Neil Finn Tickets

Short Biography

NEIL FINN & PAUL KELLY
Australian Tour 2013

Two of our most influential songwriters and performers to tour together for the very first time

Two of Australasia’s greatest singer songwriters Neil Finn and Paul Kelly, will bring their iconic songs on tour in February and March 2013.

Finn and Kelly will share the stage throughout as members of the one band, singing and playing together a selection from their rich and varied songbooks.

The concerts will be a family affair, with the line up to include Elroy Finn on drums and Dan Kelly on guitars.

Tickets will go on sale at 9am on Friday November 16.

My Live Nation members can access tickets first for the Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth shows, during the exclusive member pre-sale starting on Monday November 12.

Neil Finn said, “Paul and I have discussed doing a tour together since I thrashed him on my tennis court in St Kilda in '93. Good things take time and the only problem we have is deciding which songs to leave out. Can't wait.”

Paul Kelly said, “Neil has had good form over a long period of time - songwriting, singing and stuff - but his backhand still needs a lot of work.”

Live Nation’s President & CEO Michael Coppel said, "Live Nation is thrilled to be presenting two icons of Australasian music, marking the first of many tours by local artists which we plan to promote.”

Neil Finn's songbook delivers some of Australia's favourite musical moments from Crowded House, Split Enz, through to Finn Brothers and two solo albums. ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’, ‘Something So Strong’, ‘Better Be Home Soon’, ‘Weather With You’, ‘Four Seasons In One Day’, 'I got You', Message to My Girl', to name a few of the songs. Neil is currently writing and recording a new solo album, the first in over ten years, with Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, MGMT, Mercury Rev) which is due for release in late 2013.

Paul Kelly’s highly acclaimed new album ‘Spring and Fall’ was released in October, and follows eighteen studio albums as well as several film soundtracks (including Lantana and the 2006 Cannes Film Festival highlight, Jindabyne) and two live albums, in an influential career spanning more than thirty years. Kelly’s hit songs include the likes of ‘Before Too Long’, ‘Darling It Hurts’, ‘Dumb Things’, ‘To Her Door’ and ‘How To Make Gravy’.

Special guest in Melbourne, Brisbane and the A Day On The Green shows in Rutherglen and Armidale will be fellow singer songwriter Lisa Mitchell, who released her second album ‘Bless This Mess’ in October following her platinum selling debut album ‘Wonder’. Mitchell’s debut EP ‘Said One To The Other’ was a #1 hit in Australia.

Presented by Live Nation, Street Press Australia and Triple R, by arrangement with Artist Voice, the tour dates are:
MELBOURNE, PALAIS THEATRE SATURDAY & MONDAY, FEBRUARY 16 & 18
PERTH, KINGS PARK THURSDAY MARCH 14
A Day On The Green, All Saints Winery, Rutherglen VIC - Saturday March 2
A Day On The Green, Petersons Winery, Armidale NSW - Saturday March 9
Sydney Opera House, presented by Sydney Opera House - Sunday 10, Monday 11 & Tuesday 12 March

Melbourne & Perth Pre-sales:
My Live Nation pre-sale runs from 9am Monday Nov 12 until 5pm Tuesday Nov 13*
Ticket agent pre-sale runs from 9am Wednesday Nov 14 until 5pm Thursday Nov 15*

In-depth Biography
Neil Finn has consistently proven his knack for crafting high-quality songs that combine irresistible melodies with meticulous lyrical detail, from his beginnings as the precocious junior member of Split Enz, through his leadership of Crowded House, and, finally, in his distinguished solo career. He has also earned considerable international commercial success, respect from his peers, praise from critics, and a devoted fan base that hangs on his every release.

Born Neil Mullane Finn, on May 27, 1958, in Te Awamutu, New Zealand, Finn cut his musical teeth as a child by performing for family friends, harmonizing with elder brother Tim. Neil took to piano early on, learning his favorite Beatles tunes and eventually writing his own songs, the first of which was putting music to a poem enclosed in a Donovan album. In the early '70s, Finn intently studied emerging singer/songwriters like Elton John, Neil Young, David Bowie, and Cat Stevens, while watching his brother Tim's band, Split Enz, become a force in the Australian music scene. Neil secured a few supporting slots for the Enz as a solo act, mixing his own originals with some well-chosen covers, accompanying himself on piano, guitar, and mandolin. By 1976, he'd formed his own combo, the After Hours, with lyricist/drummer Mark Hough and guitarist Geoff Chunn. Hough departed shortly thereafter, and Alan Brown was recruited for bass duties. The group showed a great deal of promise, but came to a relatively quick end when Phil Judd left Split Enz and brother Tim offered the slot to Neil. Just before his 19th birthday, even though he'd never played electric guitar before, Neil joined Split Enz as lead guitarist.

Neil stayed in the background for the first two albums of his membership -- 1977's Dizrhythmia and 1978's Frenzy -- but emerged with the infectious "I Got You" for True Colours. The single was an immediate hit, saving the band from obscurity and, most likely, from imminent breakup. Split Enz enjoyed moderate international success for the next several years until disbanding in 1985. Neil formed an early version of Crowded House the same year, under a variety of names like the Mullanes and the Largest Living Things, with drummer Paul Hester and bassist Nick Seymour (another guitarist, Craig Hooper, was also in the earliest incarnation of the band). Over the next ten years, the combo eclipsed the success of Split Enz, finding both critical acclaim and massive commercial success internationally, including a number two single in the U.S., "Don't Dream It's Over." In 1996, at the height of their success, following a Finn Brothers side project, Neil decided to dissolve the band in favor of a solo career.

He spent most of 1997 writing music and painting in his New Zealand home studio. In 1998, he released his first solo album, the critically acclaimed Try Whistling This. That same year, he contributed a cover of "I Can See Clearly Now" to the animated feature Antz and, in mid-1999, he released the charity single, "Can You Hear Us?," a tribute to New Zealand's rugby team the All Blacks. He rounded out 1999 by mining the Crowded House vaults for a rarities release, Afterglow, and by participating in a Split Enz reunion/millennium concert in New Zealand. Finn wrapped up work on his second solo album in 2000. One Nil was released in March 2001. A live album, 7 Worlds Collide, was issued in February 2002 and a reworked version of One Nil (titled One All) was issued in the U.S. in May 2002. A second Finn Brothers album followed in 2004. Finn reactivated Crowded House, releasing Time on Earth in 2007 and Intriguer in 2010. ~ Chris Woodstra, Rovi