1977–1984: Split Enz 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. By 1980, he was sharing lead singer duties and wrote their first international hit, "I Got You". 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.
1985–1996: Crowded House 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 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. 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. Finn has recorded four solo albums,
Try Whistling This (1998),
One Nil (2001),
Dizzy Heights (2014), and
Out of Silence (2017).
One Nil was released in the US and Canada in a remixed version with two new tracks, one track deleted and reordered, and was renamed
One All (2002). Neil and Tim Finn also collaborated on a
Finn Brothers album,
Finn, that was released in 1995. In 2001, Finn released a live album/DVD (
7 Worlds Collide) consisting of songs recorded at
St James Theatre in Auckland with several other artists. Finn was also heavily involved in creating the 2001 soundtrack for the motion picture
Rain.
Everyone Is Here, a second Finn Brothers album, was released in 2004.
2006–present: Reformation of Crowded House, family collaborations and Fleetwood Mac In January 2007, Crowded House reformed with Finn,
Nick Seymour,
Mark Hart, and new drummer
Matt Sherrod, as Paul Hester had died in 2005. The group's new album
Time on Earth was released in June 2007. In the pre-release build up, they headlined a show at
Coachella in April 2007. The band then commenced a world tour. Finn appeared on fellow musician
Missy Higgins' CD,
On a Clear Night (2007). Finn and his wife Sharon began a side project called
Pajama Club in 2011. After Finn's children,
Liam and Elroy, left the family home to pursue their own musical careers, the two wondered what to do to fill the time left open by their children's absence. During February and March 2013, Finn and
Paul Kelly undertook their collaborative Goin' Your Way Tour of Australia. One of their performances at the
Sydney Opera House was recorded for the live album, ''
Goin' Your Way'' (8 November 2013). It was also issued as a DVD, which peaked at No. 1 on the ARIA Music DVD Chart. Finn's solo album,
Dizzy Heights, was released in Australia and New Zealand on 7 February 2014 via
Kobalt Label Services. His sons and his wife also play on the album.
Dizzy Heights is his third solo album. performing in
Fleetwood Mac, 2018 On 15 April 2018, Fleetwood Mac announced that Finn had joined the band along with Heartbreakers' lead guitarist
Mike Campbell. Both Finn and Campbell toured with Fleetwood Mac in the concert tour
An Evening with Fleetwood Mac from October 2018 to November 2019. In August 2018, Finn released the album
Lightsleeper as a collaboration with his son Liam.
Charity work In 1986, Finn performed with The Rock Party, a charity project initiated by the National Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NCADA) that included many Australasian musicians such as
Reg Mombassa from
Mental As Anything,
Tim Finn, and
Nick Seymour and
Paul Hester of
Crowded House.
Film and television Finn has contributed solo music to various film and TV soundtracks including
Rain,
Boston Legal,
Boston Public,
The Waiting Game,
Antz, and
Sports Night. In 2012, Finn recorded the song "
Song of the Lonely Mountain", which was featured in the end credits of
Peter Jackson's film adaptation
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Finn had a
cameo acting role on the BBC Radio series
Flight of the Conchords. In 2023, Finn provided a voice cameo for the Australian children's TV series
Bluey in the third season. ==Personal life==