Where is Crowded House band from?

Crowded House is a rock group formed in 1985 in Melbourne, Australia and led by New Zealand musician and singer-songwriter Neil Finn. The band were originally active from 1986 to 1996 before deciding to split up. In 2007, the band reunited to record and tour again.

Neil Finn and Paul Hester decided to form a new band during the Split Enz farewell tour 'Enz with a Bang'. Nick Seymour approached Finn during the after party for the Melbourne show and asked if he could try out for this new band. The first incarnation of the band, The Mullanes, formed in Melbourne in 1985 and also included guitarist Craig Hooper, formerly of The Reels. They secured a record contract with Capitol Records and moved to Los Angeles, at which time Hooper left the band. At the label's behest, the band changed its name to "Crowded House," which alluded to the cramped quarters the three members shared at an apartment in North Sycamore Street in West Hollywood during the recording of the album. They also invited former Split Enz keyboard player Eddie Rayner to join, and he produced the track "Can't Carry On" for the debut self-titled album. He initially joined them on tour in 1988 on keyboards, but had to leave for family reasons before he could be made a full member.

Bursting onto the international scene in 1987 with Don't Dream It's Over from the album Crowded House, the band seemed destined for greatness. However, despite eking out one more hit from the album, Something So Strong, the follow up Temple of Low Men failed to repeat its commercial success, despite critical acclaim. Radio had a hard time categorizing them, but within the industry they quickly gained a stellar reputation as "musicians' musicians", and outside the industry as one of the best live acts, featuring mixed setlists and improvisations. A set of three shows at one venue would often feature less than half the the songs being played more than once.

It wasn't until 1991's Woodface that the band hit international success again, specifically with the jointly written Finn brothers track Weather With You.

In fact, the album that emerged wasn't the one originally proposed. Neil had been working on a side project with his brother Tim Finn, a solo artist in his own right and former Split Enz frontman (in fact, several members had a history in Split Enz - Tim formed the band and Neil was responsible for their biggest hit I Got You, while Paul Hester was the drummer during their final days). When the record company rejected the material he'd composed for the third Crowded House album Neil asked his brother if he could use some of their songs in their place. Tim agreed, allegedly joking he would only do so if he could join the band. Whether or not Neil took this literally, Tim did indeed become the fourth member of Crowded House during the Woodface phase.

Whilst Weather With You became an international hit, particularly in the UK (where it was followed by smaller chart successes for Four Seasons in One Day and It's Only Natural), in the US, at least, history didn't repeat - a situation some put down to the choice of Chocolate Cake - a scathing attack on the American lifestyle - as the first single.

During touring in the UK, Tim was asked to leave the band. Mark Hart joined the band for their next album. Together Alone was a similar international success and the band even managed to score a minor hit in the US with Locked Out after it featured on the soundtrack for the Winona Ryder flick Reality Bites.

Shortly after, Paul Hester decided to leave, although he did return to record three new tracks for a Best Of… compilation, Recurring Dream. By 1996, however, Neil decided to fold the band, choosing instead to focus on a solo career. The band's final concert, on the steps of the Sydney Opera House, was an emotional and memorable event, and has been captured on the DVD / CD Farewell to the World.

A B-sides compilation, entitled Afterglow, was released in 1999.

Paul Hester died tragically in 2005 when he committed suicide in Melbourne, Australia.

January 2007 brought a surprise announcement that Crowded House would be re-forming. Frontman Neil Finn once again linked up with Nick Seymour and Mark Hart and, after picking up Beck's drummer Matt Sherrod to replace Paul Hester, produced a new album entitled Time on Earth.

Members of the band include frontman and guitarist Neil Finn, bassist Nick Seymour (brother of Hunters and Collectors frontman Mark Seymour), drummer Paul Hester (1986-1994), Tim Finn (1990-91), multi-instrumentalist and Supertramp recruit Mark Hart (1993-), session drummer Peter Jones (1994-1996) and new drummer Matt Sherrod (2007-).

The Frenz web site launched a new Crowded House portal in 2007 where old and new fans of the band can keep up to date with news of new releases and tour plans.

With hits such as 'Weather With You' and 'Don't Dream It's Over', they had become one of Australia and New Zealand's biggest exports.

Crowded House's founding members were New Zealander Neil Finn and Australians Paul Hester and Nick Seymour, with Mark Hart joining in 1992.

But by 1996, the band decided to call it a day. The group announced a one-off Farewell To The World show on the steps of the Sydney Opera House.

Seeing the band ending the night with 'Don't Dream It's Over' would have been an emotional moment at the best of times, but it has since proved to be even more poignant due to what happened next.

Saying goodbye

Crowded House were in the middle of a US tour when drummer Paul Hester quit the band in April 1994.

Paul flew home to Melbourne for the birth of his first child, and said that he needed more time with his family. Replacement Peter Jones eventually replaced him.

In June 1996, at a press conference to announce the release of their greatest hits album Recurring Dream, singer Neil Finn announced that Crowded House were to end.

However, concerned that their goodbye with shows in Europe and Canada had ignored their home fans, the band performed the Farewell to the World on November 24, 1996.

The show raised funds for the Sydney Children's Hospital, and featured the line-up of Neil Finn, Nick Seymour, Mark Hart and Paul Hester. Neil's brother Tim Finn and drummer Peter Jones also made guest appearances.

The concert had one of the highest live audiences in Australian history, with the crowd being around 120,000 to 250,000 people.

The night ended with a performance of 'Don't Dream It's Over', with Paul Hester visbily upset on the drums, before the band bowed to the crowd with the Opera House in the distance.

Watch the performance below:

This would prove to be the final time Paul Hester performed with the band.

Paul Hester's death

Paul Hester had previously been the drummer for Neil Finn's brother Tim's band Split Enz before forming Crowded House.

By 1993, Paul had grown frustrated of the demands of his career, and began suffering from a phobia about leaving to go on tour.

On March 26, 2005, aged 46, Paul Hester died by suicide, in Elsternwick Park near his home. His two daughters, Olive and Sunday, were aged five and 10 at the time of his death.

His family and close friends had stated that he had been suffering from depression for several years, and was prone to severe mood swings.

Paul was buried at Blackwood in the Central Highlands region of Victoria. His life was commemorated at the 2005 Aria Awards, with Neil Finn singing Crowded House's 'Better Be Home Soon'.

Crowded House's reunions

The band stayed apart until a reunion in 2007, with the lineup consisting of Neil Finn, Mark Hart, Nick Seymour and new drummer Matt Sherrod.

Paul Hester's previous replacement Peter Jones died from brain cancer in 2012, aged just 49.

Read more: Beach Boys' Brian Wilson shares Crowded House star's stunning cover of ‘God Only Knows’

The band split again in 2011, but they reunited once more in 2016 to mark 20 years since the Farewell to the World show. The band, with the same lineup as its previous reunion and Tim Finn as a guest, performed four shows at the Sydney Opera House in November 2016.

A further reunion occurred in 2020. Currently the band consists of Neil Finn, Nick Seymour, Mitchell Froom, and Neil's sons Liam and Elroy Finn.

The band performed another stunning version of 'Don't Dream It's Over' on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in August 2021 to mark the release of their new album Dreamers Are Waiting.

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