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BIOGRAPHY…THE CHRONOLOGY, THE FACTS, AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS :

Born in Te Awamutu, 27/5/58. Son of Mary (nee Mullane) and Richard Finn. The youngest of four children, Carolyn, Tim (originally Brian) and Judy. Taught by nuns at St Patrick’s Primary, boarded at Sacred Heart Boys College for a little over a year before switching to co’ed Te Awamutu College for the rest of my high school days. I remember two good English teachers, Ron Martin and Marion Evans, as early inspirations and motivators.

I was also inspired by my older brother Tim to learn “Lara’s Theme” on piano at the age of 7. A few years later he joined Split Enz with talented painter and musical savant Phil Judd in 1972. Such a highly original band was a rare thing in NZ and their refusal to tread the usual path, not playing pubs, writing sprawling complex songs, embracing theatrics, costumes and makeup set my imagination free.

Also influenced by the singer-songwriters of the time – Neil Young, Cat Stevens, Elton John, David Bowie, Carole King – I found an outlet to sing and play some of these songs on piano and acoustic in the local folk club, learning much along the way about traditional folk from folk club stalwarts the Saxby family. I won a talent quest at Beach Resort Mt Maunganui, singing “Coming Into Los Angeles” and “You’ve Got A Friend”. Also won school music prize at Sacred Heart singing “Carolina On My Mind” with the McHardy Brothers.

Wrote my first song at the age of 15, “Late In Rome”, with an experienced musician from the folk club – Rod Murdoch.

I was asked to join Split Enz in April 1977 after Phil Judd departed. I wore glasses without lenses and jumped around a lot for the first year to cover my obvious lack of skill. Soon after, however, I wrote the song “I Got You” which went on to become a big hit so all turned out pretty well. After four more albums, playing alongside brother Tim, the very talented Eddie Rayner, Noel Crombie and Nigel Griggs, the band eventually broke up in 1984.

I formed Crowded House immediately following with drummer Paul Hester and Nick Seymour. Our first album, recorded in Los Angeles with producer Mitchell Froom, eventually went on to become successful, generating two top ten US hits – “Don’t Dream It’s Over” and “Something So Strong”. Crowded House went on to make four albums. In 1989 we took on a valuable fourth member, Mark Hart, and thereafter, following much touring, enjoyed good success in the UK and Europe, becoming known as a very entertaining and spirited live band. Back home in Australia and NZ our songs seemed to make deep connections across generations. The band eventually broke up in 1996 after recording what we regarded as our finest album, Together Alone, with producer Youth. We performed a memorable free and final concert in front of 150,000 people in front of the Sydney Opera House.

Soon after, I co-produced with Tchad Blake an album with brother Tim, upon which we played all the instruments. Although sales for this Finn Brothers project were modest, this album has become a fan favourite.

I then went on to make my first solo album Try Whistling This with Marius De Vries. Another solo album followed, One Nil / One All, recorded with Tchad Blake and featuring Wendy and Lisa (talented collaborators of Prince in his best period) and Jim Keltner.

A one off flight of fancy project unfolded around the same time, the year 2001 – “7 Worlds Collide” which brought together on stage friends and enthusiasts Ed O’Brien, Phil Selway, Johnny Marr, Ed Vedder, Sebastian Steinberg and Lisa Germano for a series of five shows in Auckland NZ which was filmed, recorded and released as a charity record for the benefit of Medicins Sans Frontieres.

This project was reprised seven years later with the addition of four members of Wilco and local music luminairies Bic Runga and Don McGlashan. A double album was recorded in three weeks and released for the benefit of Oxfam. Both 7 Worlds films have recently been released on DVD.

I worked again with my brother Tim in 2004 on a Finn Brothers record alongside Jon Brion and Sebastian Steinberg with production assistance from Mitchell Froom. It was mixed once again by rocket scientist and frequent collaborator Bob Clearmountain.

Since then, Crowded House have been revived with a feeling of things left unsaid in the aftermath of losing dear friend and original member Paul Hester. Two further albums have been recorded with production contributions from Ethan Johns, Steve Lillywhite and Tchad Blake and Jim Scott.

Three years ago, following a series of late night jams with my beautiful wife Sharon on bass and me on drums, we recorded an album under the name Pajama Club alongside respected NZ songwriter Sean Donnelly.

I am currently recording an album scheduled for release mid to late 2013 with producer Dave Fridmann and featuring my sons Liam on guitar and Elroy on drums, together with Sharon on bass. I have also written and performed with Elroy and Liam “The Song of the Lonely Mountain” for the end credits of the first Hobbit movie.

In Feb/March I embarked on a series of live dates around Australia performing on stage together with old friend and much loved Australian songwriter Paul Kelly.

All through the years I have loved performing on stage and am happy to have become known for spontaneous and relaxed evenings, always looking for a chance to step into the unknown. That’s where all the good stuff happens in my experience. My audiences know they have a good chance to influence proceedings…

Neil Finn

[enz-fan]

Split Enz performing at ‘Sound Relief’ in 2009.

Photos: Split Enz archives

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2008 reunion tour outfits, designed by Noel Crombie. Ripped and sewn back together - the costumes dyed with tea leaves for a more faded/weathered look. Very inventive with the most basic things...

Photos: Split Enz archives

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Peter Green: “March 25th 2008 - Wellington: TSB Bank Arena. Split Enz perform ‘Two of a Kind’ and ‘Carried Away’ at Soundcheck. Nigel Griggs walks back to the hotel which is 10 minutes away, it takes him an hour as he is mobbed by Enz fans. “

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Peter Green: “Manager David and myself were determined to get Split Enz to #1 on one of the NZ charts. So the "One Out Of The Bag" live dvd was added to merchandise at the shows. On 31-3-08-the Enz add another #1 to their chart success-this time on the NZ dvd charts! "Spellbound" was also climbing the charts again, peaking at #20 (17-3-08) and achieving NZ Platinum in sales.”

[enz-fan]

Compilation album released in Europe 2006.

http://kiakaha.net/2010/10/10/the-collection-the-best-of-the-early-years-europe-cd/

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From 2006 reunion tour - backstage pass with interesting story behind it:

Peter Green: “Mid tour we noticed our AAA access passes were bootlegged so to gain access to the backstage area, apart from your Access All Areas pass... it had to have a Simpsons character sticker on it too. No idea how I ended up with Marge... but it worked, though explaining it to security always raised an eyebrow.”

Photo: Split Enz archives

[enz-fan]

Backstage picture of band during 2006 reunion tour.

Neil Finn, Noel Crombie, Eddie Rayner, Neil Finn, Peter Green, Nigel Griggs, Tim Finn

Photo: Split Enz archives

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‘20th Century Masters The Best Of Split Enz’

release: 2004 country: Canada label: Universal Music cat.no:  0249817713 format: CD 01.I Got You 02.Hard Act To Follow 03.Six Months In A Leaky Boat 04.What's The Matter With You 05.One Step Ahead 06.I See Red 07.Message To My Girl 08.History Never Repeats 09.I Hope I Never 10.Dirty Creature 11.Poor Boy

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30th anniversary celebrations in 2002.

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A cool collection of Split Enz albums - they look impressive together on display.

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Article by Margo Huxley - early days in Australia, 1975. 

“On stage are what appear to be seven refugees from an op shop run by a lunatic asylum. They wear suits that are too big, too small or both at once. The singer’s hair is a frizz of tangles that falls over his heavily be-rouged face. He moves like a sped up movie of Charlie Chaplin doing an imitation of Harpo Marx - or is it vice versa? He comes on with a patter that sounds like ‘Waiting for Godot’ done by a music hall M.C.

Somewhere in the shadows lurks Groucho, complete with eyebrows and moustache, playing a Gibson electric guitar. Next to him, but only briefly, stands a fellow in a baggy brown suit from the set of the Godfather - he plays bass.

Round-faced and cherubic sits the drummer, almost hidden behind his kit, but visible enough to show that his suit too is certainly somebody’s cast-off.

A resurrected James Dean, white faced and hollow-eyed in a teddy boy suit of brilliant red, the pants of which are far too long and bag around the lower part of his legs, plays acoustic, electric suitar and mandolin.

The maestro of the keyboards - synthesizer, mellotron, string synthesizer and a piano that looks like someone has taken an axe to it, (and though electric, it sounds just like the real thing) - he is resplendent in tails, almost normal except that one sleeve ends at the left elbow and the other is about a foot beyond his right hand.

Then there’s this fellow just standing there, seemingly redundant in an ill-fitting pale blue suit, his head hanging like a broken marionette. Redundant that is, until he breaks forth with a pair of spoons in his hand, playing them against his head, his feet, his knees, anywhere. The rest of the time he plays slightly pixillated triangle, xylophone, bell-tree and tambourine to mention a few. Occasionally he strides up to a microphone, any microphone, to throw in a world or two of vocals.

Suddenly the demented action stops and the whole band stands in cameo stillness for a burst of electronic sound that fills the hall.

“Who are they?” a bloke in the audience asks his mate. “Dunno” the mate replies. “I think they’re Captain Matchbox.”

WRONG! This is Split Enz and as their name implies, they hail from New Zealand. Don’t be fooled. Just because they “dress funny” doesn’t mean they are like Captain Matchbox, skyhooks or - “Anyone who compares us with Roxy Music hasn’t heard Roxy Music” says Timothy Finn, lead singer.

Neither are they like Yes, King Crimson, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Beefheart, Zappa, Schonbert, Cage, Al Jolson, Scott Joplin, The Goons, Marcel Marceau, Monty Python or anyone else you like to mention. But comparisons are inevitable.

Comparisons are the direction with which we chart the waters of a new experience. In Split Enz music you fill find everything: classical and neo-classical; music hall honkeytonk and sleazy vaudeville; acoustic and electronic, with a blues and a boogie thrown in here and there; good ol’ rock’n’ roll; and just when you think they’ve done it all they hit you with a piano full of cool jazz, some Gregorian chants or calypso shouts for good measure.

These analogies are only signposts; the more you hear their music, the less you need them, and the more you come to realise that Split Enz create music that is individually theirs. Their lyrics conjure up nightmare visions, obsessions with madness and the macabre, woven out of cliches that spring at you with renewed vigour; phrases such as “time to kill”, “dead to the world” suggest sinister overtomes. Lines like “just hold me down if I have a fit... I think I’ll be all right... I’ll be normal someday”, “the rats are crawling up my back, it can only mean you’re coming back” are delivered with frenetic, demented mime that is more demonic than lunatic.

Some songs perhaps threaten to fall apart at the seams as style, rhythm and reference change and pile upon one another, but for the most part each song, as each performance, is carefully arranged.

“It’s a bloody orchestra.” one innocent bystander is heard to remark. And indeed ‘orchestrated’ is a better word for the music, and ‘choreographed’ a better word for the performance.

The taped Andrews Sisters-type music at the beginning with canned applause and the announcement “... SPLIT ENZ!”, the discourse on “how to get from A to B”, walking on an invisible conveyer belt going nowhere - the whole performance is a carefully planned sequence.

But not stilted, not unspontaneous. There are always new surprises even when, at daytime gigs they dispense with make up and stage clothes and appear as their normal selves. Despite the parodies and satires implied in their music - “Spoofs” is the word Timothy Finn uses - there clings to them an aura of innocence and naivety, like a Henri Rousseau painting.

This impression persists with them off stage. They are quietly spoken and polite. although their normal dress is somewhat - uh - eccentric in these days blue jeans and T-shirts, they are not the formidably intimidating maniacs they become on stage.

Timothy Finn, whose hair is no more manageable off stage than on, does most of the talking. Eddie Rayner of the keyboards is more relaxed, with a fresh-faced charm like the captain of the school cricket.

He joined Split Enz from Space Waltz, a group in which he earned much deserved renown for his wizardry on the ivories and electronic switches.

Jonathon Michael Chunn of the bass guitar has Byronic good looks that even his stage make up cannot hide, and Wally Wilkinson, moustache free from blackening and eyebrows normal is full of witty irrelevancies.

Emlyn Crowther, the man behind the drums, looks as Welsh as his name and smiles a lot. Noel Crombie is the owner of the chattering spoons. He is also the designer and maker of costumes, silent and forlorn looking, like a lost pup. And Philip Judd is reserved, almost disdainful, and stripped of grease paint, looks more like Rudolf Valentino than James Dean – that might be something to do with the scarf knotted at his throat.

Split Enz was formed about 3 years ago, but the present line up has only been together for about 10 months and work remarkably well. Timothy Finn and Philip Judd are responsible for the genesis of the words and music which the whole group then fashion into a final stage presentation.

They don’t like to talk about ‘influences’ – “The Beatles” says Timothy Finn without so much as a bat of an eyelid. And when you think about it anyone who plays music today can’t have escaped the ubiquitous presence of the Beatles. Anyway, Split Enz have admitted to liking the Kinds and the Sensational Alex Harvey Band. You can make what you like of that. It’s not a definitive list.

Their conversation is free of swearing and they don’t smoke, but have been seen to drink a beer or two on the odd occasion. They are naturally “un-hip”. They avoid words like ‘hassle’, ‘dig’, ‘gig’ and anyone in the group who makes such a blunder is gently offered alternatives like ‘bother’, ‘appreciate’, ‘job’.

Confusion occurs about their names – again because of their desire to reject the clichés of the pop world. They decided to take their second Christian names as first names which is why if you ever come across anything written about them in New Zealand, the names won’t tally. Sometimes they themselves forget and call each other by their old names, but the error is always quickly corrected.

However, some of them nationalistically flaunt the great New Zealand ‘eh’ on the end of their sentences. “That’s a great new piano we’ve just bought, eh” – not a question, a statement. But they are dropping the tag “New Zealand’s Top Band” and such like, which, while it is undoubtedly true, is just another cliché to be avoided like the plague (whoops, sorry).

Already their stay of three weeks in Australia has been extended to six in order to record with Festival in Sydney. The album will be produced by their manager Dave Russell and the cover design by ex art student Philip Judd. Out on Mushroom, the album will be a token of Michael Gudinski’s enthusiasm for this band.

They have been deluged with work, after an initially slow start in Sydney. They are the support act for the Leo Sayer Melbourne concert and have done an ABC GTK which was an immediate success. More than 60 phone calls came in after it was shown to ask who the band were – that’s some sort of record.

Up until this Australian tour, the group has always had plenty of time to recuperate from the last job and plan and prepare the next. But they are finding the rigours of touring with jobs every day or so, and sometimes more than one a day, very wearing. Any spare energy left over from the last performance must be channelled into preparing for the one following close on its heels.

Another result of the GTK spot was an approach from an ABC producer to do the sound track for a documentary called “Ten Australians”. In particular they are to back a sequence featuring the artist Sydney Ball at work.

Their plans for the future include a return to New Zealand for a couple of months, followed by a longer sojourn in Australia (amen to that), and depending on reactions to their album they hope to go to England…

Of course such an esoteric band does not have universal appeal, and being unknown in Australia, sight unseen, it’s even harder to win hearts and minds. They have great hopes that the album, plus their shows here and a bit of media exposure will make their return to Australia somewhat easier.

They do not appeal to the younger age groups – “they are no the audience we are really aiming at”. They got a poor reception at the Melbourne Festival Hall Skyhooks concert, where they were first on. The audience didn’t know and didn’t want to. (But I seem to remember once a long time ago, Skyhooks was an “underground” band). But at the Reefer Cabaret, at Unis and the Station Hotel standing ovations are the order of the day.

“There are many ways of saying goodbye:” Timothy Finn lurches into his pitch for the final number – limbs jerking, face twitching at the mercy of some drunken puppeteer; “Goodbye, Byebye, Adieu, See you later, Au revoir…” etc. “…SO LONG FOR NOW”.

Never fear, we have not seen the last of Split Enz. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is A Good Thing.”

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Rolling Stone article 1981, re Corroboree/Waiata LP.

A Trimmed Split Enz Takes Another Step Ahead

In 1980 two Australian albums - East by Cold Chisel and True Colours by Split Enz - racked up extraordinary sales figures, and now stand as two of the biggest selling Australian records ever, both continuing to sell after having passed the 200,000 mark recently. This year these two bands released new albums and the early figures are even more startling. Cold Chisel’s Swingsthift, a double live set, went almost immediately to the Number One slot, carried there by the band’s huge popularity and boosted by its scooping of the TW Week/Countdown Rock Awards.

On April 6, 1981, Split Enz’ seventh album, Corroboree, was released in Australia. After eight hours in the record stories, it clocked in on the national charts at Number Fifty-six, and the following week it had reached Number Eight. As we go to press, Corroboree had sold in excess of 50,000 units, and the Number One spot looks a certainty. While the Australian public takes the latest Split Enz offering to its heart, the band itself has other crops to reap, and to that end, departed Australia for a world tour on April 19. The four-month tour will see the band playing across New Zealand, America, England, Japan and Europe, and it looks like this time they’ll break into these lucrative markets. One source tipped, “This time, for the first time, Split Enz will see some returns for their efforts. They deserve it.”

Split Enz were originally a New Zealand band, but they’ve spent so much time in Australia in the past that they’re considered a local band on these shores. Before departing for their world tour the band played a quick “outback tour” which covered many of the country centres often ignored by successful acts. Split Enz remain almost slavishly faithful to their audience. These concerts, and concerts they played in capital cities prior to leaving, were all sell-outs. That goes without saying.

And before leaving, Split Enz’ two frontmen, the Finn brothers, found time in their hectic schedule to speak to Rolling Stone Contributing Editor Miranda Brown. The Tim and Neil Finn she spoke to were members of a band in the midst of a process of change, and having just replaced their former drummer, Malcolm Green, with their percussionist, Noel Crombie, they had a lot to talk about. Here’s the result.

By Miranda Brown

“What we needed was a bit of a kick up the bum,” says Neil Finn with a boy-next-door grin as he recalls recent events that he, as co-spokesman (along with brother Tim), must explain to the Australian public before Split Enz absent themselves on a five-month world tour.

The subject is the recent shakedown that marks the beginning of yet another Cycle in Split Enz’ constant change-and-develop career. The last began with the addition of bassist Nigel Griggs and Neil to the line-up and reached fruition with the album, True Colours. This latest began with the departure of drummer, amalcolm Green, who’d joined the band late in 1977.

“It all happened in about three days,” explains Neil. “We’re always been aware of Malcolms short-coming in terms of drumming - well, as far as not wanting to move ahead anyway - but we’d never really considered it until the beginning of the year and then suddenly everyone started feeling the same way. Once that happens in a band, once there’s a hint of change, you can’t stop it, or you get really stifled. if we’d done this tour for five months with the way things were, it could have threatened the very existence of the band.”

What is most surprising is not so much Green’s departure, but the band’s decision, rather than add another member, simply to switch Noel Crombie from percussion to drums.

“It’s funny, when we’re in a room with all five of us.” says Neil. “It always feels like there’s one missing. It’s the smallest Split Enz has ever been and it’s very good.

“In a way, Noel was a non-musician before. He was almost a figure-head on stage and he used to bang things and people found him very entertaining. Now he’s a fully-fledged musician.”

Neil brims with self-confidence as he speaks of the changes that Australia glimpsed on the first leg of the world tour. “We were a new band at the first date of this tour,” he says. “It was our first gig.”

A newly designed stage set-up includes sound duplicated on both sides of the stage, Crombie-designed ultra-violet costumes that make the Enz resemble sugar-plum fairies, and the rises that bring Crombie and keyboardist, Eddie Rayner, into full view. As with their music, the stripping down of personnel to essentials have brought previously obscured qualities into view.

True Colours revealed Neil’s considerable songwriting talents. The new album, Corroboree, includes a few more gems. As well as four songs by Neil and five by Tim, there’s two instrumentals composed by keyboardist, Eddie Rayner.

“He’s got hundreds of them hidden away.” says Neil. “They’d be perfect for a soundtrack.”

In their inimitable fashion, the Enz have dispensed with Corroboree album questions by printing a compilation of quotes culled from spoken tapes they each made. The most interesting quotes are those of Rayner on his two tracks, ‘Albert of India’ and ‘Wail’.

“‘Wail’ was basically an experiment to see if I could sing and I couldn’t. Singing is confidence and attitude and developing a style. My voice on ‘Wail’ was flanged, phased, limited, compressed, distorted, reverbed, mixed-back plus a touch of echo.

“‘Albert of India’ is atmospheric. That is what an instrumental has to be about, atmosphere and melody. I’m pleased. Some people say my tracks are very heavy. I have always been into heavy composers like Sibelius and Rachmaninoff.”

As usual, Split Enz are several steps ahead of the public. Corroboree was recorded last year and includes Green’s drumming. It is, for Neil, part of the old cycle, “part of a transition which is not as evident on the album as we are aware of it now. There are areas that we want to approach from a completely different angle now.” And there’s also the interesting prospect of compositions by Noel Crombie.

People are still calling Neil Finn ‘Tim,’ but he’s no longer living in his big brother’s shadow. In fact, it’s becoming the reverse. It was Neil’s song, ‘I Got You’ that led the band to  a change of fortune and the top of charts all over the globe.

Between a stream of words, Neil smokes a cigarette, sips a coffee with cream and throws nervous glances at the Sebel Townhouse door. He and the other Enz are spending their last few days here before heading off to Brisbane, New Zealand and then the U.S. Their photo sits in the company of other ‘Internationals’ at the entrance way to the Sebel.

One of the places they’ll first for the first time is the deep South of America.

“That’s going to be sort of cosmic. Everyone’s stories of that area are so strange. They shoot hitch-hikers,” he says in awe and anticipation “...And road-signs! You drive around the country and the road-signs are full of holes, and they hand in their guns at the door when they go to clubs!”

None of Split Enz were shocked at the news of Reagan’s shooting. Nor do they fear treading through that gun-crazed land. “We’re not important enough. Those people go for the best they can.”

After America, it’s Europe and England. “It depends on what’s fashionable, what the English think of Split Enz. When punk was happening Split Enz were laughed at. When we go back, I can almost imagine us being semi-trendy because of all the awful Spandau Ballet stuff. We were dressing like that three years ago!”

Then it’s Canada, where the bands are popular enough to play 2 to 3000 seat venues, and after that Japan for the first time. I’ll be interesting to see how Split Enz go in Japan, where teen idols are followed around the country by scores of adoring young girls. Even in Australia, the cute young Finn is a schoolgirl’s dream-boy.

Neil blushes at this notion, however, laughing and confused at the same time. “I suppose, young girls and that, yes, well, when they’re smiling at you, you’ve got to... you can’t help but notice them. when they’re running at you from a hundred yards. But, (taking a deep breath) but they’re fun, it’s fun having young screaming kids upfront. When I’m having a good night I love it. I can see faces and instant reactions to things. If I’m having an awkward night or a nervous night, I can’t even look at them.”

[enz-fan]

Neil Finn biography, March 1980.

[enz-fan]

The Gold Collection - compilation album.

release: 1997 country: Holland label: EMI cat.no:  7243 8 21087 2 6 format: CD

01.Late Last Night 02.Another Great Divide 03.My Mistake 04.Starnger Than Fiction 05.Walking Down A Road 06.Crosswords 07.History Never Repeats 08.Matinee Idyll 09.Lovey Dovey 10.Time For A Change 11.Charley 12.Bold As Brass 13.I See Red 14.I Got You

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‘Stranger Than Fiction’ - compilation album.

release: 1997 country: Holland label: Disky cat.no:  DC 882882 format: CD