Neil Finn

Neil Finn was still at boarding school in Te Amawutu on New Zealand's North Island when he first started playing gigs in prisons, hospitals and parties. Leaving school, he formed the band After Hours before moving to London to link up with elder brother Tim Finn in the successful alternative rock band Split Enz, eventually taking over as lead vocalist and writing much of the material. When they split in 1984, heformed a new band The Mullanes, who re-named themselves Crowded House before releasing their self-titled debut album in 1986. Their sensitive, neatly crafted, Beatles-flavoured music brought huge success all over the world on the back of hit singles Don't Dream It's Over and Weather Like You, and although they split in 1996, they reformed for a new album and a major tour in 2007. In between, Finn worked on his solo material with the albums Try Whistling This (1998) and One Nil (2001) and wrote the music for the 2001 movie Rain. His solo work has never matched the success of Crowded House, but he remains widely respected.