Crowded House is a rock group formed in Melbourne, Australia and led by New Zealand musician and singer-songwriter Neil Finn.[1] Finn is widely recognised as the primary songwriter and creative direction of the band, having led it through several incarnations, drawing members from New Zealand (himself, Tim Finn and Eddie Rayner), Australia (Paul Hester, Nick Seymour, Peter Jones and Craig Hooper) and the United States (Mark Hart, Mitchell Froom, and Matt Sherrod).[1][2]
Though the band owes its original success to the Australian live music scene, references to New Zealand people and places in songs pay homage to their roots ("Kare Kare" is written about Karekare Beach, "Mean to Me" refers to Finn's hometown of Te Awamutu). The success of the group's third album Woodface and the general success of Crowded House and Split Enz prompted the Queen in June 1993 to bestow the Order of the British Empire on both Tim and Neil Finn for their contribution to the music of New Zealand.[3]
Originally active between 1984 and 1996, the band's notable hits from this period include "Don't Dream It's Over", "Something So Strong", "Better Be Home Soon", "Now We're Getting Somewhere", "Into Temptation", "Fall at Your Feet" and "Weather with You".[1] In 2007, the group reunited with a new drummer. In this period, the group has released one album, Time on Earth, which reached #1 on Australia's ARIA Albums Chart.
