Crowded House

The crisp, lyrical Australian pop group Crowded House formed in 1985 when NeilFinn of the Split Enz began a new group featuring guitarist Craig Hooper, bassist NickSeymour, and former Split Enz drummer Paul Hester. After touring Australia as theMullanes, Hooper left the band, and the remaining trio moved to Los Angeles to landa record deal. After signing with Capitol, the newly renamed Crowded House releasedan eponymous debut in mid-1986; the album did not sell well at first, but after numerousclub and talk show appearances the group gained a loyal following. Crowded House reached No. 12 and its single "Don't Dream It's Over" hit No. 2, and in Australia and New Zealand the album went multi-platinum. Their 1988 follow-up, Temple of LowMen, was considered by critics to be a strong effort than their debut, but somehowonly reached No. 42 in the U.S., despite being a huge hit in Australia and Canada.

Less than a year after Temple's release it appeared Crowded House was through, but by 1990 Neil's brother Tim had joined the band as an additional songwriter and a new album was recorded, 1991's Woodface. The quartet pleased its American cult following but failed to win over new U.S. fans. However, in Britain Woodface was surprisingly huge, going platinum on the strength of the single "Weather With You." The group sold out stadiums throughout the U.K. and won an award from the Queen. Despite Crowded House's sudden commercial success and critical acclaim, Tim Finn left the band in 1991; the group later added American guitarist Mark Hart to replace him. Changing producers, the band returned in late 1993 with Together Alone, which entered the British charts at No. 4 and was a huge hit in Europe and Australia. American success still escaped Crowded House, which officially broke up in June 1996 after a long silence. Their "best of" compilation went to No. 1 in the U.K. and Australia, and their final show, a November 1996 charity event in Sydney, Australia, drew more than 100,000 fans. Neil and Tim Finn are currently working on solo albums after collaborating briefly as The Finn Brothers. Paul Hester has been drumming for the Australian band The Largest Living Things, Nick Seymour worked with the band Deadstar and Mike Hart has joined the re-formed Supertramp.

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