 :"brian finn" redirects here. for the fictional new zealand police officer, see shark in the park.  brian timothy "tim" finn, obe (born 25 june 1952) is a new zealand singer and musician. his musical career includes forming 1970s and 1980s new zealand rock group split enz, a number of solo albums, temporary membership in his brother neil's band crowded house and his joint efforts with neil finn as the finn brothers. ==early life== brian finn was born in te awamutu, new zealand. he went to sacred heart college, auckland, a catholic boarding school. in 1971 he started a bachelor of arts degree at the university of auckland. there he jammed in music practice room 129 (later the name of a split enz song) with friends and future split enz bandmembers mike chunn, robert gillies, philip judd and noel crombie. music soon became more important to him than his studies; in mid-1972 he quit university. a few months later, phil and tim formed group split ends (renamed split enz, shortly before their first move to melbourne in 1975). the bands' music moved towards a more mainstream sound in later years; their music style is best described as eclectic, incorporating influences from art rock, vaudeville, swing, punk, glam rock, rock and pop. between 1972 and 1977, tim and judd alternated as frontman for the band. once judd permanently left the band, tim finn's younger brother neil finn took his place. ==solo work== finn had his first success away from split enz in 1981 when his discarded demo "they won't let my girlfriend talk to me" became a top 10 hit for australian band jimmy and the boys.{{cite web|last=ansell|first=jeremy|title=enzology part 8 - time and tide (1981-1982)|url=http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/enz/enz-20071214-1808-enzology_part_8_-_time_and_tide_1981-1982-192.mp3|publisher=radio new z
1952_births Crowded_House_members Living_people New_Zealand_expatriates_in_Australia New_Zealand_expatriates_in_the_United_Kingdom New_Zealand_guitarists New_Zealand_male_singers New_Zealand_people_of_Irish_descent New_Zealand_pianists New_Zealand_pop_singers New_Zealand_singer-songwriters New_Zealand_songwriters Officers_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire People_educated_at_Sacred_Heart_College,_Auckland People_from_Te_Awamutu Split_Enz_members