SPLIT ENZ TRUE COLOURS

Having joined his brother’s band in 1977, aged 18, Finn comes to prominence on their fifth and most successful album. He contributes the irrepressible “I Got You”, which becomes a worldwide hit It was a total transformation of my life to go from being the guitar player – and not a very good one at that – to being at the front of this great band. It was the first time I’d stepped into a major songwriting role. I only have three songs on the record, but they all seem to have an important place, particularly “I Got You”. Tim and I were writing songs in different rooms of the same house. I knew the verse was really good, but the chorus was a placekeeper. I thought, “It can’t be that corny!” When our producer David Tickle came to rehearsals a few days later, he went nuts for it, and I realised that the reason I thought it was corny is because it was a killer chorus. We were very suspicious of anything that was commercial, even though we wanted to be successful.

We recorded the album in Armstrong Studios in Melbourne, and The Birthday Party were next door. Nick Cave reckons – and it’s not true – that I came in one day and said to them, “Hey you guys, we know how to make hits!” It’s a complete fabrication! Possibly somebody else in the band said it. But we did become a pop band on that record. In retrospect, maybe other members of Split Enz might look back and think that our getting famous led to some unravelling. I don’t subscribe to that. I thought it was a wonderful ride. I’ve always been very proud of that album, I have great affection for it.