Happy birthday, Neil

It’s Neil’s birthday! When asked what he had planned for today, Neil said “I’m having a sleep in, receiving calls, researching native birds, and having dinner with friends. I may treat myself to a Whittaker’s Peanut Slab.”

Thirty-four years ago today, Neil marked his 21st at a Split Enz concert in Wellington, New Zealand. Watch “Give It A Whirl” from that show on our Videos page.

And three years ago, the birthday boy celebrated on stage in Manchester with Crowded House, Connan Mockasin and Johnny Marr.

Neil and mini-me

Neil’s taking in the great outdoors, tweeting pics as he goes. “Me and mini Neil don’t get a chance to get out amongst nature much these days.” Follow Neil at twitter.com/neilmullanefinn

May 2013 Newsletter

The May 2013 neilfinn.com newsletter is here.

Subscribe to the newsletter emails for site news every month.

Spirit of the Stairs – live video 1998

Captured live in Munich, 20th October 1998, a newly edited video of “Spirit of the Stairs” features Neil on acoustic guitar with Liam Finn on electric guitar and fellow NZ songwriter Bic Runga on vocal harmony. Many thanks to B. v. Weymarn for providing much of the footage.

Neil recorded this song for his debut solo album Try Whistling This. It didn’t make the final cut but we have that studio recording here in our rarities collection The Kitchen Sink. You can find the lyrics there too.

The 1995 Crowded House demo of “Spirit of the Stairs” plays during the credit sequence on the Farewell to the World DVD. Hopefully we’ll be able to add the entire Crowded House demo on the website soon, without the early fade!

X Factor – Neil’s live tweets

Neil’s live Twitter commentary of NZ’s X Factor this week has made the papers. Read the NZ Herald article here .

The commentary is at twitter.com/neilmullanefinn .

Just up the road from Shania

Well folks, I’m just down the river from Shania’s place and the pure mountain air is giving my lungs an oxygen feast. I can think clearly here and later tonight when I emerge from the sweat lodge the track listing and sequence of my new album will be set I’m sure. I’m on the lookout for clacks in this photo. Anyone know what they are?

– Neil Finn

Don’t Ask Why – video

For his 2001 album One Nil, Neil wrote numerous songs with Wendy Melvoin, best known as one half of Wendy & Lisa and for her guitar playing in Prince’s band The Revolution. We’ve compiled a video for their song “Don’t Ask Why” using live and rehearsal footage shot in 2000 at the old Roundhead studio, Auckland’s Tabac bar and The Domain in Sydney.

In the band with Neil and Wendy are Lisa Coleman on keyboards and Midnight Oil’s Jim Moginie on guitar. The Roundhead and Sydney sequences feature 17 year old Liam Finn on drums. At Tabac, it’s JJ Johnson. On the original recording, it’s Wendy!

R.I.P. Chrissy Amphlett (The Divinyls)

From Neil:

RIP Chrissy Amphlett, what an amazing voice she had. We sang “Money” together at the Myer Music Bowl years ago – a treasured memory.

From the "East African Tragedy (EAT)" concert held in Melbourne, January 28 1985. Rather than have bands playing in their usual line-up, various musicians were put together in unique combinations. On this clip: Chrissie Amphlett / Mark McEntee / Rick Grossman (Divinyls) Neil Finn / Paul Hester (Crowded House) Jim Mogine / Rob Hirst (Midnight Oil) with an appropriate song.

So They Can: 12/4/13 setlist & photos

The benefit show on April 12th for So They Can went well, says Neil, “with many dancers and a young man called Vaughan played a piano solo on Weather With You.”
Over $125,000 was raised. Even the setlist was auctioned… which is why it’s taken a while to post it here:

Distant Sun
Four Seasons in One Day
Won’t Give In
Message to My Girl
Don’t Dream It’s Over
Faster Than Light
Fall At Your Feet
Weather With You
I Got You
Better Be Home Soon

To see more images, click on the photos tab to the left and go to “Neil solo”.

For more details about this evening, see the Diary entry for March 11.

Dave McArtney

Very sad to hear that Dave McArtney has died. He was a lovely, warm hearted, intelligent man and wrote some classic songs… He will be much missed.

– Neil Finn

In this clip from New Zealand television in 1978, Dave sings Hello Sailor’s biggest hit, “Gutter Black”.

Newsletters

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Some may have missed our March or April newsletters due to email server spam filtering at AOL and Comcast. You can read our newsletters here:

April Newsletter
March Newsletter
February Newsletter

Tha Nineez – Colt 45’s EE TEE SEE (Split Enz demos 1978)

Time for a Ninee Neez Up! Tha Nineez – Colt 45’s EE TEE SEE is a new compilation of restored home demos and preserved jams taped in 1978 by then twenty year old Neil Finn with Split Enz percussionist Noel Crombie. A few of these Nineez recordings debuted on nilfun.net in 2000 but the majority have never before been published.

With occasional guest Tim Finn, Neil and Noel recorded early versions of Give It A Whirl, Famous People, Mind Over Matter… even a fraction of Fraction Too Much Friction.

Neil Finn:
“We were in England in 1978 without a record deal or a manager, no money and too much time on our hands… Noel and I were living at no. 1 Appletree Dell, Dog Kennel Lane, Chorleywood in the country… most nights we would set up our identical Sony cassette decks, knock one up and indulge in some home recording…we were able to do some primitive overdubbing by recording on one machine then playing it back and playing along while recording onto the other… pots and pans, cardboard boxes, bowed cymbals, guitars and snake charmers were our our instruments… some nights Tim would join us and together we would become Tha Nineez.”

This album, exclusive to neilfinn.com, can be heard here.

Finns in News Ltd’s Top 10 Australian singers poll

In a poll run by News Ltd, more than 100 Australian singers and musicians voted for their favourite Australian singers of all time. Neil and Tim Finn (New Zealanders, yes, but they spent many years based in Australia) were placed together at #10. “The Voice” himself, John Farnham, was voted #1.

A separate poll is open to the public. At the time of writing, Neil and Tim are at #2. Click the thumbs up at http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/music/john-farnham-voted-australias-best-singer-of-all-time-by-panel-of-his-peers/story-e6frf9hf-1226610268921

Update 3rd April: Tim and Neil are currently #1 in the public poll. Thanks to everyone who voted!

Early iPad

One from the archives, 1999: Early adopter and tech-geek Neil Finn testing an iPad prototype. He said it was difficult to type on.

Twitter Q&A, 30th March

Neil had another spontaneous question and answer session on Twitter yesterday. If you have a Twitter account, you can read the whole thing here:
https://twitter.com/neilmullanefinn/status/317785851167903745

Non Twitter users might see a truncated version of the exchange.

Surprise guest at Paul Kelly’s Auckland concert

Paul Kelly played Auckland’s Holy Trinity Cathedral last night and Neil joined him for a songs. Here’s Marty Duda’s concert review: http://13thfloor.co.nz/reviews/concert-reviews/paul-kelly-holy-trinity-cathedral-march-23-2013/

So They Can: An Evening With Neil Finn, etc – reminder

Fewer than 100 tickets are left for this special charity event in Auckland, 12th April. See the diary entry for 11 March.

Sydney Opera House live webcast Monday, 18th March

Update, 19 March:

Hope you enjoyed Neil Finn and Paul Kelly live at Sydney Opera House concert last night, whether you were there in person or watching and listening via the live YouTube stream at home or elsewhere.

Many thanks to everyone at Sydney Opera House for making this possible. Make sure you subscribe to their Live At Sydney Opera House channel: http://bit.ly/WDlnql

We have the entire concert archived at www.neilfinn.com/videos. This video will be online for the next 30 days, thanks again to Sydney Opera House and YouTube.

18 March:

Sydney Opera House is excited to announce that Neil Finn & Paul Kelly’s final sold out performance in the Concert Hall will be live streamed as part of their new music series, Live at Sydney Opera House.

Tune in next Monday 18th March at 9pm (AEDT) to watch Neil Finn & Paul Kelly’s concert in full from the comfort of your own home, office or departure lounge: http://www.youtube.com/liveatthehouse

To work out when to set your alarm and wake up your household or hide from the boss, go to:
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html

In the second announcement since the launch of Live at Sydney Opera House, “ a series of music events streamed live on YouTube,“ the magnificent collaboration and unified setlist from two of the world’s finest singer-songwriters will be broadcast live in its entirety on the final night of their Sydney Opera House residency.

This is the second of 20 streams to mark a two-year partnership between Sydney Opera House and YouTube. In February, Sydney Opera House streamed Sarah Blasko with the Sydney International Orchestra live from the Concert Hall, which saw tens of thousands of people from more than 45 countries tune in to the performance.

Renowned Australian director Paul Goldman (The Ship Song Project, award-winning music videos for Silverchair’s “Straight Lines” and Elvis Costello’s “Veronica” will capture the stunning performance of the two icons touring together for the first time. Goldman will work in collaboration with Sydney Opera Hous’s new, state-of-the-art Recording and Broadcast Studio, to deliver the immediate and intimate recording of the performance. Six cameras positioned throughout the Concert Hall will allow audiences to feel as though they’re sitting front row.

About the stream, Kelly said: “We wish we were able to take this show to lots of places but right now geography is against us. Physics is not, though, so don’t dream it’s over. We’ll stream straight to you before too long. Turn it up!”

Finn added: “Very happy that we’ll be coming to you live from the Opera House to your house. It’s the magic of modern times so join us, kick your shoes off, pour yourself a drink, hey, you can even open a bag of chips. Just settle back and enjoy.”

Performing together for most of the show, Finn and Kelly will draw from a selection of each of their songbook classics, including Finn’s Crowded House, Split Enz, Finn Brothers and solo material along with seminal Kelly classics that have settled deep in the Australian psyche.

This collaboration of momentous proportions will celebrate their combined musical legacy that includes over 20 chart-topping hits, 30 awards and two of APRA’s greatest Australian songs of all time, Crowded House’s ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ and Paul Kelly’s ‘To Her Door’.

Making it a family affair, Finn and Kelly will share a backing band that includes Neil’s son Elroy Finn on drums and Paul’s nephew Dan Kelly on guitar.

For both Finn and Kelly, these concerts continue a musical journey with the Opera House that has spellbound audiences, from Paul Kelly’s 100 song series of A to Z shows in The Studio, to Crowded House’s iconic Farewell to the World concert on the steps of the Opera House, and both artists involvement in The Ship Song Project.

You can subscribe to Live at Sydney Opera House here.

This performance is part of Music at the House, the contemporary music program presented by Sydney Opera House. Music at the House 2013 includes performances by Sarah Blasko, Neil Finn and Paul Kelly, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The Tallest Man on Earth, Wilco, Glen Hansard and more to be announced.

So They Can: An Evening With Neil Finn, Conrad Smith & Peter Urlich

Neil Finn is an ambassador for So They Can and will be performing at their fundraiser in Auckland this April. Here’s their invitation:

So They Can are delighted to offer you and your team an invitation to our annual fundraising evening. It’s set to be an extraordinary and unique night.

The backdrop will be a stunning three-course meal, shared in the company of guests who believe that what we do matters. So They Can Ambassador Neil Finn will perform live, All Black and Ambassador Conrad Smith will talk about his time with us in Africa, and DJ Peter Urlich will have us dancing till late.

The evening will also feature a raffle to win a diamond and very special silent and loud auctions with superb items to win such as a luxury holiday on the Gold Coast, weekend escapes to Queenstown and beyond, contemporary and fine art and much more. 100% of the evening’s proceeds will go to the children at our schools and orphanage in Africa.

Tickets for the evening are available individually or in tables of ten at $3,500 per table (inclusive of GST). Guest numbers are strictly limited with only 35 tables up for grabs.

We’d love you to join us for a night to remember. Best wishes, and thank you.

Cassandra Treadwell
Founder and CEO, So They Can

An evening with Neil Finn, Conrad Smith and Peter Urlich

Friday, April 12 : 6:30pm
Aotea Centre, 50 Mayoral Drive, Auckland

To buy a table please contact Betsyn on betsyn.mchardy@gmail.com
To buy individual tickets please contact Amanda on sponsor@sotheycan.org
Or purchase online: http://sotheycanauckland.eventbrite.co.nz/#

Includes canapes and bubbly on arrival, a three-course meal by top caterers, continuous premium beer and wine, live performance by Neil Finn and selections from DJ Peter Urlich.

For enquiries, please call Betsyn McHardy on 04 904 2198 or 0272 090 321, or email betsyn.mchardy@gmail.com

So They Can was founded in 2009 after Cassandra Treadwell visited a refugee camp in Kenya, where over 7,000 people were living in tents. They faced dire poverty with little or no food, water, health care or education. Community leaders asked for a school for their children’s future: their request became the inspiration.

So far, we’ve built a primary school that currently educates 520 children and by 2017 will educate 840 who will then attend a secondary school we have recently bought land for. We deliver business classes to the adult population and finance them into profitable businesses. We built an orphanage that currently houses over 120 children, aged from 3-7, who once lived at the local dumpsite. We manage a health clinic and model farm for the wider community of 100,000. Also in Tanzania we are improving the standard of education for the poorest of children through our teachers’ training college.

Our focus is to invest in Africa rather than provide aid. We work with communities in severe need; empowering people to become self-sufficient. Our ultimate goal is that the knowledge and skills we provide will help develop the future leaders of these communities and help them break the poverty cycle permanently.

www.sotheycan.org

Neil Finn & Paul Kelly – more concert reviews

Sydney Opera House: March 10th

A Day On The Green – Rutherglen, March 02: Take 40 (includes photos)

Adelaide Festival March 01: Adelaide Now

Adelaide Festival March 01: Sydney Morning Herald

Brisbane: Frenz Forum

Tom Magazine review  – Brisbane Feb 26th

Photos from Royal Theatre, Canberra, Feb 24th

Triple M review – A Day On The Green, Feb 23rd

Fan reviews – Ticketmaster

Frenz of the Enz Forum – Canberra Feb 24th