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Split Enz Profile

aka Split Ends
Brian White
16 Apr 2013
Arguably the most important New Zealand band of all time, and certainly the most successful, Split Enz redefined the way New Zealand wrote, created and enjoyed music, traversing a path from eclectic folkies to stadium filling superstars in their 14 years.

Split Enz emerged from the leftfield of the New Zealand music scene in the mid-1970s, but they gradually built a mainstream audience on both sides of the Tasman. Although based in Melbourne and signed to the indie Australian company Mushroom Records for most of their career, they remained as strongly identified with New Zealand as the buzzy-bee and the All Blacks. 

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1975 publicity shot in Auckland domain. L to R: Noel Crombie, Tim Finn, Phil Judd, Eddie Rayner, Mike Chunn, Paul Crowther, Wally Wilkinson.
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Split Ends 1973 L to R: Wally Wilkinson, Phil Judd, Mike Chunn, Geoff Chunn, Brian Finn
Photo credit: Murray Cammick Collection
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1974 Students Arts Council tour
Photo credit: Murray Cammick Collection
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1976-77
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Mental Notes publicity shot - L to R: Wally Wilkinson (back), Timothy Finn (front), Noel Crombie, Eddie Rayner (back), Jonathan Michael Chunn (front), Philip Judd, Emlyn Crowther (as they were called on the album)
Photo credit: Simon Grigg Collection
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I See Red
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The promo pack sent out by Split Enz's management for the 1975 release of the Mental Notes album
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Live at the Auckland Town Hall, 1976
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Spellbound (Documentary)
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History Never Repeats
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Noel Crombie in the early 1980s
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Six Months In A Leaky Boat
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Phil Judd, 1976
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So Long For Now
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Creem magazine (USA) gets it rather wrong, April 1981
Photo credit: Murray Cammick Collection
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Message To My Girl (Live June 11, 2006, Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne)
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Promotor Ian Magan with Tim Finn in the early 1980s. Magan, a "pirate" founder of Radio Hauraki, worked with Split Enz for a decade as their promoter, from the 1975 university tours to the later stadium shows.
Photo credit: Photo by Murray Cammick
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1980: L to R: Neil Finn, Tim Finn, Nigel Griggs, Eddie Rayner, Malcolm Green, Noel Crombie
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Nigel Griggs, Tim Finn, Eddie Rayner, Neil Finn, Paul Hester, Noel Crombie
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1973 press ad for the first single
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Maybe (1975 Telethon performance)
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Split Enz fanclub magazine, 1982
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Haul Away (Live in Hamilton 1982)
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1976
Photo credit: Murray Cammick Collection
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Split Enz fanclub magazine, 1980
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I Got You (Paul Hogan Show 1980)
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October 1977 - Tim Finn and Mike Chunn with Mushroom's Michael Gudinski
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Phil Judd 1976
Photo credit: Murray Cammick Collection
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Phil Judd backstage 1976
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Split Enz fanclub magazine, 1977
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Bold As Brass
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I Hope I Never (1980)
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Split Enz, 1978 - clockwise from bottom left: Malcolm Green, Eddie Rayner, Neil Finn, Tim Finn, Noel Crombie, Nigel Griggs
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Message To My Girl
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Eddie Rayner radio station ad
Photo credit: Simon Grigg Collection
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Enz With A Bang (Final NZ tour 1984)
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I Got You
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Split Enz, 1977 - back: Neil Finn, Tim Finn, Nigel Griggs, Eddie Rayner; front: Malcolm Green, Noel Crombie
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A slide of the original Phil Judd painting used for the cover of 1975's Mental Notes album. The original is now in Te Papa
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Split Ends 1973 
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Tim Finn finds that the visual side of the Split Enz show can be a little uncomfortable at times. Noel Crombie creating the 1976 trademark Finn hair in London.
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Noel Crombie in a shoot for Cha Cha magazine, mid-1980s
Photo credit: Murray Cammick Collection
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Late Last Night
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Tim Finn pre-show, 1976
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Split Enz receive platinum records from PolyGram New Zealand in 1980 for sales of the True Colours album. After a dispute with Festival Records in NZ over their promotion of the Frenzy album Enz moved their local distribution to PolyGram for three albums. With them is PolyGram's Stuart Rubin.
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Spellbound (Live on Grunt Machine 1975)
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Split Enz 1976. L to R: Noel Crombie, Malcolm Green (back), Phil Judd (front), Mike Chunn, Tim Finn (lying), Rob Gillies, Eddie Rayner
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Poor Boy
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Sweet Dreams
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Neil and Tim Finn interviewed in 1984
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The press release for the first single 'Split Ends' / 'For You'
Photo credit: Murray Cammick Collection
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1978-79 - L to R: Noel Crombie, Tim Finn, Eddie Rayner, Neil Finn, Malcolm Green, Nigel Griggs
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Canadian cover for the 1980 single 'Poor Boy'
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Labels:

Mushroom Records

White Cloud

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Related:

Crowded House

Tim Finn

Phil Judd

The Swingers

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Members:

Paul Hester - drums

Eddie Rayner - keyboards

Paul Crowther - drums

Tim Finn - vocals, piano, guitar

Geoff Chunn - guitar

Malcolm Green - drums

Mike Chunn - bass

Miles Golding - violin

Neil Finn - vocals, guitar, mandolin

Nigel Griggs - bass

Noel Crombie - drums, percussion

Phil Judd - Guitar, vocals

Wally Wilkinson - guitar

Robert Gillies - sax

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Links:

Wikipedia

Jeremy Ansell's 10 part Enzology documentary at National Radio

Koji Kumada's Kiakaha site

Split Enz at Rock's Backpages (requires subscription)

Graham Reid on Mental Notes

Review: Split Enz live at Victoria University, 1975

Split Enz at NZ History

Nick Bollinger on Mental Notes

1979 Wellington Town Hall gig: Salient review