Crowded House: The Story of the Finn Brothers

The hits of Neil and Tim Finn read like a checklist of recent pop history. And to think it all began in sleepy, rural Te Awamutu, New Zealand, where Brian Timothy Finn fell in love with The Beatles, an obsession that would also work its way straight into his younger brother Neil's DNA. Success for the brothers was a long time coming: it took several turbulent years in Split Enz before they produced a genuine hit and connected with the mainstream. And it was achieved by one of Neil's songs, 'I Got You', which wasn't the sweetest pill brother Tim had ever tasted. After all, Split Enz was his band, his odyssey, his obsession. When the Enz came undone, their paths split. Neil led world-beaters Crowded House, while Tim immersed himself in a series of bold, if not always successful, solo projects. Eventually the brothers reunited, leading to Woodface, an album considered by many to be Crowded House's finest. Based on interviews, critical analysis, extensive research and the author's 30-plus years of following the Finns, Together Alone is the first biography written about the Finn brothers. This is a story of breakthroughs, breakdowns, sibling rivalry and respect - and some of the best pop songs this side of Lennon and McCartney. The former Music Editor of Australian Rolling Stone, Jeff Apter is the author of the critically and commercially successful books, Fornication: The Red Hot Chili Peppers Story; Never Enough: The Story Of The Cure; A New Tomorrow: The Silverchair Story, all published by Omnibus Press, amongst others. He lives in Sydney with his wife, two children and a hefty music collection.