📍Te Awamutu, Waikato, New Zealand
1958 – 1976“Neil Finn grew up in Te Awamutu, a farming town in the Waikato, the youngest of four children of Dick and Mary Finn. His father was an accountant and a keen jazz fan, and his mother, who had come to New Zealand from Ireland as a small child, was a devout Catholic who loved to sing. The family home on Teasdale Street was famous for its parties, with everyone gathered round the piano singing Irish ballads, old standards and hymns long into the night. Neil later said that those sing-alongs gave him his first taste of the thrill of live performance. He idolised his older brother, Tim, and learned guitar and piano alongside him, copying everything he did. The brothers performed together at family gatherings and on summer holidays at Mount Maunganui. Neil boarded for a time at Sacred Heart College in Auckland and then went to Te Awamutu College, whose motto, Kia Kaha, he later used as a song title. Te Awamutu was small and quiet, and the Finn boys' music made them stand out. When Tim's band, Split Enz, needed a guitarist in 1977, Neil joined them at eighteen, and his song I Got You became a huge hit. He went on to found Crowded House, writing Don't Dream It's Over and Weather With You, songs full of the melodies of that family piano. He has returned often to Te Awamutu, and the town proudly calls itself the home of the Finn brothers, with the local museum keeping a collection about their lives and music.”
🗺️ Approximate location today
🛰️ Satellite view · © Google