Tim Finn

Tim Finn earned acclaim through his foundational roles in the storied Australasian ensembles Split Enz and Crowded House, along with the Finn Brothers venture shared with his younger brother and recurring collaborator Neil Finn. He has further distinguished himself via clever, perceptive solo releases that blend buoyant jangle textures with refined singer/songwriter pop. After steering the chart-dominating art rock and new wave group Split Enz from its 1972 origins, Finn’s 1983 solo debut Escapade topped charts in New Zealand and prompted the ensemble’s dissolution, with its remaining personnel—including Neil—delivering their concluding album in 1984. That development allowed Neil to assume primary vocal and songwriting duties, paving the way for the launch of the even more commercially potent Crowded House in 1985. Tim made a brief return to the lineup as guitarist, keyboardist, and vocalist on the 1990 album Woodface and its supporting tour dates, before resuming independent work that produced well-received efforts such as 1993’s Before & After, which reached New Zealand’s Top Three and the U.K. Top 30; 2006’s Imaginary Kingdom, a New Zealand Top 20 entry; and 2011’s The View Is Worth the Climb, another New Zealand Top 30 release. Following his contributions to the stage musical Ladies in Black, Finn issued two expansive collaborative albums with Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera: Caught by the Heart in 2021 and The Ghost of Santiago in 2022.

Brian Timothy Finn entered the world in Te Awamutu, New Zealand, in 1952. While attending the University of Auckland in 1971, he began informal sessions with associates that included Philip Judd. Drawing from British Invasion acts such as the Beatles, the Move, and the Kinks, alongside his Catholic background and communal Maori vocal traditions, Finn left his studies the next year to form Split Enz, taking on singer and pianist duties alongside Judd on guitar and vocals, Miles Golding on violin, Mike Howard on flute, and Mike Chunn on bass. During the band’s initial phase, Finn and Judd supplied the core songwriting, with Judd often pulling from unconventional, non-musical influences. Following extensive rehearsals, the group entered the studio in February 1973 to capture its debut single, “For You”/“Split Ends.” After a brief tour, Golding departed to pursue studies in London. At Mike Chunn’s suggestion, the ensemble shifted toward an amplified approach, incorporating Geoff Chunn on drums, Wally Wilkinson on guitar, and occasional saxophonist Rob Gillies. In 1974, former Space Waltz keyboardist Eddie Rayner joined, and the band initiated a series of radio-backed “Buck-a-Head” performances in theaters rather than pubs to better suit its theatrical presentation. Members adopted vivid costumes and varied hairstyles, while Finn served as master of ceremonies with eccentric spoken interludes. By late 1974, spoons specialist Noel Crombie became a permanent percussionist, after which Geoff Chunn was succeeded by Paul Crowther and Rob Gillies exited.

In March 1975 the group relocated to Australia, cultivating a modest following and securing a deal with Mushroom Records. Their first album, Mental Notes, was completed in two weeks. Although limited studio experience and an unsympathetic producer yielded results the band found imperfect, the record captured their most experimental and ambitious phase and registered briefly on Australian and New Zealand charts. By November 1975, Wilkinson was dismissed and Gillies returned. Split Enz had meanwhile attracted the interest of Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera, who proposed assisting with their next project; the band arranged to reconvene with him in England to rework Mental Notes. Prior to departure they cut the single “Late Last Night,” which, despite intricate arrangements, signaled a move toward pop. The track was paired with a promotional video—an unusual step in 1976—and the group continued producing conceptual clips thereafter. In April 1976 Split Enz linked with Manzanera in England and signed to Chrysalis for global release. Second Thoughts, a revised version of Mental Notes, appeared late that year (issued internationally under the original title). Before supporting the album with a U.S. tour in early 1977, Crowther was replaced on drums by Mal Green. During the tour Judd departed amid frustrations with audiences and promotional demands, followed two months later by Chunn. The band regrouped in England, replacing Judd with Tim’s younger brother Neil and adding bassist Nigel Griggs.

Tim Finn took leadership of this new Split Enz configuration, steering the group away from its earlier arty and theatrical leanings on the subsequent album Dizrhythmia in 1977. In Australia the record earned gold certification and the single “My Mistake” became their first Top 20 hit. Early in 1978 Chrysalis dropped the band, yet they maintained an intense schedule of writing and rehearsal. Gillies was let go and Judd rejoined briefly before again departing upon realizing he no longer aligned with the band’s direction; he later achieved modest success fronting the Swingers and as a solo artist. The New Zealand Arts Council provided a $5,000 grant. A studio in Luton was secured, where the group recorded 28 songs in under five days. Around the same period they cut the straight-ahead rocker “I See Red” with producer David Tickle, which reached number 15 in Australia. Split Enz returned to Australia for the 1979 album Frenzy, which restored them to New Zealand’s Top 20. Teaming once more with Tickle, they delivered True Colours later that year. Powered by Neil Finn’s “I Got You,” both the single and album reached number one in Australia and New Zealand, while the album also entered the Top 40 in the U.S., Canada, and U.K., prompting an international agreement with A&M Records.

During a mid-year touring break the band quickly recorded a follow-up, issued in Australia as Corroboree and internationally as Waiata in March 1981. Bolstered by the hits “One Step Ahead” and “History Never Repeats,” it again topped charts in New Zealand and Australia, a feat repeated with the following year’s Time and Tide, their most introspective collection to date. Split Enz shared bills with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers on a North American tour, after which Mal Green departed for solo pursuits and Crombie shifted to drums. MTV’s focus on new wave acts further elevated the band’s U.S. profile, with “Dirty Creature” and “Six Months in a Leaky Boat” receiving substantial rotation alongside earlier videos.

Early in 1983 Tim Finn paused Split Enz activities to record a solo album of brighter, more accessible material. Escapade achieved major success across Australasia, topping New Zealand charts and yielding several hit singles, among them the Top Ten track “Fraction Too Much Friction.” Its performance postponed the next Split Enz release and disrupted the group’s prior momentum. Conflicting Emotions was completed by late 1983; on this effort Neil contributed the majority of songs for the first time, overshadowing Tim’s earlier dominance. While the album performed strongly in Australia and New Zealand, its U.S. release was delayed and it peaked in the lower half of the Billboard 200. New drummer Paul Hester joined, moving Crombie to percussion. Before the next Split Enz album, Tim announced his departure. Under Neil’s leadership the band completed one final record, 1984’s See Ya ’Round, an uneven set issued only in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. Neil subsequently disbanded the group following the farewell tour Enz with a Bang!, during which Tim rejoined.

Neil Finn and Paul Hester formed the globally successful Crowded House in 1985, while Tim issued his second solo album, Big Canoe, on Virgin Records in April 1986. Featuring tracks co-written with playwright Jeremy Brock and contributions from former Enz member Phil Judd on sitar and guitar for select cuts, it reached number three in New Zealand and 31 in Australia (remaining unavailable in the U.S. until Crowded House’s success generated interest by 1988). Finn returned in 1989 with a self-titled Capitol album produced by Mitchell Froom that again charted in Australasia but made little impact elsewhere. He then joined Crowded House, whose first two albums had already achieved worldwide success and number-one status in Australia. The resulting, more upbeat third album, 1991’s Woodface, included co-written Finn brothers tracks such as the U.S. alternative hits “Chocolate Cake” and “It’s Only Natural,” plus the Hot 100-charting “Fall at Your Feet.” This configuration proved short-lived, with Tim exiting mid-tour to focus on his fourth solo effort, the well-regarded Before & After. Released on Capitol in 1993, it featured over two dozen contributors—including Neil on vocals, guitar, and keyboards for two tracks—and reached number three in New Zealand while entering the U.K. Top 30. That year also saw a brief 20th-anniversary Split Enz reunion tour.

Tim and Neil Finn soon reconvened as the Finn Brothers for their duo debut, Finn. Recorded in Auckland with producer Tchad Blake, it appeared in 1995 (a year later in the U.S.) and reached the Top 20 in New Zealand, Australia, and the U.K. Tim resumed solo activity in late 1996, ultimately releasing his fifth album, Say It Is So, in 1999. Produced in Nashville by Jay Joyce, it was issued independently and did not chart. He returned to the studio with Joyce for the June 2001 release Feeding the Gods, which entered New Zealand’s Top 30. That same year, Together in Concert: Live captured his successful New Zealand tour alongside Bic Runga and Dave Dobbyn. A second Finn Brothers album, the New Zealand chart-topping Everyone Is Here—which also reached number two in Australia and number eight in the U.K.—emerged in 2004. Following another brief Split Enz reunion, Tim Finn delivered the New Zealand Top 20 album Imaginary Kingdom in 2006, marking his return to Capitol. The label also issued his eighth solo album, 2008’s The Conversation, produced by Ethan Allen and featuring former Split Enz violinist Miles Golding and keyboardist Eddie Rayner. After departing Capitol, Finn signed with ABC Music/UMA for 2011’s The View Is Worth the Climb, which incorporated three tracks co-written with his wife, former MTV host Marie Azcona. Their son Harper Finn later established himself as a singer/songwriter.

Finn’s subsequent major undertaking was a musical adaptation of Madeleine St. John’s 1993 novel The Women in Black, focusing on independent women employed at a 1950s clothing store. Titled Ladies in Black with music and lyrics by Finn and book by Carolyn Burns, it premiered in Brisbane in late 2015 before transferring to Melbourne in early 2016. The production received a 2016 Helpmann Award for Best New Australian Work, while Finn earned a separate nomination for his score. In 2021 he reunited with Phil Manzanera for Caught by the Heart. Self-produced and recorded during early COVID-19 isolation, the album encompassed an array of styles including rock, chamber music, pop, reggae, and Latin. They followed a year later with the sequel The Ghost of Santiago.