
Live at the World Café: Vol. 15 - Handcrafted (2002, World Café) – "Driving Me Mad"
107.1 KGSR Radio Austin – Broadcasts Vol.10 (2002) – "Private Universe"
Maybe This Christmas (2002) – "Sweet Secret Peace"
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) – "Song of the Lonely Mountain"
Neil Hamburger Presents Seasonal Depression Suite (2023) – "Here Comes The Season Again"

As producer

"No Commotion" (1983, single) – Karen Ansel
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 Band
Sing (1984, album) – Big Choir
"Everything To Live For" (1986, maxi-single) – The Rock Party
Rikki & Pete (1988, soundtrack)

|1980

| himself – Split Enz

| Best Recorded Song Writer

|1981

| himself

| Most Popular Male Performer

| 1984

| himself

| Best Songwriter

| 1986

| himself

| Best Songwriter

Helpmann Awards

The Helpmann Awards is an awards show, celebrating live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Performance Australia since 2001.

| 2013

| Neil Finn and Paul Kelly

| Best Australian Contemporary Concert

RIANZ New Zealand Music Awards

The New Zealand Music Awards are awarded annually by the RIANZ in New Zealand.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! Year

! Award

Sources

Bibliography

External links

AudioCulture profile
Neil Finn: Songwriter
Interview with Neil Finn : The Pajama Club
Trouser Press commentary on Crowded House, Neil Finn and Tim Finn discography