Neil Finn (vocals, guitar, piano) and drummer Paul Hester (
the Cheks,
Deckchairs Overboard) were both former members of New Zealand band
Split Enz, which spent part of 1975–76 in Australia and several years in England. At Capitol's behest, the band's name was changed to Crowded House, which alluded to the lack of space at the small
Hollywood Hills house they shared during the recording of the album
Crowded House. Former Split Enz keyboardist Eddie Rayner produced the track "Can't Carry On" and was asked to join the band. He toured with them in 1988, but was unable to become a full member due to family commitments.
Early albums (1986–1990) Thanks to their Split Enz connection, the newly formed Crowded House had an established
Australasian fanbase. New Zealand radio stations initially gave the song little support until months later when it became internationally successful. Ultimately, the song reached number one on the
New Zealand singles chart and number eight in Australia. The video also earned the group the
MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist that year. The song has often been
covered by other artists and gave
Paul Young a hit single in 1991. It was also used for a
New Zealand Tourism Board advertisement in its "100% Pure New Zealand" worldwide promotion from October 2005. In May 2001, "Don't Dream it's Over" was voted seventh in a poll of the
best Australian songs of all time by the
Australasian Performing Right Association. Pop Festival, May 1988. L to R: Seymour, Finn, Hester In June 1987, nearly a year after its release,
Crowded House finally reached number one on the Kent Music Report Album Charts. and made the top 20 in several other European countries. The third single from
Woodface, "
Weather With You", peaked at No. 7 in early 1992 giving the band their highest UK chart placement. By contrast, the album had limited success in the US, only reaching number 83 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart and selling 225,000 copies. Performances on the UK tour, at the Town and Country Club in London, were recorded live and given a limited release in Australia, while individual songs from those shows were released as B-sides of singles in some countries. In June 1993 the
New Zealand government recommended that the Queen award an OBE to Neil and Tim Finn for their contribution to the music of New Zealand. Worried that their goodbye had been too low-key and had disregarded their home fans, the band performed the
Farewell to the World concert on the steps of the
Sydney Opera House on 24 November 1996, which raised funds for the
Sydney Children's Hospital. The concert featured the line-up of Neil Finn, Nick Seymour, Mark Hart and Paul Hester. Tim Finn and Peter Jones both made guest appearances. Support bands on the day were
Custard,
Powderfinger and
You Am I. The concert had one of the largest live audiences in Australian history with the crowd being estimated at between 120,000 and 250,000 people.
Farewell to the World was released on VHS in December 1996. In 2007, a double CD and a DVD were issued to commemorate the concert's tenth anniversary. The DVD featured newly recorded audio commentary by Finn, Hart and Seymour and other new bonus material. Paul Hester worked with children's entertainers
the Wiggles, playing "Paul the Cook". He also had his own
ABC show ''Hessie's Shed'' in Australia from late 1997. The band released one album, 2003's
Handheld Torch, which was produced by Seymour. In May 1999, Crowded House issued a compilation of unreleased songs,
Afterglow, which included the track "Recurring Dream", recorded when the group were still called the Mullanes and included Craig Hooper on guitar. On 26 March 2005, Paul Hester died by suicide in a park near his home in Melbourne. He was 46 years old. His obituary in
The Sydney Morning Herald stated that he had fought "a long battle with depression". Writing in 2010, Neil Finn said that "When we lost Paul it was like someone pulled the rug out from underneath everything, a terrible jolt out of the dark blue. He was the best drummer I had ever played with and for many years, my closest friend."
Reunion and Time on Earth (2006–2009) In 2006 Neil Finn asked Nick Seymour to play bass on his third solo album. Seymour agreed and the two joined with producer and multi-instrumentalist
Ethan Johns to begin recording.
Intriguer topped the Australian album chart, It includes 19 of the band's greatest hits and is also available in a box set with a 25 track DVD of their music videos. A deluxe digital version, available for download only, has 32 tracks including a rare 1987 live recording of the band's version of the
Hunters & Collectors song "
Throw Your Arms Around Me". No mention of this album has been made on the band's official website or Twitter page, which suggests that they are not involved with its release. Following the success of the album
She Will Have Her Way in 2005, a second album of cover versions of Finn Brothers songs (including Crowded House songs) was released on 12 November 2010. Entitled
He Will Have His Way, all tracks are performed by Australasian male artists. In November 2011 an Australian tour featured artists involved with the "She Will Have Her Way" and "He Will Have His Way" projects, including
Paul Dempsey,
Clare Bowditch,
Seeker Lover Keeper (
Sarah Blasko,
Sally Seltmann and
Holly Throsby), Alexander Gow (
Oh Mercy) and
Lior. The band played what would be their last concert for over five years at the A Day on the Green festival in Auckland on 27 February 2011. Former Crowded House drummer
Peter Jones died from brain cancer on 18 May 2012, aged 49. A statement issued by the band described him as "A warm-hearted, funny and talented man, who was a valuable member of Crowded House." In September 2015 the song "Help is Coming", from the
Afterglow album, was released as a download and limited edition 7" single to raise money for the
Save the Children charity. The B-side, "Anthem", was a previously unreleased track, recorded at the same demo session as "Help is Coming" in 1995, with vocals added in 2015.
Peter Jones plays drums on both songs. The money was used to provide shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene for refugees in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. Neil Finn said of "Help Is Coming" that "It was always a song about refugees, even if at the time I was thinking about the immigrants setting off on ships from Europe to America, looking for a better life for their families. There is such a huge scale and urgency to the current refugee crises that barely a day goes by without some crushing image or news account to confront us. We can't be silent any more." Neil Finn confirmed in a 2016 interview with the Dutch newspaper
Volkskrant that Crowded House had been on indefinite hiatus since the end of the
Intriguer tour. Later that year, however, he and Seymour announced a series of concerts at the Sydney Opera House to mark the 20th anniversary of the
Farewell to the World show (24 November 1996). The band, with the same lineup as its initial reunion and
Tim Finn as guest, performed four shows between 24 and 27 November 2016. Around the same time, each of the band's 7 studio albums (including the rarities collection
Afterglow) was reissued in deluxe 2-CD format with bonus tracks including demos, live recordings, alternate mixes, b-sides and outtakes. In April 2018, Neil Finn joined
Fleetwood Mac, along with
Mike Campbell of
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, as a full-time member in the wake of
Lindsey Buckingham's departure from the band.
Re-formation, new line-up and Dreamers Are Waiting (2019–2023) In August 2019, Crowded House announced a reunion show at the 2020
Byron Bay Bluesfest. Shortly afterwards, Mark Hart announced that he would not be involved in the group's reunion. Finn confirmed Hart's departure on his podcast Fangradio, noting that he "love[s] Hart dearly as a friend, as a contributor and a collaborator" and that "all will be revealed... trust that good thought and good heart gets put into all of these decisions." In December 2019, Neil Finn announced that the new Crowded House line-up would consist of himself, Seymour, the band's original producer
Mitchell Froom and his sons
Liam and Elroy. He added that they were making a new studio album, the first since 2010's
Intriguer. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, the band's planned 2020 concerts have had to be rescheduled to 2021, and later again to 2022. On 15 October 2020, the band released "Whatever You Want", the first single from the band in over a decade. The band also shared an accompanying music video, starring
Mac DeMarco. On 17 February 2021, the band shared another single, "To the Island." The track serves as the second single to the band's seventh studio album,
Dreamers Are Waiting, which was announced on the same day for release on 4 June 2021. The band supported the single with a national tour of New Zealand in March 2021. On 19 August 2021, the band performed their single "To the Island" on
CBS's
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. On 2 December 2021, the band announced that it will be touring Australia in 2022, with 6 shows around the country, including the 2022 Bluesfest lineup. On 24 June 2022, the band played at
Glastonbury Festival. In May 2023, Crowded House tour North America for the promotion of the album
Dreamers Are Waiting.
Gravity Stairs (2024–present) In February 2024, Crowded House released "Oh Hi" from their eighth album
Gravity Stairs, which in turn was released on 31 May 2024. Crowded House would later announce a North American tour for the album and release "Teenage Summer" as the second single, before later adding both a tour of Europe in October and a New Zealand and Australian tour beginning in November. ==Style==