Crowded House

Crowded House is an Kiwi-Aussie rock group formed in 1985 and masterminded by New Zealander, creative force and founding member Neil Finn.

The band was born from the remains of the band Split Enz and originally surfaced with the name The Mullanes. After signing to Capitol Records, the band took up residence in Los Angeles, changed their name to Crowded House, and the recorded their first eponymous album. Without a significant effort from their record label the release of the first single from the album failed, but the international success of the second single, "Don't Dream It's Over" catapulted them into the spotlight. Subsequent singles also performed well, charting in the upper reaches of several charts around the world.

Pressure to release a similarly successful second album was high, and though Temple of Low Men fared well critically, it failed to capture the commercial success of its predecessor. Finn took a break before writing for the third album, choosing instead to work with his brother, Tim Finn, on a solo project first. In the end, it was the songs intended for the solo project that found their way onto the next Crowded House album, and Tim was installed as a new member of the band. Woodface was released in 1991 and met with a lukewarm American response. The reception in other countries around the world was far from lukewarm, especially in Britain where the success of the album resulted in honours from the monarchy for Tim and Neil. But the success was shortlived; after one more studio album, Together Alone, a greatest hits collection and a sell-out charity fundraiser in Sydney, Crowded House was disbanded. The Finn brothers resumed their intentions to create a solo project and the other members of the band engaged in other solo efforts.

The reunion of the band came after the suicide of band member, Paul Hestor in 2005 and the release of a commemorative double CD compilation album in January 2006. In 2007, the band announced their intentions to re-form and by April the first single, "Don't Stop Now" was released in advance of the album, Time on Earth.