Take 5 with Zan Rowe on ABC and ABC iview S3E4 – Neil Finn has gifted us with songs that have become the fabric of our lives. In this episode, Zan sits down with the prolific and acclaimed songwriter to hear the songs that have woven through his.
With a career spanning almost 50 years with Split Enz, Crowded House, solo, and a spell with Fleetwood Mac, this is a heartfelt conversation about the music that lifts him up.
A conversation filled with his signature Kiwi humour; Neil even playfully admits he took liberal inspiration from an iconic Beatles lyric. His fingers dance across an invisible piano as muscle memory kicks in when hearing a Beethoven classic. And family is at his centre, as he speaks of the joys of collaborating with his sons and the deep connection, he found in his dad’s record collection after he passed away.
Famously calling time with Crowded House on the steps of the Sydney Opera House in 1996, the band would return a decade later before going on hiatus once again. While touring with Fleetwood Mac in 2018, Neil decided to start up his old band once again, this time featuring his sons Liam and Elroy.
As a master songwriter, hearing Neil Finn celebrate everything from Bowie to Ella Fitzgerald to Beethoven is a singular gift.
“The ultimate reward would be to think that a song was getting played in 100 year’s time and nobody remembers who wrote it, and they’ve got the words wrong, and the tune’s just living still. So, it’s like this little living creature that’s going off and having a life and it exists forever.”
Production credit: Take 5 with Zan Rowe is an ABC Production. Created, hosted and written by Zan Rowe. Executive Producers, Nikita Agzarian and Josh Schmidt. Series Producer and Director/DOP, Aaron Smith ACS. Associate Producer, Katie Ring. Head Arts, Music and Events, Kath Earle.
Take 5 with Zan Rowe on ABC and ABC iview – Tuesday 22 October at 8.30pm
TV Central ABC content HERE
Take 5 with Zan Rowe on ABC and ABC iview S3E4
