Neil Finn

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, of which he shared lead duties with his brother Tim, and the lead singer, guitarist, and a founding member of Crowded House.

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 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.

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.

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".

By 1980, he was sharing lead singer duties and wrote their first international hit, "I Got You".

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.

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.

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 achieved international success in 1987 when they released the single "Don't Dream It's Over", written by Finn.

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.

After Crowded House disbanded in 1996, Finn and his brother released two albums as the Finn Brothers, before reforming Crowded House in 2006.

After releasing four albums—Crowded House, Temple of Low Men, Woodface, and Together Alone, the group broke up in 1996 and soon after released their greatest hits album Recurring Dream.

Following the breakup of Crowded House, Finn embarked on a solo career.

Finn has recorded four solo albums, Try Whistling This (1998), One Nil (2001), Dizzy Heights (2014), and Out of Silence (2017).

The album Afterglow was released in 1999, which contained previously unreleased Crowded House recordings.

Finn appeared as part of the BBC Four's Songwriters' Circle series in 1999, and explained that "Don't Dream It's Over" and "Better Be Home Soon" were both written quickly, with all of the elements of each song—such as lyrics and verses—emerging at the same time.

Finn also sang the opening lines of The Verve song "The Drugs Don't Work" to the opening chords of the latter song.

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.

He has also been a member of Fleetwood Mac since 2018.

Ed O'Brien of Radiohead has hailed Finn as popular music's "most prolific writer of great songs".

In April 2018, Finn joined Fleetwood Mac for their tour that year.

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.