Crowded House Hops On Reunion Bandwagon
Crowded House will reform after a 10-year-plus hiatus for a tour this year, including a stop at California’s Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in late April. The reunion, which was first reported by several Australian newspapers and confirmed by the webmaster of the Neil Finn site Frenz.com, will coincide with a new studio album.
Finn had previously maintained he would never revive Crowded House following the 2005 suicide of drummer Paul Hester. “It’s an instant knee-jerk reaction, ‘no Paul no Crowded House’ for some, and you, know that’s actually okay,” webmaster Peter Green wrote on the Frenz.com message board. “Simply don’t see them or play the new record. But there is a good chance you might be missing out on something special. Sometimes it’s worth taking a leap of faith and giving something a chance.”
“Neil has had a hankering to play in a band again and what better band to do this in but the one he had the most joy with,” he continued.
The solo album Finn previously told Billboard.com would feature Crowded House bassist Mark Seymour has morphed into a Crowded House release, although it is unknown when it will hit stores. Also unclear is who will replace Hester; auditions are said to be underway to fill the slot. Multi-instrumentalist Mark Hart, who joined Crowded House full time in 1992, will be back in the fold for the live dates.
“It’s a pretty emotional record, I think,” Finn said of the new disc, which was produced by Ethan Johns. “It’s hard for me to evaluate, ’cause I’m so close to it now. But I think it’s fairly simple, which I’m really happy about. There’s a lot of heart in the record, which I’m happy about, too.”
Crowded House formed in 1985 and is best known for hits like “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” “Something So Strong,” “World Where You Live” and “Fall At Your Feet.” The group’s final show, held Nov. 24, 1996, in Melbourne, was released last week as the CD/DVD set “Farewell to the World” by EMI.
Last year, Finn and his brother Tim, who also contributed to Crowded House for a time, reunited with their seminal New Wave act Split Enz for a a short tour nearly 22 years after the band’s split.
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