Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in 1985. Its founding members were New Zealander Neil Finn (vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter) and Australians Paul Hester (drums) and Nick Seymour (bass). Later band members include Neil Finn's brother, Tim Finn and sons Liam and Elroy, as well as Americans Mark Hart and Matt Sherrod, with Neil Finn and Nick Seymour being 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 12 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 (Woodface and Together Alone) 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. The band's last UK Gig was in the basement studio of BBC GLR 94.9, as part the Phil Jupitas Show on 21 June 96. The station had always been very supportive of Crowded House, this was the band's way of thanking the station and its listeners. The band played several farewell concerts that year, including the "Farewell to the World" concerts in Melbourne and Sydney. On 26 March 2005, Hester died by suicide, aged 46. In 2006, the group re-formed with drummer Matt Sherrod and released two further albums (in 2007 and 2010), each of which reached number one on Australia's album chart. After several years of inactivity, it was announced a revised line-up of Crowded House would tour the UK in 2020. The new line-up features Neil Finn, Nick Seymour, Mitchell Froom, and Finn's sons Liam and Elroy. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the band's planned 2020 concerts were postponed.
As of 2021, Crowded House have sold over 15 million albums worldwide. In November 2016, the band was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.
