Neil Finn biography
Neil Mullane Finn OBE (born 27 May 1958) is a New Zealand 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 their 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. 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.
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