Crowded House

Crowded House, 1987 Paul Hester, Neil Finn, Nick Seymour

The rock band CROWDED HOUSE formed in 1985 after the band Split Enz did a farewell tour. Neil Finn (vocals, guitar, piano), drummer Paul Hester and Nick Seymour on bass. Finn and Hester had been members of the New Zealand band Split Enz. Neil Finn is the younger brother of Split Enz founding member Tim Finn, who would join the new band in 1990.

The new band was called The Mullanes and they formed in Melbourne with Finn, Hester, Seymour and guitarist Craig Hooper. When they got a record contract with Capitol Records, they decided to move to Los Angeles to record their eponymous debut album. Hooper didn't want to make the move and left the band. 

Their debut album produced  two Top Ten hits "Don't Dream It's Over" and "Something So Strong."

Capitol Records wanted (wisely) a new name for the band. The odd name "Crowded House" is a reference to the small Hollywood Hills house the band shared during the recording of the album Crowded House.

In 1996, Crowded House announced that it would disband and they did several farewell concerts. 

Hester died by suicide at age 46. the following year, the band re-formed with drummer Matt Sherrod and released two albums that reached number one on Australia's album chart. Then the band went inactive for several years until a revised line-up was set to tour the UK in 2020 with Neil Finn, Nick Seymour, Mitchell Froom, and Finn's sons Liam and Elroy. The COVID-19 pandemic postponed the tour.

The band's seventh studio album, Dreamers Are Waiting, was released in 2021 along with a New Zealand tour in March 2021. The band plans to tour Australia in 2022.