Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE BROTHERS FINN
There are certain tunes that all Kiwis can sing along to, given a beer and the oppor-
tunity. A surprising proportion of these were written by Tim and Neil Finn, many of
which have been international hits.
Tim Finn first came to prominence in the 1970s group Split Enz. When the origin-
al guitarist quit, Neil flew over to join the band in the UK, despite being only 15 at
the time. Split Enz amassed a solid following in Australia, NZ and Canada before
disbanding in 1985.
Neil then formed Crowded House with two Australian musicians (Paul Hester
and Nick Seymour) and one of their early singles, 'Don't Dream It's Over', hit num-
ber two on the US charts. Tim later did a brief spell in the band, during which the
brothers wrote 'Weather with You' - a song that reached number seven on the UK
charts, pushing their album Woodfaceto gold sales. The original line-up of
Crowded House played their final show in 1996 in front of 100,000 people on the
steps of the Sydney Opera House (though Finn and Seymour reformed the group
in 2007 and continue to tour and record occasionally). Tim and Neil have both re-
leased a number of solo albums, as well as releasing material together as the Finn
Brothers.
More recently, Neil has also remained busy, organising a set of shows and re-
leases under the name Seven Worlds Collide - a collaboration with well-known
overseas musicians including Jeff Tweedy (Wilco), Johnny Marr (The Smiths) and
members of Radiohead. His latest band is the Pajama Club, a collaboration with
wife Sharon and Auckland musicians Sean Donnelly and Alana Skyring.
Neil's son Liam also has a burgeoning solo career, touring the US with Eddie Ved-
der and the Black Keys and appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman.
Both Tim and Neil were born in the small town of Te Awamutu: the local museum
has a collection documenting their work.
Reggae, Hip-Hop & Dance
The genres of music that have been adopted most enthusiastically by Maori and Polyne-
sian New Zealanders have been reggae (in the 1970s) and hip-hop (in the 1980s), which
has led to distinct local forms. In Wellington, a thriving jazz scene took on a reggae in-
fluence to create a host of groups that blended dub, roots and funky jazz - most notably
Fat Freddy's Drop. The national public holiday, Waitangi Day, on 6 February, also hap-
pens to fall on the birthday of Bob Marley and annual reggae concerts are held on this
day in Auckland and Wellington.
