NEIL FINN

Today I saw Neil Finn speaking on the ABC news and it brought back so many happy memories for me of being a teenager in Melbourne in the 1980s. I have loved Neil for about ninety percent of my life. I can vividly remember seeing him in Split Enz on Countdown and loving him singing I Got You. Split Enz then became 👌 my favourite band and I joined their fan club Frenz of the Enz. Split Enz were the first band I saw in concert as a 13 year old at the Myer Music Bowl. I was devastated when they announced their break up. I didn’t know at the time that Neil was destined for bigger and better things. I wish I had a crystal 🔮 ball that would’ve shown me Crowded House.

Crowded House are Mt 💯 100 per cent favourite band, and like many Melbournians are happy that they began their journey here in Melbourne.

I have lost count how many times I have seen Neil perform 🎭 with Crowded House, Spilt Enz, with Tim Finn and as a solo performer. They are my most treasured pleasurable times and I will carry the memories of them in my heart forever.

Neil is my absolute favourite songwriter and is an inspiration for my own writing ✍ ❤. He and two New Zealand authors Janet Frame and Margaret Mahy are my writing icons and if I can write even half as good as them, then I would be extremely happy and grateful 🙏 for that. Neil’s songs 🎵 are like beautiful poetry that is inspiring and empowering all at once. He is very eloquent and measured with his words, something his son’s Liam and Elroy have inherited from him.

I was devastated when Paul Hester committed suicide and all whom loved Crowded House could see and feel Neil’s pain. I hope Paul Hester is resting in peace. I like to 🤔 think he is watching over Neil and is delighted that Liam and Elroy have joined Crowded House. Neil’s wife Sharon is also amazingly talented. Check out her business Sharondelier online and prepare to be amazed just how awesome she is. Neil, you have picked the perfect partner for you in Sharon.

In the early 1990s Neil moved back to Auckland to live in Parnell. Having seen Parnell for myself, I must say it definitely is a beautiful part of Auckland, if only I had the money 💰 to live there.

Paul McCartney considers Neil a wonderful songwriter a fact one of my brothers disagrees with. My brother can’t see that their are other great songwriters other than McCartney, and that Neil is actually an antipodean version of Paul McCartney for my generation. He tells me that Crowded House are merely Split Enz mark two, which I now have the perfect comeback for him being What Does That Make Fleetwood Mac? Obviously Neil is super talented and very well thought of by his peers to end up in Fleetwood Mac. Neil has many friends in the music industry too many to name. I will end my piece by saying one of Neil’s Australian friends is Jimmy Barnes, whom affectionately calls Neil’s family the Finn Laws. Need I say more.

Neil you are a gifted legend and I hope you keep performing for a long time to come. Thank you. You are a gift 🎁 and an inspiration.