It’s true that Crowded House, this New Zealand-bred and Melbourne-based combo has, since their first single, attracted a huge following of fans flocking to their door, loving whatever tunes the band produced and are still producing.

Crowded House is the offspring of New Zealand’s Split Enz, the eccentric pop group that made it big in the late 70’s early 80’s – Neil Finn’s older brother Tim formed Split Enz in 1972 and as a young 19 year old Neil was welcomed into the fold in 1977. The band had been seeking to change their art-rock sound and Neil’s tastes blended well with the band’s new melodic approach.

Split Enz eventually dissolved when Neil decided to disband the group in 1984 – he got together with ex-Enz drummer Paul Hester, bassist Nick Seymour and guitarist Craig Hooper and then settled on a name; the crowded house, after which the group named themselves, was the small Hollywood bungalow where the band lived, recorded and entertained a constant flow of family and friends. They began work on their self-titled debut album which was released in 1986 and within five months was certified gold in Australia.

Crowded House knew their music was good and so did Capitol Records who never stopped the earnest support and never-say-die promotion. After intensive touring and sheer willpower, the first single, Don’t Dream It’s Over soared up the charts, followed by Something So Strong which reached #7 on the charts.

“Rarely has any modern music sounded so cheerful and so creepy as some of the off-centre love songs that pop out of the red head of Neil Finn.” Rolling Stone magazine.

Crowded House songs typified a certain style already equated with Neil Finn – his songs were described as ‘still energetic and tuneful, with a twist’: beneath that cheery surface lurked an anguished, somewhat sinister mind. The moodier second album ‘Temple Of Low Men’ boasted more emotional and musical variety, but subtly effective tunes like Better Be Home Soon, I Feel Possessed and Into Temptation attracted thoughtless accusations of a sophomore slump.

Although long-simmering tensions in the band caused a brief break-up, Crowded House emerged from it seemingly unscathed. ‘Woodface’, the next album release and next leg of the journey did prove to be as rich a tale and brought the band back into wider public notice. Part of the reason, perhaps, was the re-pairing of the Finn brothers; Neil and Tim wrote more songs together and asked Hester to join them on some tracks. After realizing they appeared to be writing another Crowded House album, they went with the idea and Tim Finn moved into the more crowded house. Their population of fans grew as the single Chocolate Cake took ‘Woodface’ to the Top 20 in 8 countries and both Neil and Tim were awarded OBE’s from the Queen in 1993, for their contributions to the Arts.

Their fourth album ‘Together Alone’ followed, with the added sound of American guitarist Mark Hart and had positive reviews and solid sales. Crowded House embarked on a successful tour of Europe, after which Hester decided to leave the band to spend time with his new family. Cutting back on touring at the end of ’94, Neil and Tim released their long-awaited duet album and in June 1996, Neil officially broke up Crowded House. Following a handful of ‘final shows’ in various locations, Crowded House played their official farewell show at the Sydney Opera House to 100,000 fans – each member then embarked upon various different projects.

Neil continued recording both as a solo artist and part of the Finn Brothers with Tim – during 2005, after years of battling depression, Hester took his own life. In 2007 Neil re-activated the band with Nick Seymour, Mark Hart and a new drummer, Matt Sherrod, with the album ‘Time On Earth’ following soon after.

Crowded House is known for being hilarious in concert; the witty joking usually flies in lethal doses amongst the boys, giving off a warm stage presence. In addition to the usually perfect rapport they have with their fans, Crowded House’s live sound quality is brilliant. From the first note, each instrument is clean and distinct, each lyric expressive and harmonious – although their songs are often extremely lush, the band is surprisingly able to create that sound live. It’s no wonder that they have earned such honors over the years – no Crowded House show is the same and nothing is out of the question.