Brian Timothy Finn (born 25 June 1952) is a New Zealand singer, songwriter, musician, and composer. He is best known as a founding member of Split Enz and for his work with his brother Neil, including contributions to Neil's band Crowded House. Finn founded Split Enz in 1972 with Phil Judd, and the two served as the band's co-lead singers and songwriters. Judd's 1977 departure initially left Finn as the sole lead singer and songwriter, though Judd's replacement, Finn's brother Neil, eventually joined Tim as co-lead singer and songwriter. Tim Finn wrote or co-wrote some of the band's best-known songs, including "I See Red", "Dirty Creature", "I Hope I Never" and "Six Months in a Leaky Boat". While still a member of Split Enz, he released his first solo album Escapade in 1983. A commercial success, the album also produced two hit singles with "Fraction Too Much Friction" and "Made My Day". Finn left Split Enz in early 1984, though he briefly returned for the band's farewell tour later that year.

In 1989, Tim joined Neil's post-Split Enz band Crowded House, in time for their third album Woodface. Tim co-wrote the majority of the songs on the album with his brother Neil, including the hits "Four Seasons in One Day", "Weather with You" and "It's Only Natural". Leaving the band in 1991, he reunited with Neil again later in the 1990s under the name Finn Brothers. As well as continuing his solo career, Finn has participated in various collaborations with other artists, including former Split Enz members, and has also composed scores for films and musicals.

Along with his brother, Finn was appointed Officer of the Order of British Empire in 1993 for his services to music.

Early life and education

Brian Timothy Finn was born on 25 June 1952 in Te Awamutu, New Zealand, weighing 10 pounds at birth, to parents Richard and Mary. He has two sisters, and one younger brother, Neil Finn.

At the age of 13, he went to Sacred Heart College, Auckland, a Catholic boarding school, on a scholarship. In 1983, Finn recorded his debut solo album, Escapade, while still a member of Split Enz. to premiere in Brisbane by Queensland Theatre Company in November 2015.

As England and New Zealand went into COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, Finn and Phil Manzanera began working collaboratively on an album Caught by the Heart. The album was released on 26 August 2021. The album is produced by the two of them, with Manzanera doing the lead instrumental and Finn doing the vocals.

1995–2005 : Finn Brothers

thumb|Tim and [[Neil Finn|Neil as the Finn Brothers.]]

thumb|Tim Finn performing in [[Wellington.]]

In 1989, Finn began playing music with younger brother Neil, for an intended Finn brothers record. After working together on some songs, Neil later proposed incorporating the tracks onto the latest album of Crowded House, the group Neil had formed after Split Enz dissolved.

The Finn Brothers resumed their collaborative work and released Finn in 1995. A second and final album was released in 2004 titled, Everyone Is Here. A Mojo magazine review stated that it contained "some of the most haunting music to bear the Finn imprint".

2020–present: Forenzics, Ihitea Aveia

In 2020 Finn co-created Forenzics with former Split Enz keyboardist Eddie Rayner. Forenzics is an experimental project with the debut album Shades and Echoes (2022) as a transformation of the songs of Mental Notes. Alongside Finn and Rayner are Noel Crombie and Phil Judd, who were in Split Enz during the recording of the original album - and also Phil Manzanera who was involved in the redevelopment of Mental Notes into Second Thoughts. Initial singles "Chances Are" and "Premiere Fois" were officially released in November 2021, however "Walking", "Strange Stars" and "Abandoned" were all released before on YouTube (from early 2020 until early 2021). In 2021, he collaborated with Tahitian novelist Célestine Hitiura Vaite and Tom Mcleod for an opera based on the life of Tupaia titled Ihitea Aveia for New Zealand Opera.

In 2022, Tim Finn involved himself in the Waiata / Anthems project producing a Māori language cover of the track "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" (as "Ono Marama Takerehāia").

Personal life

Finn was briefly married to English dancer Liz Malam from 1981–1982. He was in a relationship with actress Greta Scacchi from 1984–1989. Since 1997 he has been married to television presenter Marie Azcona, formerly of MTV and TVNZ One's Music Week. Finn and Azcona have two children, and have collaborated on several songs, some of which are featured on Steel City, the dance show that Finn wrote. Aside from co-writing two tracks with Azcona, Finn collaborated on another with former Split Enz member Mike Chunn. Finn's son Harper and daughter Elliot are musicians in their own right.

Discography

Studio albums

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

|+ List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;"| Title

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

! scope="col" colspan="5"| Peak chart positions

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;"| Certifications<br><small>(sales thresholds)</small>

|-

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

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| US<br/>

|-

! scope="row" | Escapade

|

  • Released: June 1983
  • Label: Mushroom <small>(RML 53104)</small>
  • Formats: LP, MC

| 1 || 8 || 10 || — || 161

|

|-

! scope="row" | Big Canoe

|

  • Released: April 1986
  • Label: Virgin <small>(V-2369)</small>
  • Formats: LP, MC, CD

| 3 || 31 || — || — || —

|

  • RIANZ: Gold

|-

! scope="row" | Tim Finn

|

  • Released: April 1989
  • Label: Capitol <small>(ST748735)</small>
  • Formats: LP, MC, CD

| 8 || 47 || — || — || —

|

|-

! scope="row" | Before & After

|

  • Released: July 1993
  • Label: Capitol <small>(7949042)</small>
  • Formats: MC, CD

| 3 || 34 || 72 || 29 || —

|

|-

! scope="row" | Say It Is So

|

  • Released: 1999
  • Label: Periscope <small>(5243782)</small>
  • Formats: CD

| — || — || — || — || —

|

|-

! scope="row" | Feeding the Gods

|

  • Released: June 2001
  • Label: Periscope, EMI Music <small>(53512523)</small>
  • Formats: CD

| 27 || — || — || — || —

|

|-

! scope="row" | Imaginary Kingdom

|

  • Released: October 2006
  • Label: Capitol <small>(09463754602 4)</small>
  • Formats: CD

| 18 || 48 || — || — || —

|

|-

! scope="row" | The Conversation

|

  • Released: November 2008
  • Label: Capitol <small>(50999 265303 2 1)</small>
  • Formats: CD, digital download

| — || — || — || — || —

|

|-

! scope="row" | The View Is Worth the Climb

|

  • Released: August 2011
  • Label: ABC Music / UMA <small>(2779444)</small>
  • Formats: CD, digital download

| 28 || — || — || — || —

|

|-

! scope="row" | Caught by the Heart<br />

|

  • Released: 2021
  • Label: Expression <small>(EXPCD41)</small>
  • Formats: CD, DD

| — || — || — || — || —

|

|}

Live albums

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

|+ List of compilation albums, with selected chart positions

! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;"| Title

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

! scope="col" colspan="1"| Peak chart positions

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

|-

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

! scope="col" style="width:40px;"|AUS<br>

! scope="col" style="width:40px;"|CAN<br />

! scope="col" style="width:40px;"|UK<br />

|-

| 1986

| style="text-align:left;"|"Sailing Away" <small>(as All of Us)</small>

| style="text-align:center;"| 1

| To help raise money and support for New Zealand's 1986–7 America's Cup campaign

|}

  • This discography relates to releases by Tim Finn only. See also Finn Brothers' discography, Crowded House discography and Split Enz discography for other related works.

Awards

RIANZ Awards

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

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Year

! Award

! Work

! With

!Result

|-

| rowspan=2|1984

| rowspan=2|International Achievement

|

| solo

|

|-

|

| Split Enz

|

|-

| rowspan=2|1989

| Best Male Vocalist

|

| solo

|

|-

| Best Songwriter

| "Parihaka"

| solo

|

|-

| 1992

| Best Songwriter

| "It's Only Natural"

| with Neil Finn

|

|-

| rowspan=3|1996

| Album of the Year

| Finn

| Finn Brothers

|

|-

| Best Group

|

| Finn Brothers

|

|-

| International Achievement

|

| Finn Brothers

|

|-

| 2001

| Album of the Year

| Together in Concert: Live

| with Dave Dobbyn & Bic Runga

|

|-

| rowspan=3|2005

| Album of the Year

| Everyone Is Here

| Finn Brothers

|

|-

| Single of the Year

| "Won't Give In"

| Finn Brothers

|

|-

| International Achievement Award

| Everyone Is Here

| Finn Brothers

|

|-

| 2007

| Best Male Solo Artist

| Imaginary Kingdom

| solo

|

|}

ARIA Awards

The ARIA Music Awards are awarded annually by the Australian Recording Industry Association.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Year

! Award

! Work

! With

!Result

|-

| rowspan=2|1987

|Best Male Artist

| rowspan="2" | Big Canoe

| solo

|

|-

|Highest Selling Album

| solo

|

|-

|1993

|Song of the Year

|"Weather With You"

|with Neil Finn (for Crowded House)

|

|-

| rowspan="2" |1994

| Best Male Artist

| Before and After

| solo

|

|-

|Song of the Year

|"Persuasion"

|solo

|

|-

| 1996

| Song of the Year

| "Suffer Never"

| with Neil Finn (for The Finn Brothers)

|

|}

Countdown Australian Music Awards

Countdown was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974 to 1987, it presented music awards from 1979 to 1987, initially in conjunction with magazine TV Week. The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards.

|-

|1981

| himself

| Best Australian Songwriter

|

|-

| 1982

| himself

| Best Australian Songwriter

|

|-

| rowspan="5" |1983

| Escapade

| Best Australian Album

|

|-

| rowspan="2" | "Fraction too Much Friction"

| Best Australian Single

|

|-

| Best Video

|

|-

| rowspan="2" | himself

| Songwriter of the Year

|

|-

| Most Popular Male Performer

|

|-

|1984

| himself

| Most Popular Male Performer

|

|-

|1985

| himself

| Most Popular Male Performer

|

|-

Helpmann Awards

The Helpmann Awards for live performance in Australia are awarded annually by Live Performance Australia.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Year

! Award

! Work

! With

!Result

|-

| rowspan=2| 2016

|Best New Australian Work

| rowspan="2" | Ladies in Black

| Carolyn Burns and Tim Finn with Simon Phillips

|

|-

|Best Original Score

| solo

|

|}

References

  • AudioCulture profile
  • Tim Finn's MySpace site
  • Fanclub endorsed site
  • Australian Record Company site
  • Trouser Press commentary on Crowded House, Neil Finn and Tim Finn discography
  • Elsewhere Tim Finn retrospective to 2009
  • Cane Toads: An Unnatural History