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161-521: Crowded House are a New Zealand-Australian rock band, formed in Melbourne , Victoria , Australia, in 1985. Its founding members were New Zealander Neil Finn (vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter) and Australians Paul Hester (drums) and Nick Seymour (bass). Later band members included Finn's brother Tim , who was in their former band Split Enz ; sons Liam and Elroy; as well as Americans Mark Hart and Matt Sherrod . Neil Finn and Seymour are

322-514: A certain degree doesn't care if it's popular. — Bill Wyman in Vulture (2016) The sound of rock is traditionally centered on the amplified electric guitar, which emerged in its modern form in the 1950s with the popularity of rock and roll. It was also greatly influenced by the sounds of electric blues guitarists. The sound of an electric guitar in rock music is typically supported by an electric bass guitar, which pioneered jazz music in

483-519: A fondness for a good beat, a meaningful lyric with some wit, and the theme of youth, which holds an "eternal attraction" so objective "that all youth music partakes of sociology and the field report ." Writing in Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s (1990), he said this sensibility is evident in the music of folk singer-songwriter Michelle Shocked , rapper LL Cool J , and synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys —"all kids working out their identities"—as much as it

644-481: A foundation of simple syncopated rhythms in a 4 meter , with a repetitive snare drum back beat on beats two and four. Melodies often originate from older musical modes such as the Dorian and Mixolydian , as well as major and minor modes. Harmonies range from the common triad to parallel perfect fourths and fifths and dissonant harmonic progressions. Since the late 1950s, and particularly from

805-628: A frequent addition to the established rock format of guitars, bass, and drums in subsequent progressive rock. Instrumentals were common, while songs with lyrics were sometimes conceptual, abstract, or based in fantasy and science fiction. The Pretty Things ' SF Sorrow (1968), the Kinks' Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) (1969), and the Who 's Tommy (1969) introduced

966-630: A key feature of psychedelia. Psychedelic rock reached its apogee in the last years of the decade. 1967 saw the Beatles release their definitive psychedelic statement in Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band , including the controversial track " Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds ", the Rolling Stones responded later that year with Their Satanic Majesties Request , and Pink Floyd debuted with The Piper at

1127-413: A lasting impression on me." His mother was another significant musical influence, encouraging him to listen to a variety of genres, including Irish folk music and Māori music . She would play piano at family parties and encourage Neil and Tim to accompany her. Bassist Nick Seymour, who is also an artist, designed or co-designed all of the band's album covers and interior artwork. He also designed some of

1288-573: A loud amplified sound, often centered on the electric guitar, based on the Chicago blues , particularly after the tour of Britain by Muddy Waters in 1958, which prompted Cyril Davies and guitarist Alexis Korner to form the band Blues Incorporated . The band involved and inspired many of the figures of the subsequent British blues boom, including members of the Rolling Stones and Cream , combining blues standards and forms with rock instrumentation and emphasis. The other key focus for British blues

1449-587: A mainstream audience with hits including " Blowin' in the Wind " (1963) and " Masters of War " (1963), which brought " protest songs " to a wider public, but, although beginning to influence each other, rock and folk music had remained largely separate genres, often with mutually exclusive audiences. Early attempts to combine elements of folk and rock included the Animals' " House of the Rising Sun " (1964), which

1610-495: A major element of progressive rock. From about 1967 bands like Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience had moved away from purely blues-based music into psychedelia . By the 1970s, blues rock had become heavier and more riff-based, exemplified by the work of Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple , and the lines between blues rock and hard rock "were barely visible", as bands began recording rock-style albums. The genre

1771-429: A major influence on subsequent electronic rock . With the advent of punk rock and technological changes in the late 1970s, progressive rock was increasingly dismissed as pretentious and overblown. Many bands broke up, but some, including Genesis, ELP, Yes, and Pink Floyd, regularly scored top ten albums with successful accompanying worldwide tours. Some bands which emerged in the aftermath of punk, such as Siouxsie and

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1932-410: A more basic form of rock and roll that incorporated its original influences, particularly blues, country and folk music, leading to the creation of country rock and Southern rock. In 1966 Bob Dylan went to Nashville to record the album Blonde on Blonde . This, and subsequent more clearly country-influenced albums, such as Nashville Skyline , have been seen as creating the genre of country folk ,

2093-486: A multibillion-dollar industry and doubling its market while, as Christgau noted, suffering a significant "loss of cultural prestige". "Maybe the Bee Gees became more popular than the Beatles, but they were never more popular than Jesus ", he said. "Insofar as the music retained any mythic power, the myth was self-referential – there were lots of songs about the rock and roll life but very few about how rock could change

2254-589: A national phenomenon. It is often argued that the surf music craze and the careers of almost all surf acts was effectively ended by the arrival of the British Invasion from 1964, because most surf music hits were recorded and released between 1960 and 1965. By the end of 1962, what would become the British rock scene had started with beat groups like the Beatles , Gerry & the Pacemakers and

2415-635: A permanent band member. The album was recorded at Karekare Beach, New Zealand, which gave its name to the opening track, "Kare Kare". The album was released in October 1993 and sold well internationally on the strength of lead single " Distant Sun " and followup " Private Universe ". It topped the New Zealand Album Chart, reached number 2 in Australia and number 4 in the UK. " Locked Out " was

2576-459: A preacher, prosecutions of Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry and the breaking of the payola scandal (which implicated major figures, including Alan Freed, in bribery and corruption in promoting individual acts or songs), gave a sense that the rock and roll era established at that point had come to an end. Rock quickly spread out from its origins in the US, associated with the rapid Americanization that

2737-444: A prog rock influence and while ranking among the most commercially successful acts of the 1970s, heralding the era of pomp or arena rock , which would last until the costs of complex shows (often with theatrical staging and special effects), would be replaced by more economical rock festivals as major live venues in the 1990s. The instrumental strand of the genre resulted in albums like Mike Oldfield 's Tubular Bells (1973),

2898-646: A replacement, Peter Jones (ex-Harem Scarem, Vince Jones , Kate Ceberano 's Septet) was found. After the tour, the Finn Brothers released their album Finn in November 1995. In June 1996, at a press conference to announce the release of their greatest hits album Recurring Dream , Neil revealed that Crowded House were to disband. The June 1996 concerts in Europe and Canada were to be their final performances. Recurring Dream contained four songs from each of

3059-442: A reunion show at the 2020 Byron Bay Bluesfest . Shortly afterwards, Mark Hart announced that he would not be involved in the group's reunion. Finn confirmed Hart's departure on his podcast Fangradio, noting that he "love[s] Hart dearly as a friend, as a contributor and a collaborator" and that "all will be revealed... trust that good thought and good heart gets put into all of these decisions." In December 2019, Neil Finn announced that

3220-446: A rigidly delineated musical definition." In the opinion of music journalist Robert Christgau , "the best rock jolts folk-art virtues—directness, utility, natural audience—into the present with shots of modern technology and modernist dissociation ". Rock and roll was conceived as an outlet for adolescent yearnings ... To make rock and roll is also an ideal way to explore intersections of sex, love, violence, and fun, to broadcast

3381-625: A rock-informed album era in the music industry for the next several decades. By the late 1960s " classic rock " period, a few distinct rock music subgenres had emerged, including hybrids like blues rock , folk rock , country rock , Southern rock , raga rock , and jazz rock , which contributed to the development of psychedelic rock , influenced by the countercultural psychedelic and hippie scene . New genres that emerged included progressive rock , which extended artistic elements, heavy metal , which emphasized an aggressive thick sound, and glam rock , which highlighted showmanship and visual style. In

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3542-721: A route pursued by a number of largely acoustic folk musicians. Other acts that followed the back-to-basics trend were the Canadian group the Band and the California-based Creedence Clearwater Revival , both of which mixed basic rock and roll with folk, country and blues, to be among the most successful and influential bands of the late 1960s. The same movement saw the beginning of the recording careers of Californian solo artists like Ry Cooder , Bonnie Raitt and Lowell George , and influenced

3703-481: A slogan one only began to hear in 1972 or so, mobilized all those eager to believe that idealism had become passe, and once they were mobilized, it had. In popular music, embracing the '70s meant both an elitist withdrawal from the messy concert and counterculture scene and a profiteering pursuit of the lowest common denominator in FM radio and album rock . Rock saw greater commodification during this decade, turning into

3864-464: A variety of directions, including Dylan and the Byrds, who began to develop country rock . However, the hybridization of folk and rock has been seen as having a major influence on the development of rock music, bringing in elements of psychedelia, and helping to develop the ideas of the singer-songwriter, the protest song, and concepts of "authenticity". Psychedelic music's LSD -inspired vibe began in

4025-529: A variety of sources such as the Tin Pan Alley pop tradition, folk music , and rhythm and blues . Christgau characterizes rock lyrics as a "cool medium" with simple diction and repeated refrains, and asserts that rock's primary "function" "pertains to music, or, more generally, noise ." The predominance of white, male, and often middle class musicians in rock music has often been noted, and rock has been seen as an appropriation of Black musical forms for

4186-501: A young, white and largely male audience. As a result, it has also been seen to articulate the concerns of this group in both style and lyrics. Christgau, writing in 1972, said in spite of some exceptions, "rock and roll usually implies an identification of male sexuality and aggression". Since the term "rock" started being used in preference to "rock and roll" from the late-1960s, it has usually been contrasted with pop music, with which it has shared many characteristics, but from which it

4347-675: Is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll " in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles from the mid-1960s, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom. It has its roots in rock and roll, a style that drew directly from the genres of blues , rhythm and blues , and country music . Rock also drew strongly from genres such as electric blues and folk , and incorporated influences from jazz and other musical styles. For instrumentation, rock

4508-423: Is centered on the electric guitar , usually as part of a rock group with electric bass guitar , drums , and one or more singers. Usually, rock is song-based music with a 4 time signature using a verse–chorus form , but the genre has become extremely diverse. Like pop music , lyrics often stress romantic love but also address a wide variety of other themes that are frequently social or political. Rock

4669-540: Is credited with first using the phrase "rock and roll" to describe the music. Four years later, Bill Haley 's " Rock Around the Clock " (1954) became the first rock and roll song to top Billboard magazine's main sales and airplay charts, and opened the door worldwide for this new wave of popular culture. Other artists with early rock and roll hits included Chuck Berry , Bo Diddley , Fats Domino , Little Richard , Jerry Lee Lewis , and Gene Vincent . Soon rock and roll

4830-472: Is generally agreed that garage rock peaked both commercially and artistically around 1966. By 1968 the style largely disappeared from the national charts and at the local level as amateur musicians faced college, work or the draft . New styles had evolved to replace garage rock. Although the first impact of the British Invasion on American popular music was through beat and R&B based acts,

4991-555: Is in the music of Chuck Berry , the Ramones , and the Replacements . The foundations of rock music are in rock and roll, which originated in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, and quickly spread to much of the rest of the world. Its immediate origins lay in a melding of various black musical genres of the time, including rhythm and blues and gospel music , with country and western . Debate surrounds

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5152-446: Is into creating a spectacle and the two approaches don't get all that well... We'd all open our mouths at the same time and then stop and go, Oh, after you. From Tim's point of view it was quite a relief to put it all on the table, I think. For half the set he was standing there with his acoustic guitar, not really feeling part of it." Paul Hester commented that "both sides felt good about parting before it could get ugly." Performances on

5313-411: Is often distanced by an emphasis on musicianship, live performance, and a focus on serious and progressive themes as part of an ideology of authenticity that is frequently combined with an awareness of the genre's history and development. According to Simon Frith , rock was "something more than pop, something more than rock and roll" and "[r]ock musicians combined an emphasis on skill and technique with

5474-399: Is termed as a rock band or a rock group. Furthermore, it typically consists of between three (the power trio ) and five members. Classically, a rock band takes the form of a quartet whose members cover one or more roles, including vocalist, lead guitarist, rhythm guitarist, bass guitarist, drummer, and often keyboard player or another instrumentalist. Rock music is traditionally built on

5635-566: Is the Band." Australasia Charles de Brosses coined the term (as French Australasie ) in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes (1756). He derived it from the Latin for "south of Asia " and differentiated the area from Polynesia (to the east) and the southeast Pacific ( Magellanica ). In the late 19th century, the term Australasia was used in reference to the "Australasian colonies". In this sense it related specifically to

5796-535: The Billboard Hot 100 . The British Invasion greatly influenced garage bands, providing them with a national audience, leading many (often surf or hot rod groups) to adopt a British influence, and encouraging many more groups to form. Thousands of garage bands were extant in the United States and Canada during the era and hundreds produced regional hits. Despite scores of bands being signed to major or large regional labels, most were commercial failures. It

5957-524: The American folk music revival had grown to a major movement, using traditional music and new compositions in a traditional style, usually on acoustic instruments. In America the genre was pioneered by figures such as Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger and often identified with progressive or labor politics . In the early sixties figures such as Joan Baez and Bob Dylan had come to the fore in this movement as singer-songwriters. Dylan had begun to reach

6118-422: The garage rock / post-punk revival in the 2000s. Since the 2010s, rock has lost its position as the pre-eminent popular music genre in world culture, but remains commercially successful. The increased influence of hip-hop and electronic dance music can be seen in rock music, notably in the techno-pop scene of the early 2010s and the pop-punk-hip-hop revival of the 2020s. Rock has also embodied and served as

6279-417: The protest song , rock music has been associated with political activism , as well as changes in social attitudes to race, sex, and drug use, and is often seen as an expression of youth revolt against adult consumerism and conformity . At the same time, it has been commercially highly successful, leading to accusations of selling out . A good definition of rock, in fact, is that it's popular music that to

6440-585: The " Farewell to the World " concerts in Melbourne and Sydney. Hester died by suicide in 2005. A year later, the group re-formed with drummer Matt Sherrod and released two further albums ( Time on Earth and Intriguer ), each of which reached number one in Australia. The band went on another hiatus, and reunited in 2020 with a new line-up featuring Neil Finn, Nick Seymour, Mitchell Froom , and Finn's sons Liam and Elroy. Their most recent album, Gravity Stairs ,

6601-709: The "Indo-Pacific" region. The New Zealand Oxford Dictionary gives two meanings of "Australasia". One, especially in Australian use, is "Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea , and the neighbouring islands of the Pacific". The other, especially in New Zealand use, is just Australia and New Zealand. Two Merriam-Webster dictionaries online ( Collegiate and Unabridged ) define Australasia as "Australia, New Zealand, and Melanesia ". The American Heritage Dictionary online recognizes two senses in use: one more precise and

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6762-454: The 1950s saw the growth in popularity of the electric guitar, and the development of a specifically rock and roll style of playing through such exponents as Chuck Berry, Link Wray , and Scotty Moore . The use of distortion , pioneered by Western swing guitarists such as Junior Barnard and Eldon Shamblin was popularized by Chuck Berry in the mid-1950s. The use of power chords , pioneered by Francisco Tárrega and Heitor Villa-Lobos in

6923-539: The 1996 break-up of Crowded House, the members embarked upon a variety of projects. Neil Finn released two solo studio albums, Try Whistling This (1998) and One Nil (2001), as well as two live albums, Sessions at West 54th (2000) and 7 Worlds Collide (2001). 7 Worlds Collide saw him performing with guest musicians including Eddie Vedder , Johnny Marr , Ed O'Brien and Phil Selway of Radiohead , Tim Finn, Sebastian Steinberg, Lisa Germano and Betchadupa (featuring his son Liam Finn ). A double CD and DVD of

7084-467: The 19th century and later on by Willie Johnson and Pat Hare in the early 1950s, was popularized by Link Wray in the late 1950s. Commentators have traditionally perceived a decline of rock and roll in the late 1950s and early 1960s. By 1959, the death of Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens in a plane crash, the departure of Elvis for the army, the retirement of Little Richard to become

7245-608: The A Day on the Green festival in Auckland on 27 February 2011. Former Crowded House drummer Peter Jones died from brain cancer on 18 May 2012, aged 49. A statement issued by the band described him as, "A warm-hearted, funny and talented man, who was a valuable member of Crowded House." In September 2015, the song "Help is Coming" from the Afterglow album, was released as a download and limited edition 7" single to raise money for

7406-477: The Banshees , Ultravox , and Simple Minds , showed the influence of progressive rock, as well as their more usually recognized punk influences. In the late 1960s, jazz-rock emerged as a distinct subgenre out of the blues-rock, psychedelic, and progressive rock scenes, mixing the power of rock with the musical complexity and improvisational elements of jazz. AllMusic states that the term jazz-rock "may refer to

7567-628: The Beatles, demonstrating "to the rock generation in general that an album could be a major standalone statement without hit singles", such as on The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963). Folk rock particularly took off in California, where it led acts like the Mamas & the Papas and Crosby, Stills, and Nash to move to electric instrumentation, and in New York, where it spawned performers including

7728-462: The British colonies south of Asia: New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia, Victoria (i.e., the Australian colonies) and New Zealand. Australasia found continued geopolitical attention in the early 20th century. Historian Hansong Li finds that against the backdrop of British colonialism, German geopoliticians considered "Australasia" as a counterweight to the former German South Sea Edge (Südseerand), both of which form

7889-617: The Byrds ' shift from folk to folk rock from 1965. The psychedelic lifestyle, which revolved around hallucinogenic drugs, had already developed in San Francisco and particularly prominent products of the scene were Big Brother and the Holding Company , the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane . The Jimi Hendrix Experience 's lead guitarist, Jimi Hendrix did extended distorted, feedback-filled jams which became

8050-431: The Byrds adopted rock instrumentation, including drums and 12-string Rickenbacker guitars, which became a major element in the sound of the genre. Later that year Dylan adopted electric instruments, much to the outrage of many folk purists, with his " Like a Rolling Stone " becoming a US hit single. According to Ritchie Unterberger , Dylan (even before his adoption of electric instruments) influenced rock musicians like

8211-461: The Cook". He also had his own ABC show Hessie's Shed in Australia from late 1997. He formed the band Largest Living Things, which was the name rejected by Capitol Records in favour of Crowded House. It was on Hessie's Shed that Finn, Hester and Seymour last shared a stage, on an episode filmed as part of Finn's promotion for his solo album Try Whistling This in 1998. Finn and Hester performed " Not

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8372-594: The Dominos , followed by an extensive solo career that helped bring blues rock into the mainstream. Green, along with the Bluesbreaker's rhythm section Mick Fleetwood and John McVie , formed Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac , who enjoyed some of the greatest commercial success in the genre. In the late 1960s Jeff Beck , also an alumnus of the Yardbirds, moved blues rock in the direction of heavy rock with his band,

8533-507: The Gates of Dawn . Key recordings included Jefferson Airplane's Surrealistic Pillow and the Doors ' self-titled debut album . These trends peaked in the 1969 Woodstock festival , which saw performances by most of the major psychedelic acts. Sgt. Pepper was later regarded as the greatest album of all time and a starting point for the album era , during which rock music transitioned from

8694-524: The Girl You Think You Are " with Largest Living Things, before being joined by Seymour for " Sister Madly " and a version of Paul Kelly 's " Leaps and Bounds ", which also featured Kelly on vocals. In late 2003, Hester hosted the series Music Max's Sessions . Hester and Seymour were reunited when they both joined singer-songwriter Matt O'Donnell's Melbourne-based group Tarmac Adam . The band released one album, 2003's Handheld Torch , which

8855-471: The Jeff Beck Group . The last Yardbirds guitarist was Jimmy Page , who went on to form The New Yardbirds which rapidly became Led Zeppelin . Many of the songs on their first three albums, and occasionally later in their careers, were expansions on traditional blues songs. In America, blues rock had been pioneered in the early 1960s by guitarist Lonnie Mack , but the genre began to take off in

9016-506: The Joint " (1949), also covered by Bill Haley & His Comets in 1952; and " Rocket 88 " by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats (in fact, Ike Turner and his band the Kings of Rhythm ), recorded by Sam Phillips for Chess Records in 1951. In 1951, Cleveland, Ohio disc jockey Alan Freed began playing rhythm and blues music (then termed " race music ") for a multi-racial audience, and

9177-503: The Lovin' Spoonful and Simon and Garfunkel , with the latter's acoustic " The Sounds of Silence " (1965) being remixed with rock instruments to be the first of many hits. These acts directly influenced British performers like Donovan and Fairport Convention . In 1969 Fairport Convention abandoned their mixture of American covers and Dylan-influenced songs to play traditional English folk music on electric instruments. This British folk-rock

9338-781: The Marquee Theatre in Tempe, Arizona on 26 April as a warm-up for their appearance at the Coachella Festival on 29 April in Indio, California . They played at the Australian Live Earth concert in Sydney on 7 July. The next day, Finn and Seymour were interviewed on Rove Live and the band, with Hart and Sherrod, performed "Don't Stop Now" to promote the new album, which was titled Time on Earth . The single

9499-476: The Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds , were much more directly influenced by rhythm and blues and later blues music. Soon these groups were composing their own material, combining US forms of music and infusing it with a high energy beat. Beat bands tended towards "bouncy, irresistible melodies", while early British blues acts tended towards less sexually innocent, more aggressive songs, often adopting an anti-establishment stance. There was, however, particularly in

9660-588: The Searchers from Liverpool and Freddie and the Dreamers , Herman's Hermits and the Hollies from Manchester. They drew on a wide range of American influences including 1950s rock and roll, soul, rhythm and blues, and surf music, initially reinterpreting standard American tunes and playing for dancers. Bands like the Animals from Newcastle and Them from Belfast , and particularly those from London like

9821-672: The Seeds ) to near-studio musician quality (including the Knickerbockers , the Remains , and the Fifth Estate ). There were also regional variations in many parts of the country with flourishing scenes particularly in California and Texas. The Pacific Northwest states of Washington and Oregon had perhaps the most defined regional sound. The style had been evolving from regional scenes as early as 1958. "Tall Cool One" (1959) by

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9982-534: The Top 10 in New Zealand America, and Canada. " World Where You Live " and "Now We're Getting Somewhere" were also released as singles with chart success. As the band's primary songwriter, Neil Finn was under pressure to create a second album to match their debut and the band joked that one potential title for the new release was Mediocre Follow-Up . Eventually titled Temple of Low Men , their second album

10143-820: The UK tour, at the Town and Country Club in London, were recorded live and given a limited release in Australia, while individual songs from those shows were released as B-sides of singles in some countries. In June 1993 the New Zealand Government recommended that the Queen award an OBE to Neil and Tim Finn for their contribution to the music of New Zealand. For their fourth album, Together Alone , Crowded House used producer Martin Glover (aka "Youth") and invited touring musician Mark Hart (guitar and keyboards) to become

10304-605: The US Billboard Hot 100 and number one in Canada. New Zealand radio stations initially gave the song little support until months later when it became internationally successful. Ultimately, the song reached number one on the New Zealand singles chart and number eight in Australia. It remains the group's most commercially successful song. In March 1987, the group were awarded "Best New Talent", along with " Song of

10465-676: The US was becoming dominated by lightweight pop and ballads, British rock groups at clubs and local dances were developing a style more strongly influenced by blues-rock pioneers, and were starting to play with an intensity and drive seldom found in white American acts; this influence would go on to shape the future of rock music through the British Invasion . The first four years of the 1960s has traditionally been seen as an era of hiatus for rock and roll. More recently some authors have emphasised important innovations and trends in this period without which future developments would not have been possible. While early rock and roll, particularly through

10626-477: The US, though the following four singles were less successful. Crowded House undertook a short tour of Australia and Canada to promote the album, with Eddie Rayner on keyboards. Multi-instrumentalist Mark Hart, who would eventually become a full band member, replaced Rayner in January 1989. After the tour, Finn fired Seymour from the band. Music journalist Ed Nimmervoll claimed that Seymour's temporary departure

10787-619: The USSR and South Africa from 1955 to 1957, influencing the globalisation of rock. Johnny O'Keefe 's 1958 record " Wild One " was one of the earliest Australian rock and roll hits. By the late 1950s, as well as in the American-influenced Western world, rock was popular in communist states such as Yugoslavia, and the USSR, as well as in regions such as South America. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, American blues music and blues rock artists, who had been surpassed by

10948-751: The Wailers and " Louie Louie " by the Kingsmen (1963) are mainstream examples of the genre in its formative stages. By 1963, garage band singles were creeping into the national charts in greater numbers, including Paul Revere and the Raiders (Boise), the Trashmen (Minneapolis) and the Rivieras (South Bend, Indiana). Other influential garage bands, such as the Sonics (Tacoma, Washington), never reached

11109-459: The Year " and "Best Video" awards for "Don't Dream It's Over", at the inaugural ARIA Music Awards . The video also earned the group the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist that year. The song has often been covered by other artists and gave Paul Young a hit single in 1991. It was also used for a New Zealand Tourism Board advertisement in its "100% Pure New Zealand" worldwide promotion from October 2005. In May 2001, "Don't Dream it's Over"

11270-527: The advent of rockabilly, saw the greatest commercial success for male and white performers, in this era, the genre was dominated by black and female artists. Rock and roll had not disappeared entirely from music at the end of the 1950s and some of its energy can be seen in the various dance crazes of the early 1960s, started by Chubby Checker 's record " The Twist " (1960). Some music historians have also pointed to important and innovative technical developments that built on rock and roll in this period, including

11431-437: The album Woodface . Bassist Nick Seymour (Plays with Marionettes, Bang, The Horla) is the younger brother of singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Seymour of Australian rock group Hunters & Collectors . Finn and Hester decided to form a new band during the first Split Enz farewell tour, "Enz with a Bang", in late 1984. Seymour approached Finn during the after party for the Melbourne show and asked if he could audition for

11592-641: The album had limited success in the US, only reaching number 83 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart and selling 225,000 copies. Despite the success of the album, Tim Finn left Crowded House suddenly part-way through the UK leg of the Woodface tour, a few hours before the band were due to play at King Tut's Club in Glasgow on 1 November 1991. Neil Finn noted that "on stage, it just didn't feel right for us or him. We're very off-the-cuff and conversational, whereas Tim

11753-562: The album's first US single and received airplay on MTV and VH1 . This track and " My Sharona " by The Knack , which were both included on the soundtrack of the film Reality Bites , were bundled together on a jukebox single to promote the film soundtrack. Crowded House were midway through a US tour when Paul Hester quit the band on 15 April 1994. He flew home to Melbourne to await the birth of his first child and indicated that he required more time with his family. Wally Ingram , drummer for support act Sheryl Crow , temporarily filled in until

11914-556: The album's first single " Don't Stop Now ". On 17 March 2007 the band played a live show at their rehearsal studio in front of around fifty fans, friends and family. The performance was streamed live as a webcast . The two-and-a-half-hour set included some new tracks, including "Silent House" co-written by Finn with the Dixie Chicks . A concert onboard The Thekla , moored in Bristol , followed on 19 March. Crowded House played at

12075-618: The band joined Neil's older son, Liam Finn, on stage for three songs at the Sound Relief concert in Melbourne. Crowded House began recording their follow-up to Time on Earth in April 2009, at Finn's own Roundhead Studios . The album, Intriguer , was produced by Jim Scott who had worked on The Sun Came Out by Neil's 7 Worlds Collide project. In August 2009, Finn travelled to Los Angeles to record some overdubs at Jim Scott's Los Angeles studio before they began mixing tracks. The album

12236-575: The band performed their single "To the Island" on CBS 's The Late Show with Stephen Colbert . On 2 December 2021, the band announced that it will be touring Australia in 2022, with 6 shows around the country, including the 2022 Bluesfest lineup. On 24 June 2022, the band played at Glastonbury Festival . In May 2023, Crowded House tour North America for the promotion of the album Dreamers Are Waiting . In February 2024, Crowded House released "Oh Hi" from their eighth album Gravity Stairs , which in turn

12397-654: The band to play drums on the three new tracks. Worried that their goodbye had been too low-key and had disregarded their home fans, the band performed the Farewell to the World concert on the steps of the Sydney Opera House on 24 November 1996, which raised funds for the Sydney Children's Hospital . The concert featured the line-up of Neil Finn, Nick Seymour, Mark Hart and Paul Hester. Tim Finn and Peter Jones both made guest appearances. Support bands on

12558-513: The band's greatest hits and is also available in a box set with a 25 track DVD of their music videos. A deluxe digital version, available for download only, has 32 tracks including a rare 1987 live recording of the band's version of the Hunters & Collectors song " Throw Your Arms Around Me ". No mention of this album has been made on the band's official website or Twitter page, which suggests that they are not involved with its release. Following

12719-621: The band's potential and gave them only low-key promotion, forcing the band to play at small venues to try to gain attention. The album's first single, " Mean to Me ", reached the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart top 30 in June. It failed to chart in the US, but moderate American airplay introduced US listeners to the group. The next single, " Don't Dream It's Over ", was released in October 1986 and proved an international hit, reaching number two on

12880-478: The band's studio albums, along with three new songs. The album debuted at number one in Australia, New Zealand and the UK in July 1996. Early copies included a bonus CD of live material. The album's three new songs, which were released as singles, were " Instinct ", " Not the Girl You Think You Are " and " Everything Is Good for You ", which featured backing vocals from Pearl Jam 's Eddie Vedder . Paul Hester returned to

13041-585: The biggest selling rock band of all time and they were followed into the US charts by numerous British bands. During the next two years British acts dominated their own and the US charts with Peter and Gordon , the Animals, Manfred Mann , Petula Clark , Freddie and the Dreamers, Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders , Herman's Hermits, the Rolling Stones, the Troggs , and Donovan all having one or more number one singles. Other major acts that were part of

13202-528: The charity Save the Children . The B-side, "Anthem", was a previously unreleased track, recorded at the same demo session as "Help is Coming" in 1995, with vocals added in 2015. Peter Jones plays drums on both songs. The money will be used to provide shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene for refugees in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. Neil Finn said of "Help Is Coming"..."It was always a song about refugees, even if at

13363-461: The chart. Their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on 9 February 1964, drawing an estimated 73 million viewers (at the time a record for an American television program) is considered a milestone in American pop culture. During the week of 4 April 1964, the Beatles held 12 positions on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, including the entire top five. The Beatles went on to become

13524-400: The compilation album Recurring Dream , which included the hits " Fall at Your Feet ", " Weather with You ", " Distant Sun ", " Locked Out ", " Instinct ", and " Not the Girl You Think You Are ". Neil and Tim Finn were each awarded an OBE in June 1993 for their contributions to the music of New Zealand. Crowded House disbanded in 1996 following several farewell concerts that year, including

13685-449: The costumes worn by the group, notably those from the cover of the group's debut album Crowded House . Seymour collaborated with Finn and Hester on the set design of some of their early music videos, including "Don't Dream It's Over" and "Better Be Home Soon". Since the band reunited, Seymour has again designed their album covers. The majority of the covers for the band's singles were not designed by Seymour. The artwork for "Pineapple Head"

13846-522: The day were Custard , Powderfinger and You Am I . The concert had one of the highest live audiences in Australian history with the crowd being estimated at between 120,000 and 250,000 people. Farewell to the World was released on VHS in December 1996. In 2007, a double CD and a DVD were issued to commemorate the concert's tenth anniversary. The DVD featured newly recorded audio commentary by Finn, Hart and Seymour and other new bonus material. Following

14007-424: The delights and limitations of the regional , and to deal with the depredations and benefits of mass culture itself. — Robert Christgau in Christgau's Record Guide (1981) Unlike many earlier styles of popular music, rock lyrics have dealt with a wide range of themes, including romantic love, sex, rebellion against " The Establishment ", social concerns, and life styles. These themes were inherited from

14168-455: The early 1970s among existing blues-rock and psychedelic bands, as well as newly formed acts. The vibrant Canterbury scene saw acts following Soft Machine from psychedelia, through jazz influences, toward more expansive hard rock, including Caravan , Hatfield and the North , Gong , and National Health . The French group Magma around drummer Christian Vander almost single-handedly created

14329-460: The early 1970s, Robert Christgau wrote in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981): The decade is, of course, an arbitrary schema itself—time doesn't just execute a neat turn toward the future every ten years. But like a lot of artificial concepts—money, say—the category does take on a reality of its own once people figure out how to put it to work. "The '60s are over,"

14490-462: The early stages, considerable musical crossover between the two tendencies. By 1963, led by the Beatles, beat groups had begun to achieve national success in Britain, soon to be followed into the charts by the more rhythm and blues focused acts. " I Want to Hold Your Hand " was the Beatles' first number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 , spending seven weeks at the top and a total of 15 weeks on

14651-519: The electronic treatment of sound by such innovators as Joe Meek , and the elaborate production methods of the Wall of Sound pursued by Phil Spector . The instrumental rock and roll of performers such as Duane Eddy , Link Wray and the Ventures was further developed by Dick Dale , who added distinctive "wet" reverb , rapid alternate picking, and Middle Eastern and Mexican influences. He produced

14812-541: The end of the Intriguer tour. Later that year, however, he and Seymour announced a series of concerts at the Sydney Opera House to mark the 20th anniversary of the Farewell to the World show (24 November 1996). The band, with the same lineup as its initial reunion and Tim Finn as guest, performed four shows between 24 and 27 November 2016. Around the same time, each of the band's 7 studio albums (including

14973-581: The example set by the Beatles ' 1965 LP Rubber Soul in particular, other British rock acts released rock albums intended as artistic statements in 1966, including the Rolling Stones ' Aftermath , the Beatles' own Revolver , and the Who 's A Quick One , as well as American acts in the Beach Boys ( Pet Sounds ) and Bob Dylan ( Blonde on Blonde ). Garage rock was a raw form of rock music, particularly prevalent in North America in

15134-467: The exuberant "Italian Plastic", which became a crowd favourite at concerts and the hidden track "I'm Still Here". " Chocolate Cake ", a humorous comment on American excesses that was not taken well by some US critics and sections of the American public was released in June 1991 as the first single. It failed to chart in the US; however, it reached number two on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song peaked at number seven in New Zealand and reached

15295-498: The first record, and worldwide hit, for the Virgin Records label, which became a mainstay of the genre. Instrumental rock was particularly significant in continental Europe, allowing bands like Kraftwerk , Tangerine Dream , Can , Focus (band) and Faust to circumvent the language barrier. Their synthesiser-heavy " krautrock ", along with the work of Brian Eno (for a time the keyboard player with Roxy Music ), would be

15456-512: The first single from the band in over a decade. The band also shared an accompanying music video, starring Mac DeMarco . On 17 February 2021, the band shared another single, "To the Island." The track serves as the second single to the band's seventh studio album, Dreamers Are Waiting , which was announced on the same day for release on 4 June 2021. The band supported the single with a national tour of New Zealand in March 2021. On 19 August 2021,

15617-455: The folk scene. The first group to advertise themselves as psychedelic rock were the 13th Floor Elevators from Texas. The Beatles introduced many of the major elements of the psychedelic sound to audiences in this period, such as guitar feedback , the Indian sitar and backmasking sound effects . Psychedelic rock particularly took off in California's emerging music scene as groups followed

15778-513: The format of rock operas and opened the door to concept albums , often telling an epic story or tackling a grand overarching theme. King Crimson 's 1969 début album, In the Court of the Crimson King , which mixed powerful guitar riffs and mellotron , with jazz and symphonic music , is often taken as the key recording in progressive rock, helping the widespread adoption of the genre in

15939-464: The group has won 13 ARIA Awards from 36 nominations, including the inaugural Best New Talent in 1987 . The majority of their wins were for their first two albums, Crowded House and Temple of Low Men . They won eight APRA Awards from eleven nominations and were nominated for The New Zealand Silver Scroll for "Don't Stop Now" in 2007. "Don't Dream It's Over" was named the seventh best Australian song of all time in 2001. Rock music Rock

16100-458: The impetus was soon taken up by a second wave of bands that drew their inspiration more directly from American blues , including the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds . British blues musicians of the late 1950s and early 1960s had been inspired by the acoustic playing of figures such as Lead Belly , who was a major influence on the Skiffle craze, and Robert Johnson . Increasingly they adopted

16261-467: The invasion included the Kinks and the Dave Clark Five . The British Invasion helped internationalize the production of rock and roll, opening the door for subsequent British (and Irish) performers to achieve international success. In America it arguably spelled the end of instrumental surf music, vocal girl groups and (for a time) the teen idols , that had dominated the American charts in

16422-517: The label were R&B oriented white rock bands that made use of jazzy horn sections, like Electric Flag , Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago , to become some of the most commercially successful acts of the later 1960s and the early 1970s. British acts to emerge in the same period from the blues scene, to make use of the tonal and improvisational aspects of jazz, included Nucleus and the Graham Bond and John Mayall spin-off Colosseum . From

16583-659: The lack of space at the small Hollywood Hills house they shared during the recording of the album Crowded House . Former Split Enz keyboardist Eddie Rayner produced the track "Can't Carry On" and was asked to join the band. He toured with them in 1988, but was unable to become a full member due to family commitments. Thanks to their Split Enz connection, the newly formed Crowded House had an established Australasian fanbase. They began by playing at festivals in Australia and New Zealand and released their debut album, Crowded House , in August 1986. Capitol Records initially failed to see

16744-446: The late 1950s and 1960s. It dented the careers of established R&B acts like Fats Domino and Chubby Checker and even temporarily derailed the chart success of surviving rock and roll acts, including Elvis. The British Invasion also played a major part in the rise of a distinct genre of rock music, and cemented the primacy of the rock group, based on guitars and drums and producing their own material as singer-songwriters. Following

16905-410: The loudest, wildest, most electrified fusion bands from the jazz camp, but most often it describes performers coming from the rock side of the equation." Jazz-rock "...generally grew out of the most artistically ambitious rock subgenres of the late '60s and early '70s", including the singer-songwriter movement. Many early US rock and roll musicians had begun in jazz and carried some of these elements into

17066-476: The many recordings which have been suggested as "the first rock and roll record ". Contenders include " Strange Things Happening Every Day " by Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1944); " That's All Right " by Arthur Crudup (1946), which was later covered by Elvis Presley in 1954; " The House of Blue Lights " by Ella Mae Morse and Freddie Slack (1946); Wynonie Harris ' " Good Rocking Tonight " (1948); Goree Carter 's "Rock Awhile" (1949); Jimmy Preston 's " Rock

17227-674: The mid-1950s by white singers such as Carl Perkins , Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly and with the greatest commercial success, Elvis Presley . Hispanic and Latino American movements in rock and roll, which would eventually lead to the success of Latin rock and Chicano rock within the US, began to rise in the Southwest ; with rock and roll standard musician Ritchie Valens and even those within other heritage genres, such as Al Hurricane along with his brothers Tiny Morrie and Baby Gaby as they began combining rock and roll with country- western within traditional New Mexico music . In addition,

17388-609: The mid-1960s the Left Banke , the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys, had pioneered the inclusion of harpsichords , wind , and string sections on their recordings to produce a form of Baroque rock and can be heard in singles like Procol Harum 's " A Whiter Shade of Pale " (1967), with its Bach -inspired introduction. The Moody Blues used a full orchestra on their album Days of Future Passed (1967) and subsequently created orchestral sounds with synthesizers. Classical orchestration, keyboards, and synthesizers were

17549-479: The mid-1960s and so called because of the perception that it was rehearsed in the suburban family garage. Garage rock songs often revolved around the traumas of high school life, with songs about "lying girls" and unfair social circumstances being particularly common. The lyrics and delivery tended to be more aggressive than was common at the time, often with growled or shouted vocals that dissolved into incoherent screaming. They ranged from crude one-chord music (like

17710-435: The mid-1960s as acts developed a sound similar to British blues musicians. Key acts included Paul Butterfield (whose band acted like Mayall's Bluesbreakers in Britain as a starting point for many successful musicians), Canned Heat , the early Jefferson Airplane , Janis Joplin , Johnny Winter , the J. Geils Band and Jimi Hendrix with his power trios , the Jimi Hendrix Experience (which included two British members, and

17871-401: The mid-1960s onwards, rock music often used the verse–chorus structure derived from blues and folk music, but there has been considerable variation from this model. Critics have stressed the eclecticism and stylistic diversity of rock. Because of its complex history and its tendency to borrow from other musical and cultural forms, it has been argued that "it is impossible to bind rock music to

18032-470: The new Crowded House line-up would consist of himself, Seymour, the band's original producer Mitchell Froom and his sons Liam and Elroy. He added that they were making a new studio album, the first since 2010's Intriguer . Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the band's planned 2020 concerts have had to be rescheduled to 2021, and later again to 2022. On 15 October 2020, the band released "Whatever You Want",

18193-408: The new band. The Mullanes formed in Melbourne in early 1985 with Finn, Hester, Seymour, and guitarist Craig Hooper ( The Reels ) and first performed on 11 June. They secured a record contract with Capitol Records , but Hooper left the band before the remaining trio moved to Los Angeles to record their debut album. At Capitol's behest, the band's name was changed to Crowded House, which alluded to

18354-465: The new music genre zeuhl with their first albums in the early 1970s. Greater commercial success was enjoyed by Pink Floyd, who also moved away from psychedelia after the departure of Syd Barrett in 1968, with The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), seen as a masterpiece of the genre, becoming one of the best-selling albums of all time. There was an emphasis on instrumental virtuosity, with Yes showcasing

18515-608: The new music. In Britain the subgenre of blues rock, and many of its leading figures, like Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce of the Eric Clapton -fronted band Cream , had emerged from the British jazz scene. Often highlighted as the first true jazz-rock recording is the only album by the relatively obscure New York–based the Free Spirits with Out of Sight and Sound (1966). The first group of bands to self-consciously use

18676-425: The previously rejected recordings were combined to make Woodface , which was released in July 1991. The album features eight tracks co-written by Neil and Tim, which feature the brothers harmonising on lead vocals, except on the sombre "All I Ask" on which Tim sang lead. The track was later used on AIDS awareness commercials in Australia. Five of the album's tracks were Neil's solo compositions and two were by Hester,

18837-471: The psychedelic rock and the Canterbury scenes came Soft Machine, who, it has been suggested, produced one of the artistically successfully fusions of the two genres. Perhaps the most critically acclaimed fusion came from the jazz side of the equation, with Miles Davis , particularly influenced by the work of Hendrix, incorporating rock instrumentation into his sound for the album Bitches Brew (1970). It

18998-468: The rarities collection Afterglow ) was reissued in deluxe 2-CD format with bonus tracks including demos, live recordings, alternate mixes, b-sides and outtakes. In April 2018, Neil Finn joined Fleetwood Mac , along with Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers , as a full-time member in the wake of Lindsey Buckingham 's departure from the band. In August 2019, Crowded House announced

19159-487: The recording sessions with Tim, Neil began writing and recording a third Crowded House album with Hester and Seymour, but these tracks were rejected by the record company, so Neil asked Tim if Crowded House could use the Finn songs. Tim jokingly agreed on the proviso that he become a member, which Neil apparently took literally. With Tim as an official member, the band returned to the studio. The new tracks, as well as some from

19320-653: The regional hit " Let's Go Trippin ' " in 1961 and launched the surf music craze, following up with songs like " Misirlou " (1962). Like Dale and his Del-Tones , most early surf bands were formed in Southern California, including the Bel-Airs , the Challengers , and Eddie & the Showmen . The Chantays scored a top ten national hit with " Pipeline " in 1963 and probably the best-known surf tune

19481-400: The rise of rock and roll in the US, found new popularity in the UK, visiting with successful tours. Lonnie Donegan 's 1955 hit " Rock Island Line " was a major influence and helped to develop the trend of skiffle music groups throughout the country, many of which, including John Lennon 's Quarrymen (later the Beatles ), moved on to play rock and roll. While former rock and roll market in

19642-475: The romantic concept of art as artistic expression, original and sincere". In the new millennium, the term rock has occasionally been used as a blanket term including forms like pop music, reggae music , soul music , and even hip hop , which it has been influenced with but often contrasted through much of its history. Christgau has used the term broadly to refer to popular and semipopular music that caters to his sensibility as "a rock-and-roller", including

19803-522: The same era, and by percussion produced from a drum kit that combines drums and cymbals. This trio of instruments has often been complemented by the inclusion of other instruments, particularly keyboards such as the piano, the Hammond organ , and the synthesizer. The basic rock instrumentation was derived from the basic blues band instrumentation (prominent lead guitar, second chordal instrument, bass, and drums). A group of musicians performing rock music

19964-555: The second half of the 1970s, punk rock reacted by producing stripped-down, energetic social and political critiques. Punk was an influence in the 1980s on new wave , post-punk and eventually alternative rock . From the 1990s, alternative rock began to dominate rock music and break into the mainstream in the form of grunge , Britpop , and indie rock . Further fusion subgenres have since emerged, including pop-punk , electronic rock , rap rock , and rap metal . Some movements were conscious attempts to revisit rock's history, including

20125-462: The shows were released in November 2001. Tim Finn had resumed his solo career after leaving the group in 1992 and he also worked with Neil on a second Finn Brothers album, Everyone Is Here , which was released in 2004. Paul Hester joined The Finn Brothers on stage for three songs at their Palais Theatre show in Melbourne at the end of 2004. Nick Seymour also joined them on stage in Dublin, where he

20286-546: The singles format to albums and achieved cultural legitimacy in the mainstream. Led by the Beatles in the mid-1960s, rock musicians advanced the LP as the dominant form of recorded music expression and consumption, initiating a rock-informed album era in the music industry for the next several decades. Progressive rock, a term sometimes used interchangeably with art rock , moved beyond established musical formulas by experimenting with different instruments, song types, and forms. From

20447-413: The skills of both guitarist Steve Howe and keyboard player Rick Wakeman , while Emerson, Lake & Palmer were a supergroup who produced some of the genre's most technically demanding work. Jethro Tull and Genesis both pursued very different, but distinctly English, brands of music. Renaissance , formed in 1969 by ex-Yardbirds Jim McCarty and Keith Relf, evolved into a high-concept band featuring

20608-546: The sole constant members. Originally active from 1985 to 1996, Crowded House had consistent commercial and critical success in Australia and New Zealand. They achieved success in the United States with their self-titled debut album , which provided the Top Ten hits " Don't Dream It's Over " and " Something So Strong ". Further international success came in the UK, Europe, and South Africa in the early 1990s with their third and fourth albums ( Woodface and Together Alone ) and

20769-636: The success of the album She Will Have Her Way in 2005, a second album of cover versions of Finn Brothers songs (including Crowded House songs) was released on 12 November 2010. Entitled He Will Have His Way , all tracks are performed by Australasian male artists. In November 2011 an Australian tour featured artists involved with the "She Will Have Her Way" and "He Will Have His Way" projects, including Paul Dempsey , Clare Bowditch , Seeker Lover Keeper ( Sarah Blasko , Sally Seltmann and Holly Throsby ), Alexander Gow ( Oh Mercy ) and Lior . The band played what would be their last concert for over five years at

20930-615: The three-octave voice of Annie Haslam . Most British bands depended on a relatively small cult following, but a handful, including Pink Floyd, Genesis, and Jethro Tull, managed to produce top ten singles at home and break the American market. The American brand of progressive rock varied from the eclectic and innovative Frank Zappa , Captain Beefheart and Blood, Sweat & Tears , to more pop rock orientated bands like Boston , Foreigner , Kansas , Journey , and Styx . These, beside British bands Supertramp and ELO , all demonstrated

21091-509: The time I was thinking about the immigrants setting off on ships from Europe to America, looking for a better life for their families. There is such a huge scale and urgency to the current refugee crises that barely a day goes by without some crushing image or news account to confront us. We can't be silent any more." Neil Finn confirmed in a 2016 interview with the Dutch newspaper Volkskrant that Crowded House had been on indefinite hiatus since

21252-505: The top 20 in Australia. The second single, " Fall at Your Feet ", was less successful in Australia and New Zealand but did at least reach the US Hot 100 . The album reached number one in New Zealand, number two in Australia, number six in the UK and made the top 20 in several European countries. The third single from Woodface , " Weather With You ", peaked at No. 7 in early 1992 giving the band their highest UK chart placement. By contrast,

21413-409: The vehicle for cultural and social movements, leading to major subcultures including mods and rockers in the U.K., the hippie movement and the wider Western counterculture movement that spread out from San Francisco in the U.S. in the 1960s, the latter of which continues to this day. Similarly, 1970s punk culture spawned the goth , punk, and emo subcultures. Inheriting the folk tradition of

21574-536: The work of the Beach Boys , formed in 1961 in Southern California. Their early albums included both instrumental surf rock (among them covers of music by Dick Dale) and vocal songs, drawing on rock and roll and doo wop and the close harmonies of vocal pop acts like the Four Freshmen . The Beach Boys first chart hit, " Surfin ' " in 1961 reached the Billboard top 100 and helped make the surf music craze

21735-533: The work of established performers such as the Rolling Stones' Beggar's Banquet (1968) and the Beatles' Let It Be (1970). Reflecting on this change of trends in rock music over the past few years, Christgau wrote in his June 1970 "Consumer Guide" column that this "new orthodoxy" and "cultural lag" abandoned improvisatory, studio-ornamented productions in favor of an emphasis on "tight, spare instrumentation" and song composition: "Its referents are '50s rock, country music, and rhythm-and-blues, and its key inspiration

21896-404: The world, except as a new brand of painkiller ... In the '70s the powerful took over, as rock industrialists capitalized on the national mood to reduce potent music to an often reactionary species of entertainment—and to transmute rock's popular base from the audience to market." Roots rock is the term now used to describe a move away from what some saw as the excesses of the psychedelic scene, to

22057-582: Was John Mayall ; his band, the Bluesbreakers , included Eric Clapton (after Clapton's departure from the Yardbirds) and later Peter Green . Particularly significant was the release of Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton (Beano) album (1966), considered one of the seminal British blues recordings and the sound of which was much emulated in both Britain and the United States. Eric Clapton went on to form supergroups Cream, Blind Faith , and Derek and

22218-628: Was 1963's " Wipe Out ", by the Surfaris , which hit number 2 and number 10 on the Billboard charts in 1965. Surf rock was also popular in Europe during this time, with the British group the Shadows scoring hits in the early 1960s with instrumentals such as " Apache " and " Kon-Tiki ", while Swedish surf group the Spotnicks saw success in both Sweden and Britain. Surf music achieved its greatest commercial success as vocal pop music, particularly

22379-567: Was 46 years old. His obituary in The Sydney Morning Herald stated that he had fought "a long battle with depression." Following the news of Hester's death, Nick Seymour joined The Finn Brothers on stage at the Royal Albert Hall in London, where the three played in memory of Hester. A snare drum with a top hat on it stood at the front of the stage as a tribute. Writing in 2010 Neil Finn said, "When we lost Paul it

22540-473: Was a major influence on subsequent rock-influenced jazz artists, including Herbie Hancock , Chick Corea and Weather Report . The genre began to fade in the late 1970s, as a mellower form of fusion began to take its audience, but acts like Steely Dan , Frank Zappa and Joni Mitchell recorded significant jazz-influenced albums in this period, and it has continued to be a major influence on rock music. Reflecting on developments that occurred in rock music in

22701-584: Was a minor hit in Australia and the UK. The album was released worldwide in June and July. It topped the album chart in New Zealand and made number 2 in Australia and number 3 in the UK. On 6 December 2008 Crowded House played the Homebake festival in Sydney, with warm up gigs at small venues in Hobart, Melbourne and Sydney. For these shows the band were augmented by multi-instrumentalist Don McGlashan and Neil's younger son, Elroy Finn, on guitar. On 14 March 2009

22862-462: Was because Finn blamed him for causing his writer's block ; however, Finn cited "artistic differences" as the reason. Seymour said that after a month he contacted Finn and they agreed that he would return to the band. Crowded House took a break after the Canadian leg of the Temple of Low Men tour. Neil Finn and his brother Tim recorded songs they had co-written for their own album, Finn . Following

23023-424: Was continued in the 1970s by figures such as George Thorogood and Pat Travers , but, particularly on the British scene (except perhaps for the advent of groups such as Status Quo and Foghat who moved towards a form of high energy and repetitive boogie rock ), bands became focused on heavy metal innovation, and blues rock began to slip out of the mainstream. By the 1960s, the scene that had developed out of

23184-449: Was created by Reg Mombassa of Mental As Anything . For the first four albums Mombassa and Noel Crombie , who had been the main designer of Split Enz's artwork, assisted Seymour in creating sets and costumes. For the Farewell to the World concerts Crombie designed the set, while Mombassa and Seymour designed promotional materials and artwork. Studio albums Crowded House has won several national and international awards. In Australia,

23345-534: Was decided that the album would be issued under the Crowded House band name, rather than as a Neil Finn solo album. In January 2007, the group publicly announced their reformation and on 23 February, after 20 days of auditions, former Beck drummer Matt Sherrod joined Finn, Seymour and Mark Hart to complete the new line up. As Sherrod and Hart had not participated in the initial sessions, four new tracks were recorded with producer Steve Lillywhite including

23506-575: Was founded in Britain), and Band of Gypsys , whose guitar virtuosity and showmanship would be among the most emulated of the decade. Blues rock bands from the southern states, like the Allman Brothers Band , Lynyrd Skynyrd , and ZZ Top , incorporated country elements into their style to produce the distinctive genre Southern rock . Early blues rock bands often emulated jazz, playing long, involved improvisations, which would later be

23667-416: Was like someone pulled the rug out from underneath everything, a terrible jolt out of the dark blue. He was the best drummer I had ever played with and for many years, my closest friend." In 2006 Neil Finn asked Nick Seymour to play bass on his third solo album. Seymour agreed and the two joined up with producer and multi-instrumentalist Ethan Johns to begin recording. As the recording sessions progressed it

23828-491: Was living, in 2004. Peter Jones and Nick Seymour joined Australian group Deadstar for their second album, Milk , in 1997. Seymour later worked as a record producer in Dublin, producing Irish group Bell X1 's debut album, Neither Am I in 2000. Mark Hart rejoined Supertramp in the late 1990s and later toured with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band . In 2001 he released a solo album, Nada Sonata . Paul Hester worked with children's entertainers The Wiggles , playing "Paul

23989-572: Was produced by Seymour. In May 1999, Crowded House issued a compilation of unreleased songs, Afterglow , which included the track "Recurring Dream", recorded when the group were still called The Mullanes and included Craig Hooper on guitar. The album's liner notes included information about the songs, written by music journalist David Hepworth . Some limited-release versions included a second CD with songwriting commentary by Finn. The liner notes confirmed that Crowded House had no plans to reunite at that time. A 2003 compilation album, Classic Masters ,

24150-638: Was released in 2024. As of 2021, Crowded House have sold over 15 million albums worldwide. In November 2016, the band was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame . Neil Finn (vocals, guitar, piano) and drummer Paul Hester ( The Cheks , Deckchairs Overboard ) were former members of New Zealand band Split Enz , which spent part of 1975–6 in Australia and several years in England. Neil Finn is the younger brother of Split Enz founding member Tim Finn, who joined Crowded House in 1990 on vocals, guitars, and keyboards for

24311-477: Was released in July 1988 with strong promotion by Capitol Records. The album did not fare as well as their debut in the US, only reaching number 40 and selling around 200,000 copies, but it achieved Australasian success, reaching number one in Australia and number two in New Zealand. The first single " Better Be Home Soon " peaked at number two on both Australian and New Zealand singles charts and reached top 50 in

24472-514: Was released in June 2010, in time for the band's appearance at the West Coast Blues & Roots Festival near Perth . Finn stated that the album contains some, "Unexpected twists and turns" and some songs that, "Sound like nothing we've done before." Intriguer topped the Australian album chart, reached number 3 in New Zealand and number 12 in the UK. Crowded House undertook an extensive world tour in 2010 in support of Intriguer . This

24633-541: Was released on 31 May 2024. They also announced a New Zealand and Australian tour beginning in November that year. As the primary songwriter for the band, Neil Finn has always set the tone for the band's sound. AllMusic said that Finn "has consistently proven his knack for crafting high-quality songs that combine irresistible melodies with meticulous lyrical detail." Neil's brother Tim was an early and important musical influence. Neil first saw Tim play with Split Enz in 1972, and said "that performance and those first songs made

24794-423: Was released only in the US, while 2005 saw the release of the album She Will Have Her Way , a collection of cover versions of Crowded House, Split Enz, Tim Finn and Finn Brothers songs by Australasian female artists. The album reached the top 5 in Australia and New Zealand. On 26 March 2005, Paul Hester was found dead. He had committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree in a park near his home in Melbourne. He

24955-526: Was taken up by bands including Pentangle , Steeleye Span and the Albion Band , which in turn prompted Irish groups like Horslips and Scottish acts like the JSD Band , Spencer's Feat and later Five Hand Reel , to use their traditional music to create a brand of Celtic rock in the early 1970s. Folk-rock reached its peak of commercial popularity in the period 1967–68, before many acts moved off in

25116-614: Was taking place globally in the aftermath of the Second World War . Cliff Richard is credited with one of the first rock and roll hits outside of North America with " Move It " (1959), effectively ushering in the sound of British rock . Several artists, most prominently Tommy Steele from the UK, found success with covers of major American rock and roll hits before the recordings could spread internationally, often translating them into local languages where appropriate. Steele in particular toured Britain, Scandinavia, Australia,

25277-416: Was the first album where the band regularly interacted with fans via the internet on their own re-launched website. The band sold recordings of the shows on the Intriguer tour on USB flash drives and made individual live tracks available for free download. A new compilation album, The Very Very Best of Crowded House , was released in October 2010 to celebrate the band's 25th anniversary. It includes 19 of

25438-499: Was the first commercially successful folk song to be recorded with rock and roll instrumentation and the Beatles " I'm a Loser " (1964), arguably the first Beatles song to be influenced directly by Dylan. The folk rock movement is usually thought to have taken off with the Byrds ' recording of Dylan's " Mr. Tambourine Man " which topped the charts in 1965. With members who had been part of the café-based folk scene in Los Angeles,

25599-430: Was the major force in American record sales and crooners , such as Eddie Fisher , Perry Como , and Patti Page , who had dominated the previous decade of popular music, found their access to the pop charts significantly curtailed. Rock and roll has been seen as leading to a number of distinct subgenres, including rockabilly, combining rock and roll with "hillbilly" country music, which was usually played and recorded in

25760-455: Was the most popular genre of music in the U.S. and much of the Western world from the 1950s to the 2010s. Rock musicians in the mid-1960s began to advance the album ahead of the single as the dominant form of recorded music expression and consumption, with the Beatles at the forefront of this development. Their contributions lent the genre a cultural legitimacy in the mainstream and initiated

25921-612: Was voted seventh in a poll of the best Australian songs of all time by the Australasian Performing Right Association . In June 1987, nearly a year after its release, Crowded House finally reached number one on the Kent Music Report Album Charts. It also reached number three in New Zealand and number twelve in the US. The follow-up to "Don't Dream it's Over", " Something So Strong ", was another global smash, reaching

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