Strewth - Crowded House an Aussie band, says Finn

The original Crowded House lineup in 1996 (from left) Neil Finn, Paul Hester, and Nick Seymour

Et tu, Neil?

Neil Finn has told an Australian newspaper that Crowded House was a proud Australian band and most of its songs were inspired in Melbourne.

Speaking to the Melbourne Age after the band won a music award from the newspaper's online poll of 37,000 people, Finn said Melbourne was the "birthplace of Crowded House and was always the town we chose to return to. It's forever deeply ingrained in our collective psyche and was the backdrop for many of our best musical moments."

It turns out songs such as Four Seasons in One Day, often considered an anthem to Auckland's temperamental summer weather, did not refer to Auckland at all.

Finn said lyrics such as "the sun shines on the black clouds hanging over the domain" were actually inspired by driving around Melbourne in his old Holden.

"The songs on Woodface were first written in East St Kilda, rehearsed in South Melbourne and mostly recorded in South Yarra and Caulfield. Some of those lyrics first dawned on me as I drove between these places in my old FJ [Holden]."

However, some consolation could be found in a possible reunion of the band which disbanded in 1996.

"Being in a great band is a rare and precious thing. Would it be asking too much to think it might come my way again? I wonder."

The band was founded by Finn, Australian bass player Nick Seymour and drummer Paul Hester, who committed suicide last year. Tim Finn joined the band for their third album.

Neil Finn moved to Britain this year after his teenage son Elroy, 16, was accepted into Atlantic College, a prestigious Welsh institution.

It was the second, "we're not in Te Awamutu now" moment from the Finn brothers this year. They did a five-city Australian Split Enz tour in June saying they owed their Australian fans some noise after doing a 1992 reunion tour of New Zealand. Despite Tim Finn insisting NZ would "definitely get a guernsey" sometime, no dates have been announced.

- STAFF REPORTER, NZPA