Crowded House is an Australian-New Zealand rock band formed in 1985 by Neil Finn OBE (b. 1958), Paul Hester (1959–2005) and Nick Seymour (b. 1958). Their self-titled debut album was a critical and commercial success in Australia and around the world. The band enjoyed a string of hits before playing their final concert, on the steps of the Sydney Opera House before an estimated crowd of 150,000, in November 1996. Recurring Dream – The very best of Crowded House, issued in June that year, debuted at number one on both the Australian and UK charts, and had sold a million copies by the beginning of 1997. Following the death of Hester in 2005, Finn and Seymour reformed Crowded House, which now includes Finn's two sons, Liam (guitar, vocals) and Elroy (drums), and Mitchell Froom on keyboard.
Photographer Alan Mitchell took this image of Crowded House during the filming of the music video for 'Something so strong', shot on a farm in the Yarra Valley, Victoria in 1987. According to Mitchell, this photograph 'was taken during a break in filming when it was common for cast and crew to get involved in some kind of physical game to "release some tension". It was a very warm day and a "shirts off" kind of activity.'
Gift of the artist 2021
© Alan Mitchell
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