Brian Timothy Finn (born 25 June 1952) is a New Zealand singer and musician. His musical career includes forming 1970s and 1980s New Zealand rock group

Split Enz Split Enz were a New Zealand rock band formed in Auckland in 1972 by Tim Finn and Phil Judd and had a variety of other members during its existence. Originally started as a folk-oriented group with quirky art rock stylings, the band bui ...

, a number of solo albums, temporary membership in his brother Neil's band

Crowded House Crowded House are a 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 ...

and joint efforts with Neil Finn as the Finn Brothers.

Early life

Brian Timothy Finn was born in Te Awamutu, New Zealand, weighing 10 pounds at birth, to parents Richard and Mary. At the age of 13, he went to

Sacred Heart College, Auckland , motto_translation = Take Courage And Act Manfully , type = State-integrated Day & boarding Secondary school , religion = Roman Catholic Marist , gender = Boys-only , patron ...

, a Catholic boarding school, on a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

. He has two sisters, and one younger brother Neil Finn.

Career

1972–1984: Split Enz

In 1971 Finn commenced a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn ...

. There he jammed in music practice room 129 (later the name of a

song) with friends and future Split Enz bandmembers Mike Chunn, Robert Gillies, Philip Judd and Noel Crombie. Music soon became more important to him than his studies. In 1972 he quit university. A few months later, Phil and Tim formed the group Split Ends, renamed

in 1975, shortly before they left New Zealand for Melbourne. Between 1975 and 1984, the group released nine studio albums. Split Enz played its last show on 4 December 1984 in Auckland.

1981–present: Solo work

Finn had his first success away from Split Enz in 1981 when his discarded demo "They Won't Let My Girlfriend Talk to Me" became a top 10 hit for Australian band Jimmy and the Boys. In 1983, Finn recorded his debut solo album, ''

Escapade Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (EscaPADE) is a planned spacecraft mission to Mars consisting of two spacecraft known as ''Blue'' and ''Gold''. The mission, expected to launch in August 2024, is part of NASA's SIMPLEx progr ...

'', while still a member of Split Enz. This met with major commercial success both in Australia and New Zealand, and yielded hit song "Fraction Too Much Friction", which revealed a more rhythm-based sound than Split Enz had been known for. After contributing four songs to Split Enz album '' Conflicting Emotions'', Finn left the band permanently in June 1984, to focus on a solo career. In 1986 Finn released his second studio album, '' Big Canoe''. The album utilised a wide variety of instrumentation, including guitars, orchestral backings and traditional Indian instruments - most notably on single "No Thunder, No Fire, No Rain", which was inspired by the

Bhopal chemical disaster The Bhopal disaster, also referred to as the Bhopal gas tragedy, was a chemical accident on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. Considered the world's w ...

. Though ''Big Canoe'' reached number three on the New Zealand charts, it failed to become the international breakthrough that Finn or record company Virgin had hoped. In 1987, Finn composed music for the Australian comedy '' Les Patterson Saves the World'', which yielded the Australian hit "You Saved the World". Finn had a small part in Australian film ''The Coca-Cola Kid'' alongside then-girlfriend Greta Scacchi, and a larger one in her Italian-shot romance ''

La Donna della Luna ''Young Distance'' ( it, La Donna della Luna, also known as ''Woman in the Moon'', ''The Moon Woman'' and ''The Night of the Full Moon'') is a 1988 Italian romantic drama film written and directed by Vito Zagarrio. It was produced by Rete Italia wi ...

'' (The Moon Woman). 1979 Nambassa Split Enz, Photo Susanna Burton

In late 1988, Finn recording his

eponymous An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

third album, '' Tim Finn'', for

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

. The album yielded strong reviews and the New Zealand hit " Parihaka", based on a Māori village known for its campaign of passive resistance to European occupiers. In 2000, the album '' Together in Concert: Live'' was released, featuring Finn, and fellow New Zealand singer/songwriters Bic Runga, and Dave Dobbyn. Recorded in August and September 2000 in venues around New Zealand, the album saw the three performers each equitably showcased. Both the concerts and album feature all three performers providing vocal and instrumental backing on each other's songs. The album peaked at number 2 on the New Zealand chart. In 2015, Finn composed further for theatre, with an opera ''Star Navigator'' commissioned by New Zealand Opera,

Victorian Opera Victorian Opera is an opera company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The company was founded in 2005 by the Victorian Government as a replacement for the Victoria State Opera. It commenced operations in January 2006 with Richard Gill as ...

and West Australian Opera, and the musical ''

Ladies in Black ''Ladies in Black'' is an Australian musical with music and lyrics by Tim Finn and book by Carolyn Burns, based on the 1993 novel ''The Women in Black'' by Madeleine St John. Synopsis Set in Sydney in the 1950s, the musical tells the story of ...

'' to premiere in Brisbane by Queensland Theatre Company in November 2015. As England and New Zealand went into COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, Finn and Phil Manzanera began working collaboratively on an album under the name ''Tim Finn & Phil Manzenera'', which is called ''

Caught by the Heart Brian Timothy Finn (born 25 June 1952) is a New Zealand singer and musician. His musical career includes forming 1970s and 1980s New Zealand rock group Split Enz, a number of solo albums, temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowde ...

''. The album was released on 26 August 2021. The album is produced by the two of them, with Manzenera doing the lead instrumental and Finn doing the vocals.

1995–2005 : Finn Brothers

In 1989, Finn began playing music with younger brother Neil, for an intended Finn brothers record. After working together on some songs, Neil later proposed incorporating the tracks onto the latest album of

, the group he had formed after Split Enz dissolved. Tim co-wrote eight songs, including the hits " Weather with You" and " Four Seasons in One Day". In

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, both Tim and Neil were appointed Officers of the Order of British Empire, for services to music. The Finn Brothers resumed their collaborative work and released ''

Finn The word Finn (''pl.'' Finns) usually refers to a member of the majority Balto-Finnic ethnic group of Finland, or to a person from Finland. Finn may also refer to: Places * Finn Lake, Minnesota, United States * Finn Township, Logan County, Nor ...

'' in 1995. A second and final album was released in 2004 titled, ''

Everyone Is Here ''Everyone Is Here'' is the second album by The Finn Brothers, a music project of New Zealand brothers Tim and Neil Finn. The album was recorded twice, once in upstate New York with famed Bowie producer Tony Visconti, then again six months late ...

''. A '' Mojo'' magazine review stated that it contained "some of the most haunting music to bear the Finn imprint".

2020–present: Forenzics

In 2020 Finn co-created

Forenzics Forenzics is a New Zealand musical project formed by Tim Finn and Eddie Rayner in 2020. It's a project that includes 'shades & echoes' of early Split Enz repertoire. The songs are combinations of new and re-imagined lyrics and music. The 'guest ...

with former Split Enz keyboardist Eddie Rayner. Forenzics is an experimental project with the debut album ''Shades and Echoes'' (2022) as a transformation of the songs of Mental Notes (Split Enz album). Alongside Finn and Rayner are former members from the album, Noel Crombie and Phil Judd - and also Phil Manzanera who was involved in the redevelopment of Mental Notes (into Second Thoughts (album)). Initial singles "Chances Are" and "Premiere Fois" were officially released in November 2021, however "Walking", "Strange Stars" and "Abandoned" were all released before on YouTube (from early 2020 until early 2021).

Personal life

Finn was in a relationship with actress Greta Scacchi from 1983 to 1989. Finn is currently married to television presenter

Marie Azcona Marie may refer to: People Name * Marie (given name) * Marie (Japanese given name) * Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973 * Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in Tro ...

, formerly of MTV and TVNZ One's ''Music Week''. Finn and Azcona have two children, and have collaborated on several songs, some of which are featured on ''

Steel City The Steel City is a common nickname for many cities that were once known for their production of large amounts of steel. With industrial production also in developing countries, like those in Eastern Europe and Asia, most of these cities do n ...

'', the dance show that Finn wrote. Aside from co-writing two tracks with Azcona, Finn collaborated on another with former Split Enz member Mike Chunn. Finn's son Harper is a musician in his own right.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Soundtrack albums

Spoken word albums

Compilation albums

Singles

Charity singles

* This discography relates to releases by Tim Finn only. See also Finn Brothers' discography, Crowded House discography and

Split Enz discography This is a complete discography listing for Split Enz, a New Zealand-originated experimental rock-pop group. Their creative output includes several albums, singles, music videos, compilations as well as having albums pay tribute by other artists. ...

for other related works.

Awards

RIANZ Awards

The New Zealand Music Awards are awarded annually by the RIANZ in New Zealand.

ARIA Awards

The ARIA Music Awards are awarded annually by the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replac ...

Countdown Australian Music Awards

'' Countdown'' was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974 to 1987, it presented music awards from 1979 to 1987, initially in conjunction with magazine '' TV Week''. The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards. , - , 1981 , himself , Best Australian Songwriter , , - , 1982 , himself , Best Australian Songwriter , , - , rowspan="5" , 1983 , ''Escapade'' , Best Australian Album , , - , rowspan="2" , "Fraction too Much Friction" , Best Australian Single , , - , Best Video , , - , rowspan="2" , himself , Songwriter of the Year , , - , Most Popular Male Performer , , - , 1984 , himself , Most Popular Male Performer , , - , 1985 , himself , Most Popular Male Performer , , -

Helpmann Awards

The Helpmann Awards for live performance in Australia are awarded annually by Live Performance Australia.

References

External links

* *
Tim Finn's Official Website

AudioCulture profile

Tim Finn's MySpace site

Fanclub endorsed site

Australian Record Company site

Trouser Press commentary on Crowded House, Neil Finn and Tim Finn discographyElsewhere Tim Finn retrospective to 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finn, Tim 1952 births APRA Award winners New Zealand people of Irish descent Living people New Zealand pop singers New Zealand songwriters Male songwriters New Zealand expatriates in Australia New Zealand expatriates in England People from Te Awamutu Crowded House members Split Enz members New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Sacred Heart College, Auckland 20th-century New Zealand male singers New Zealand singer-songwriters New Zealand guitarists New Zealand new wave musicians New Zealand male guitarists New Zealand pianists Helpmann Award winners 20th-century New Zealand musicians 21st-century New Zealand musicians 21st-century New Zealand male singers Tim Male pianists ALT (band) members Māori-language singers