'Natural drummer fitted us like a glove'

The Melbourne rehearsal room was ... malodorous.

We'd been there for some hours, auditioning drummers for the position vacated by Noel Crombie, who was to resume his position as percussionist in the stage "frontline", leaving a gaping hole in the "backline".

Paul Hester was recommended by Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst, so we figured he would probably be quite good, at least.

Paul arrived at the audition. We were already jaded, having rejected a few.

When Paul walked in, something unusual happened.

The room became lighter. We were suddenly all giggling, unsure whether it was at, or with, this little guy with the strong Aussie accent.

He had Tim in hysterics - a good sign, I thought.

The energy in the room, having slowly ebbed over the past couple of hours, was suddenly rekindled.

When he started playing, you could plainly see him thinking, "Bloody hell, I'm playing with Split Enz!".

He didn't blow it with his nervousness ... he just played, simply, brilliantly, and our relief and joy were palpable.

He fitted us like a glove.

A natural, I thought. A feel drummer.

You can't describe what a feel drummer is. It's in their DNA.

It's in the micro-seconds they place, precisely, between the kick, snare and hats. It's in their lag and acceleration. It's indefinable.

Paul injected life into older Enz songs that had long since withered.

His large, boisterous and hilarious personality added another dimension to our collective persona. His innate ability brought us musical substance and solidness we had always wanted.

He also renewed our sense of joie de vivre, of comradeship, of the feeling of being on a mission.

In Paul Hester we found a mate, a brother, the drummer some of us had long wished for.

Along with the sadness and bewilderment that has enveloped me since Hessy's death, I have another feeling, equally strong: I'm pissed off that I won't ever get to play Don't Dream it's Over with him again. Or Message to my Girl, or I See Red.

I won't get to scream with laughter with him, nor at his antics, ever again.

And I won't ever see the look of unadulterated, manic enjoyment that I saw every time he picked up his sticks.

* Eddie Rayner played in Split Enz and Crowded House.