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SYDNEY - Neil Finn has appeared in Sydney to confirm a badly-kept secret: his band Crowded House will return in July to the city where they farewelled fans 11 years ago.
The newly re-formed Crowded House will headline the Australian Live Earth Concert at Aussie Stadium on July 7, one of seven concerts being held simultaneously around the world to raise awareness of climate change.
The last time the group played in Sydney was an emotional farewell concert to hordes of fans outside the Opera House in 1996.
Finn said Crowded House's involvement at Live Earth would be a "good bookend" for the band.
"Although the nature of this is different ... it is a nice symmetry for us that perhaps our re-emergence can have, in small part, be part of something greater and better," Finn told reporters.
Crowded House will also launch their new album in July, titled Time On Earth. Finn has hinted at a New Zealand tour but no dates have been confirmed.
The band which New Zealanders and Australians both claim as their own made their comeback at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California last month.
They played some of their new material along with classics Something So Strong, Don't Dream It's Over and Better Be Home Soon.
Fellow Crowded House original Nick Seymour joked at this week's Sydney launch he did not think the band should have split at all.
"I've been playing all the Crowded House catalogue in my bedroom and I've got all my moves, that are still there, and the hipsters are still hanging in the cupboard and they still fit," Seymour said.
Finn and Seymour were brought together by the sudden death of former drummer Paul Hester in 2005.
Matt Sherrod was selected this year as the band's new drummer, while multi-instrumentalist Mark Hart and Finn's eldest son Liam complete the lineup.
Sydney concert promoter Michael Chugg yesterday confirmed Crowded House would perform on the Australian bill alongside the likes of Missy Higgins, actress Toni Collette with her band The Finish, Jack Johnson, The John Butler Trio, Wolfmother, Eskimo Joe and Paul Kelly.
The other cities hosting the Live Earth concerts are New York, London, Shanghai, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro and Johannesburg.
- NZPA
