Neil Mullane Finn OBE (born May 27, 1958, in Te Awamutu, New Zealand) is a singer and songwriter and one of New Zealand's foremost musicians. He is the frontman for Crowded House, and previously for Split Enz. He was born Cornelius Mullane Finn ("I was christened Cornelius, and dropped it at an early age thinking it was a bit corny," Finn told Australian television host Andrew Denton in 1995.)
Finn rose to prominence in the late 1970s after replacing singer songwriter Phil Judd in his brother Tim Finn's band Split Enz. With the group, Finn wrote the hits "One Step Ahead", "History Never Repeats", "I Got You" and "Message to My Girl", among others. Finn rose from prominence to international fame after Split Enz broke up in 1984 when he formed Crowded House with Split Enz's final drummer Paul Hester in 1985. The group achieved international success in 1987 when they released the single "Don't Dream It's Over" written by Finn. Finn 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. In 2007, Finn reunited Crowded House and released a new album, Time on Earth, and the band began a world tour.