Crowded House to Be Inducted into ARIA Hall of Fame
Cherished rock-folk group Crowded House will be inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame during the ARIA Awards in Sydney on 23 November.
Crowded House’s induction has a touch of serendipity about it. This year, the group celebrates 30 years since the release of its debut, self-titled album; their six studio LPs have sold 30-times platinum Down Under (2 million-plus units), and the Crowded House party will rock the 30th anniversary of the ARIAs.
Core members New Zealander Neil Finn and Australian Nick Seymour will be on hand for their band’s special moment. No doubt they’ll remember absent friends on the night. Founding drummer Paul Hester died in 2005. And Peter Jones, who replaced Hester until the group split in 1996, died in 2012.
“Since our formation in Melbourne and our first album release in 1986 we have enjoyed a special relationship with Australia, one that has strengthened and endured over the years. We feel truly blessed that our songs have become a valued part of peoples’ lives across generations,” the pair said in a joint statement.
“As a result, our affinity with fans and the music community here is unique and one we hold very close. We are delighted and honoured to accept the invitation to be inducted into the ARIA Hall Of Fame.”
Crowded House is a no-brainer for the Hall of Fame. They topped the ARIA Albums Chart with five LPs, collected 13 ARIA Awards and hold the title for highest-selling Australian album of all time by a group with 1996’s Recurring Dream: The Very Best of Crowded House, which topped the national chart for eight weeks en route to 13-times platinum sales. Recurring Dream also topped the Official UK Albums Chart and is one of four Crowded House albums to crack the top 10 in that market.
The group’s biggest hit “Don’t Dream It’s Over” peaked at No 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1987 and has since been covered by everyone from Sixpence None The Richer and Susan Boyle to Faith No More, Diana Krall and in a duet starring Miley Cyrus and Ariana Grande.
Finn is already a Hall of Famer. He was inducted as a member of seminal New Zealand band Split Enz during a ceremony in 2005.
Original article by Lars Brandle, Billboard, September 4, 2016.
