page_title: Crowded House
section_title: Early albums (1986–1990)
hierarchical_section_title: Crowded House / History / Early albums (1986–1990)
caption_attribution_description: English: Crowded House at Wolfgang’s, San Francisco, California. L to R: Paul Hester, Neil Finn, Nick Seymour
context_page_description: Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1985. Its founding members were New Zealander Neil Finn and Australians Paul Hester and Nick Seymour. Later band members included Neil Finn's brother, Tim Finn, and Americans Mark Hart and Matt Sherrod. Neil Finn and Seymour have been the sole constant members of the group since its formation.
  Originally active from 1985 to 1996, Crowded House had consistent commercial and critical success in Australia and New Zealand and international chart success in two phases, beginning with a self-titled debut album that 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". Further international success came in the UK, Europe and South Africa with their third and fourth albums and the compilation album Recurring Dream, which included the hits "Fall at Your Feet", "Weather with You", "Distant Sun", "Locked Out", "Instinct" and "Not the Girl You Think You Are". Neil and Tim Finn were each awarded an OBE in June 1993 for their contributions to the music of New Zealand.
  In June 1996, Crowded House announced that it would disband.
context_section_description: 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 August 1986. Capitol Records initially failed to see the band's potential and gave them only low-key promotion, forcing the band to play at small venues to try and gain attention. The album's first single, "Mean to Me", reached the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart top 30 in June. It failed to chart in the US, but moderate American airplay introduced US listeners to the group.
  A single, "Don't Dream It's Over", was released in October 1986 and proved an international hit, reaching number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one in Canada. New Zealand radio stations initially gave the song little support until months later when it became successful internationally. Ultimately, the song reached number one on the New Zealand singles chart and number eight in Australia. It remains the group's most commercially successful song.
  In March 1987, the group were awarded "Best New Talent", along with "Song of the Year" and "Best Video" awards for "Don't Dream It's Over" at the inaugural ARIA Music Awards. The video also earned the group the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist that year. The song has often been covered by other artists and gave Paul Young a hit single in 1991. It was also used for a New Zealand Tourism Board advertisement in its "100% Pure New Zealand" worldwide promotion from October 2005. In May 2001, "Don't Dream it's Over" was voted seventh in a poll of the best Australian songs of all time by the Australasian Performing Right Association.
  In June 1987, nearly a year after its release, Crowded House finally reached number one on the Kent Music Report Album Charts. It also reached number three in New Zealand and number twelve on the US Billboard album chart. The follow-up to "Don't Dream it's Over", "Something So Strong", was another global smash, reaching the Top 10 in New Zealand, America, and Canada. "World Where You Live" and "Now We're Getting Somewhere" were also released as singles with chart success.
  As the band's primary songwriter, Neil Finn was under pressure to create a second album to match their debut and the band joked that one potential title for the new release was Mediocre Follow-Up. Eventually titled Temple of Low Men, their second album was released in July 1988 with strong promotion by Capitol Records. The album did not fare as well as their debut in the US, only reaching number 40, but it achieved Australasian success, reaching number one in Australia and number two in New Zealand. The first single "Better Be Home Soon" peaked at number two on both Australian and New Zealand singles charts and reached top 50 in the US, though the following four singles were less successful. Crowded House undertook a short tour of Australia and Canada to promote the album, with Eddie Rayner on keyboards. Multi-instrumentalist Mark Hart, who would eventually become a full band member, replaced Rayner in January 1989. After the tour, Finn fired Seymour from the band. Music journalist Ed Nimmervoll claimed that Seymour's temporary departure was because Finn blamed him for causing his writer's block; however, Finn cited "artistic differences" as the reason. Seymour said that after a month he contacted Finn and they agreed that he would return to the band.
caption: Crowded House, San Francisco, April 1987. L to R: Paul Hester, Neil Finn, Nick Seymour
exif: {}