Crowded House are a pop rock band formed in Auckland, New Zealand in 1985 by lead-vocalist and primary songwriter, New Zealand-born Neil Finn.

Crowded House are referred to as The Crowdies by Australian fans.

Originally active from 1985 to 1996, the band have had consistent commercial and critical success in Australia and New Zealand and international chart success in two phases, beginning with their self-titled debut album, Crowded House, which reached number twelve on the US Album Chart in 1987 and provided the Top Ten hits, " Don't Dream It's Over " and " Something So Strong ".

Neil is the younger brother of Split Enz founding member Tim Finn, who joined Crowded House in 1990 on vocals, guitars and keyboards for the album Woodface.

At Capitol's behest, the band's name was changed to Crowded House, which alluded to the lack of space at the West Hollywood apartment they shared during the recording of the album Crowded House.

Crowded House, San Francisco, April 1987.

L to R: Paul Hester, Neil Finn, Nick Seymour. Thanks to their Split Enz connection, the newly formed Crowded House had an established Australasian fanbase.

They began by playing at festivals in Australia and New Zealand and released their debut album, Crowded House, in June 1986.

L to R: Seymour, Finn, Hester. In June 1987, a year after its release, Crowded House finally reached number one on the Kent Music Report Album Charts.

Crowded House undertook a short tour of Australia and Canada to promote the album, with Eddie Rayner on keyboards.

Crowded House took a break after the Canadian leg of the Temple of Low Men tour.

Following the recording sessions with Tim, Neil began writing and recording a third Crowded House album with Hester and Seymour, but these tracks were rejected by the record company, so Neil asked Tim if Crowded House could use the Finn songs.

Tim left Crowded House during the Woodface tour in November 1991, part-way through the UK leg.

For their fourth album, Together Alone, Crowded House used New Zealand-based producer Martin Glover ( aka Youth ) and invited touring musician Mark Hart ( guitar & keyboards ) to become a permanent band member.

Crowded House were mid way through a US tour when Paul Hester quit the band on 15 April 1994.

In June 1996, at a press conference to announce the release of their greatest hits album Recurring Dream, Neil revealed that Crowded House were to disband.

Paul Hester 1959 – 2005. Following the 1996 break-up of Crowded House, the members embarked upon a variety of projects.

He formed the band Largest Living Things, which was the name rejected by Capitol Records in favour of Crowded House.

The liner notes confirmed that Crowded House had no plans to reunite at that time.

Crowded House played at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe, Arizona on 26 April as a warm-up for their appearance at the Coachella Festival on 29 April in Indio, California.

On 6 December 2008 Crowded House played the Homebake festival in Sydney, with warm up gigs at small venues in Hobart, Melbourne and Sydney.

Nick Seymour, Barcelona, October 2007. Crowded House began recording their follow-up to Time on Earth in April 2009, at Finn's own Roundhead Studios.

* Crowded House at Billboard

Hooper left just before they recorded their first album, at which time the band was renamed Crowded House, inspired by the rental home they shared while recording in Los Angeles.

On 7 July 2007, Garrett presented Crowded House at the Australian leg of Live Earth.

Hester performed with Crowded House at the band's farewell concert on the steps of the Sydney Opera House in 1996.

His life was commemorated at the 2005 Aria Awards, with Neil Finn singing the staple Crowded House anthem solo " Better Be Home Soon " along with a mini-biography and footage from his life and achievements.

The 1997 album, The Lonesome Crowded West, ( also recorded at Moon Studios, by Scott Swayze ) turned out to serve as the band's breakthrough.

The Times reported on August 22, 1916 that " Crowded audiences ... were interested and thrilled to have the realities of war brought so vividly before them, and if women had sometimes to shut their eyes to escape for a moment from the tragedy of the toll of battle which the film presents, opinion seems to be general that it was wise that the people at home should have this glimpse of what our soldiers are doing and daring and suffering in Picardy ".

* US Latina playwright Caridad Svich's 2009 play Wreckage, which premiered at Crowded Fire Theatre in San Francisco, tells the story of Medea from the sons ' point of view, in the afterlife

He continued to have a successful career, with some highlights such as singing the Crowded House track " Don't Dream It's Over " at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute in 1988, producing a popular duet, " Senza una donna ( Without a Woman )," with Italian blues singer Zucchero in 1991, and singing " Radio Ga Ga " with the surviving members of Queen in 1992, at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert soon after Freddie Mercury died.

Others who have played gigs at King Tut's early in their careers include Biffy Clyro, Coldplay, Beck, Blur, Crowded House, The Strokes, Franz Ferdinand, Skunk Anansie, The Verve, Paramore and Travis, who played the live music venue regularly under their original name of Glass Onion.

Many famous acts have performed at King Tut's, including Oasis, Rage Against The Machine, Biffy Clyro, Radiohead, Blur, Travis, Pulp, The Verve, Crowded House, Wheatus, Goldfinger and Beck.

He played live with Crowded House at Glastonbury 2008 and has been a regular member of the touring line-up throughout their 2008 world tour.

The band was formed by Morris, Urlich, Coleman and Dobbyn, students at Sacred Heart College in Auckland, which was the same school that Neil ( Crowded House ) and Tim Finn ( Split Enz ) went to.

Triple J reviewer Jenny Valentish argued that multiple songs from the album could take the place of " One Crowded Hour " as " likely to become wailed for and misquoted at festivals ".

In 1986 Finn performed with The Rock Party a charity project initiated by The National Campaign Against Drug Abuse ( NCADA ), which included many Australasian musicians such as Reg Mombassa from Mental As Anything, Eddie Rayner, Tim Finn, Nick Seymour and Paul Hester of Crowded House, Geoff Stapleton, Mark Callaghan and Robbie James of GANGgajang, Mary Azzopardi of Rockmelons, Andrew Barnum of The Vitabeats, Lissa Barnum, Michael Barclay, Peter Blakely, Deborah Conway, Jenny Morris, Danny De Costa, Greg Herbert ( The Promise ), Spencer P Jones, Sean Kelly ( Models ), John Kennedy, Paul Kelly, Martin Plaza ( Mental as Anything ), Robert Susz ( Dynamic Hepnotics ) and Rick Swinn ( The Venetians ).

*" Amsterdam ", a song from the album Intriguer by Crowded House

* Frey, Darcy " Crowded House "-The New York Times Magazine, June 8, 2008

He ended Crowded House in 1996 to embark upon what was to become a moderately successful solo career, and has released two albums with his brother Tim under the title the Finn Brothers.

Performing with Crowded House in 1996

After releasing four albums, Crowded House, Temple of Low Men, Woodface, and Together Alone, the group broke up in 1996, and followed this action by releasing a greatest hits album Recurring Dream.

Other records by Crowded House with Hester are: Temple of Low Men ( 1988 ), Woodface ( 1991 ), Together Alone ( 1993 ), and the Best-of collection Recurring Dream ( 1996 ).

Neil started his own band, Crowded House and subsequently recorded two solo albums after Crowded House split in 1996.

In 1996, when Crowded House split up and released their greatest hits album Recurring Dream, frontman Neil Finn approached Griggs to put together a collection of the band's greatest live performances, to append selected copies of Recurring Dream.

Crowded House's 1996 Greatest Hits album was titled Recurring Dream but the song does not appear on that album.