Brian Timothy Finn OBE (born 25 June 1952) is a New Zealand singer, songwriter, musician, and composer. He is best known as a founding member of Split Enz. Finn founded the band in 1972 with Phil Judd and served as lead singer and principal songwriter. Following Judd's departure in 1977, he was joined by brother Neil. Finn wrote or co-wrote some of the band's best-known songs, including "I See Red" and "Six Months in a Leaky Boat". While still a member of Split Enz, he began a solo career, scoring the two hits "Fraction Too Much Friction" and "Made My Day" in 1983; he left the band in early 1984, briefly returning for their farewell tour later that year.
Tim Finn | |
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_(6693050143).jpg) Finn playing at the Southbound Festival in 2012 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Brian Timothy Finn |
| Born | 25 June 1952 Te Awamutu, Waikato, New Zealand |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1972–present |
| Labels |
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| Member of | Forenzics |
| Formerly of | |
| Website | www.timfinn.com |
He reunited with Neil and subsequently joined Crowded House for their third album Woodface, co-writing the majority of the songs on the album, including the hits "Four Seasons in One Day", "Weather with You" and "It's Only Natural". Leaving the band after the album's release, he reunited with Neil again later in the 1990s under the name Finn Brothers. Finn has participated in various collaborations with other artists, including former Split Enz members, and has also composed scores for films and musicals.
Along with his brother, Finn was appointed Officer of the Order of British Empire in 1993 for his services to music.
Early life and education
editBrian Timothy Finn was born on 25 June 1952 in Te Awamutu, New Zealand,[1] weighing 10 pounds at birth, to parents Richard and Mary.[2][3] He has two sisters, and one younger brother, Neil Finn.[citation needed]
At the age of 13, he went to Sacred Heart College, Auckland, a Catholic boarding school, on a scholarship.[3]
Career
edit1972–1984: Split Enz
editIn 1971 Finn commenced a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Auckland. There he played in music practice room 129 (later the name of a Split Enz 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 Split Enz 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
editFinn 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.[4] In 1983, Finn recorded his debut solo album, Escapade, while still a member of Split Enz.[1] This met with major commercial success both in Australia and New Zealand, and yielded hit song "Fraction Too Much Friction",[1] 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.[1] 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. 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 (The Moon Woman).
In late 1988, Finn recording his eponymous third album for Capitol Records.[1] 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. Finn also created the song "Cane Toad Blues" which played during the credits for the documentary film "Cane Toads: An Unnatural History."
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 and West Australian Opera, and the musical Ladies in Black[5] to premiere in Brisbane by Queensland Theatre Company in November 2015.[6]
As England and New Zealand went into COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, Finn and Phil Manzanera began working collaboratively on an album Caught by the Heart. The album was released on 26 August 2021. The album is produced by the two of them, with Manzanera doing the lead instrumental and Finn doing the vocals.
1995–2005 : Finn Brothers
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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 Crowded House, the group he had formed after Split Enz dissolved.[1] Tim co-wrote eight songs, including the hits "Weather with You" and "Four Seasons in One Day".[2]
In the 1993 Birthday Honours, both Tim and Neil were appointed Officers of the Order of British Empire, for their services to music.[7]
The Finn Brothers resumed their collaborative work and released Finn in 1995. A second and final album was released in 2004 titled, Everyone Is Here. A Mojo magazine review stated that it contained "some of the most haunting music to bear the Finn imprint".
2020–present: Forenzics
editIn 2020 Finn co-created Forenzics 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. Alongside Finn and Rayner are Noel Crombie and Phil Judd, who were in Split Enz during the recording of the original album - and also Phil Manzanera who was involved in the redevelopment of Mental Notes into Second Thoughts. 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
editFinn was briefly married to English dancer Liz Malam from 1981–1982.[8] He was in a relationship with actress Greta Scacchi from 1984–1989.[9] Since 1997 he has been married to television presenter Marie Azcona, formerly of MTV and TVNZ One's Music Week.[10][11] Finn and Azcona have two children, and have collaborated on several songs, some of which are featured on Steel City, 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 and daughter Elliot are musicians in their own right.[12][13][14]
Discography
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ [15] |
AUS [16] |
NED [15] |
UK [17] |
US [18] | |||
| Escapade | 1 | 8 | 10 | — | 161 | ||
| Big Canoe | 3 | 31 | — | — | — | ||
| Tim Finn |
|
8 | 47 | — | — | — | |
| Before & After |
|
3 | 34 | 72 | 29 | — | |
| Say It Is So |
|
— | — | — | — | — | |
| Feeding the Gods |
|
27 | — | — | — | — | |
| Imaginary Kingdom |
|
18 | 48 | — | — | — | |
| The Conversation |
|
— | — | — | — | — | |
| The View Is Worth the Climb |
|
28 | — | — | — | — | |
| Caught by the Heart (with Phil Manzanera) |
|
— | — | — | — | — | |
Live albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| NZ [15] | |||
| Together in Concert: Live (with Dave Dobbyn and Bic Runga) |
|
2 |
|
Soundtrack albums
edit| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Steel City |
|
Spoken word albums
edit| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| The Magnificent Nose (with Anna Paquin) |
|
Compilation albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| NZ [15] |
AUS [16] | ||
| North, South, East, West...Anthology |
|
15 | 79 |
Singles
edit| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ [15] |
AUS [16] |
CAN [20] |
UK [17] | |||
| "Fraction Too Much Friction" | 1983 | 2 | 8 | — | — | Escapade |
| "Made My Day" | — | 22 | — | — | ||
| "Through the Years" | — | 34 | 34 | — | ||
| "Staring at the Embers" | — | — | — | |||
| "In a Minor Key" | 1984 | — | — | — | — | |
| "Home for My Heart" | 1985 | — | 87 | — | — | Coca-Cola Kid (soundtrack) |
| "No Thunder, No Fire, No Rain" | 1986 | 24 | 46 | — | — | Big Canoe |
| "Spiritual Hunger" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Carve You in Marble" | 33 | — | — | 92 | ||
| "You Saved the World" | 1987 | — | — | — | — | Les Patterson Saves the World |
| "With You I'm Alive" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "How'm I Gonna Sleep" | 1989 | 2 | 27 | 77 | — | Tim Finn |
| "Parihaka" (with Herbs) | 6 | — | — | — | ||
| "Crescendo" | — | 120 | — | — | ||
| "Not Even Close" | 1990 | — | 124 | 91 | — | |
| "Long Hard Road" (with Phil Judd) | — | — | — | — | The Big Steal (soundtrack) | |
| "Islands" (with MC Fli T) | 1992 | — | — | — | — | Non-album single |
| "Persuasion" | 1993 | 6 | 62 | — | 43 | Before & After |
| "Hit the Ground Running" | 14 | 115 | — | 50 | ||
| "Many's the Time" | 1994 | — | — | — | — | |
| "Runs in the Family" (with The Record Partnership) | 9 | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Steel City" | 1998 | — | — | — | — | Steel City Soundtrack |
| "Twinkle" | 1999 | — | — | — | — | Say It Is So |
| "What You've Done" | 2001 | 48 | 194 | — | — | Feeding the Gods |
| "Couldn't Be Done" | 2006 | — | 105 | — | — | Imaginary Kingdom |
| "Horizon" | 2007 | — | — | — | — | |
| "Out of This World" | 2008 | — | — | — | — | The Conversation |
| "Caught by the Heart" | 2021 | — | — | — | — | Caught by the Heart |
Charity singles
edit| Year | Song | Peak chart positions | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| NZ [21] | |||
| 1986 | "Sailing Away" (as All of Us) | 1 | To help raise money and support for New Zealand's 1986–7 America's Cup campaign |
- This discography relates to releases by Tim Finn only. See also Finn Brothers' discography, Crowded House discography and Split Enz discography for other related works.
Awards
editRIANZ Awards
editThe New Zealand Music Awards are awarded annually by the RIANZ in New Zealand.
| Year | Award[22] | Work | With | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | International Achievement | solo | Won | |
| Split Enz | Nominated | |||
| 1989 | Best Male Vocalist | solo | Won | |
| Best Songwriter | "Parihaka" | solo | Won | |
| 1992 | Best Songwriter | "It's Only Natural" | with Neil Finn | Nominated |
| 1996 | Album of the Year | Finn | Finn Brothers | Nominated |
| Best Group | Finn Brothers | Nominated | ||
| International Achievement | Finn Brothers | Nominated | ||
| 2001 | Album of the Year | Together in Concert: Live | with Dave Dobbyn & Bic Runga | Nominated |
| 2005 | Album of the Year | Everyone Is Here | Finn Brothers | Nominated |
| Single of the Year | "Won't Give In" | Finn Brothers | Nominated | |
| International Achievement Award | Everyone Is Here | Finn Brothers | Won | |
| 2007 | Best Male Solo Artist | Imaginary Kingdom | solo | Won |
ARIA Awards
editThe ARIA Music Awards are awarded annually by the Australian Recording Industry Association.
| Year | Award | Work | With | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Best Male Artist | Big Canoe | solo | Nominated |
| Highest Selling Album | solo | Nominated | ||
| 1993 | Song of the Year | "Weather With You" | with Neil Finn (for Crowded House) | Nominated |
| 1994 | Best Male Artist | Before and After | solo | Nominated |
| Song of the Year | "Persuasion" | solo | Nominated | |
| 1996 | Song of the Year | "Suffer Never" | with Neil Finn (for The Finn Brothers) | Nominated |
Countdown Australian Music Awards
editCountdown 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.[23]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | himself | Best Australian Songwriter | Nominated |
| 1982 | himself | Best Australian Songwriter | Won |
| 1983 | Escapade | Best Australian Album | Won |
| "Fraction too Much Friction" | Best Australian Single | Nominated | |
| Best Video | Won | ||
| himself | Songwriter of the Year | Won | |
| Most Popular Male Performer | Won | ||
| 1984 | himself | Most Popular Male Performer | Nominated |
| 1985 | himself | Most Popular Male Performer | Won |
Helpmann Awards
editThe Helpmann Awards for live performance in Australia are awarded annually by Live Performance Australia.
| Year | Award | Work | With | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Best New Australian Work | Ladies in Black | Carolyn Burns and Tim Finn with Simon Phillips | Won |
| Best Original Score | solo | Nominated |
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 861. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
- ^ a b "Tim Finn - Interview". 4 March 2015.
- ^ a b "Split Enz - Haul Away Lyrics". Genius.
- ^ Ansell, Jeremy. "Enzology Part 8 - Time and Tide (1981-1982)". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
- ^ Christian, Dionne (10 December 2016). "Tim Finn's fashionable new musical". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
- ^ Westgarth, Fiona (11 November 2014). "A Roaring Finn: Tim Finn returns to the theatre and back in time". Daily Review. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- ^ "No. 53334". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 12 June 1993. p. 38.
- ^ Chunn, Mike (1992). Stranger Than Fiction: The Life and Times of Split Enz. Wellington, NZ: GP Publications. ISBN 9781869560508.
- ^ Bourke, Chris (1997). Crowded House: Something So Strong. Sydney: Macmillan. ISBN 9780732908867.
- ^ Perrott, Alan (11 October 2006). "Tim Finn gathering his mental notes". NZ Herald.
- ^ "TV: Marie Azcona shows older set what's new in music - Lifestyle - NZ Herald News". Nzherald.co.nz. 11 November 2000. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ Ricardo Simich (28 June 2020). "Spy: Harper Finn keeping the family musical dynasty alive". NZ Herald.
- ^ Karl Puschmann (11 November 2020). "Why Everyone Is Dancing To The Sound Of Harper Finn's Beat". Viva/NZ Herald.
- ^ Sam Richards (6 May 2021). "Hear "Caught By The Heart", a new song by Tim Finn and Phil Manzanera". Uncut.
- ^ a b c d e New Zealand chart peaks:
- solo: "charts.nz > Tim Finn in New Zealand Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
- ^ a b c Australian chart peaks:
- Top 100 (Kent Music Report) peaks to 19 June 1988: Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 112. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and 19 June 1988.
- Top 50 (ARIA) peaks from 26 June 1988: "australian-charts.com > Tim Finn in Australian Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
- Top 100 (ARIA) peaks from January 1990 to December 2010: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
- All ARIA-era singles chart peaks to 21 November 2017: "Response from ARIA re: Tim Finn ARIA singles chart history, received 21 November 2017". Imgur.com. Retrieved 28 November 2017. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the single's peak on the national chart.
- ^ a b "Tim Finn Full Chart History". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
- ^ "Tim Finn Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ a b "Gold and platinum New Zealand albums to 2013". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
- ^ "RPM – Library and Archives Canada | RPM – Bibliothèque et Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
- ^ "charts.nz > All of Us [NZ] in New Zealand Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
- ^ "NZMAs". nzmusicawards.co.nz. Archived from the original on 22 September 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
- ^ "Countdown to the Awards" (Portable document format (PDF)). Countdown Magazine. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). March 1987. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
External links
edit
- Tim Finn at IMDb
- Tim Finn at the TCM Movie Database
- 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 discography
- Elsewhere Tim Finn retrospective to 2009
- Cane Toads: An Unnatural History
