Geoff
Chunn
Geoffrey Chunn was born in Auckland,
New Zealand, and was Split Enz's first 'full time' drummer during the mid 1973
to mid 1974 period. Although a seemingly short period of time, it was during this year that Split Enz became a band,
meaning they started forging their identity and way into the world of music with a
firm determination that would characterize their whole existence.
Geoffrey and brother Michael, Split Enz founder and bassist, experimented with various musical projects during their childhood and days as boarders at Scared Heart
College, along with Brian (Tim) Finn. They even ventured into the studio to record
during 1969 and 1970. Various incarnations of the developing band played together whenever they could find the chance.
At that point it was noted that Geoff could not only handle the drums, but he was advanced in guitar playing and the bass too.
As soon as school was behind them, and Split Ends was taking shape, Geoffrey was called in for the band's tour of Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington in support of John Mayall
in April of 1973. This done after it was decided that part time drummer Div Vercoe,
although a skilled percussionist, was a bit too ill-tempered.
Things were moving quickly for Split Ends, who's line up at the time was Tim Finn, Phil Judd, Mike Chunn, Wally Wilkinson and Geoffrey Chunn.
They entered the New Faces television talent contest, and recorded '129' and 'Home Sweet
Home' in preparation for the show. Soon they recorded 'Sweet Talking Spoon Song'
and ultimately secured a 30 minute special for Television New Zealand early in 1974.
For this, they needed six recorded songs, so Geoff went back to the studio in February
where the band created 'No Bother To Me', 'Malmsbury Villa', 'Lovey Dovey' and 'Spellbound'.
It was at this time as well that Split Ends became Split Enz. The TV show spawned a concert tour,
but this time without Phil Judd, who decided that he did not like performing live.
The tour was a success, with a somewhat new musical direction having been forged with
the group's new members Tony (Eddie) Rayner on keyboards and Rob Gillies on sax and trumpet.
However, when Phil came back shortly afterwards as a full member, the uncomfortable balance
of the old and new proved it wasn't long before Geoff and the band parted company.
In spite of the split, Geoff was the supporting act for Split Enz's New Zealand universities
tour early in 1975. Split Enz moved to Australia, recorded an album and were back in New Zealand again within a few months for another tour, and once again Geoff was in support.
When big brothers Brian (now Tim) Finn and Michael (now temporarily Jonathan) Chunn winged off to England for record contracts and fame, Geoff continued in his solo pursuits as did Neil
Finn (Tim's younger brother) until they eventually hooked up and formed a band along with Mark Hough.
After a stuttering start, the band became known as After Hours, with Geoff on guitar. Just two shows later in 1977, the
band's career came to an abrupt end when Neil was called to England to be Split Enz's new guitarist.
Geoff still had too many songs and ideas to call it quits however. Once
his brother Mike returned from being part of Split Enz, the two joined with Brent Eccles and Greg Clark to form
the group Citizen Band. From 1977 until 1982, they recorded and performed
in New Zealand and Australia, with Geoff at the helm. One of their most popular songs
'Julia' was first aired as an 'After Hours' number.
With the end of that band, Geoff moved out of the music business and into the food industry.
He currently runs a successful and lively restaurant in Parnell, Auckland, called Kenzie.
He is married and has a grown son named Oliver.
Michael Chunn
Although he left Split Enz after
their first two albums, Michael Chunn will always be known as one of the band's original driving forces.
He also was the man who suggested that Neil Finn join the band as lead guitarist even though he had never played an electric guitar before.
That move eventually led to the fulfillment of Split Enz's dreams of international success.
Mike was born on June 8th, 1952 and raised in the Auckland suburb of Otahuhu.
He started getting into music at an early age, and his ability was tested
early. Once in the middle of a boy scouts concert, he lost his way
during a song and had to make up a piano piece while he went along.
That experience served to tantalize the young Chunn rather than cause stage
fright like most boys would get. Later on at Sacred Heart College in Auckland, Mike found a willing cohort in Brian Timothy
Finn, an accountant's son from Te Awamutu who was there on an elusive full boarding scholarship. Together the boys
reveled in their discovery of pop music. By the end of their schooldays the pair had formed various band combinations.
Brian teamed up with Phil Judd and Mike Chunn, who played bass since they
needed a bass player, and Split Ends started to take shape.
The early history of Split Enz is Mike's story as well. He was there for the early successes and failures in New Zealand and Australia and there too for the move to London. Briefly becoming Jonathan Michael Chunn (most of the band decided to be known by their middle names in a symbolic gesture when they moved to Australia and
hopefully the 'big' time), Mike played on the first two albums and was there for the official signing of the band to Chrysalis Records.
The group would go through a series of small triumphs and major frustrations,
which culminated in an ill-fated tour of America, during which Mike was subjected to a tragic look alike contest.
The tour was too much for Phil Judd, and on their return to London, Mike, by now the father of Nicholas, decided he'd had enough too.
Experimental drug use had left him with trauma that made home seem like the place to be.
Drummer Mal Green suggested that his friend Nigel Griggs be Mike's replacement,
but there was still the gap left by Phil. While everyone pondered who
should replace him, it seemed obvious to Mike that Brian, now Tim's, younger brother Neil should be their choice. Admittedly he couldn't play the electric guitar and was considerably younger than the rest of them, but in Mike's mind, he understood the spirit of the band.
Although Neil didn't get in the band immediately, the suggestion eventually led to Split Enz's only major hit, I Got You,
written by the ever enthusiastic Neil.
Back home in New Zealand, Mike pondered his future. His brother Geoff had done a stint in Split Ends and
had been there with Neil in his fledgling writing and performing days. Geoff had not been idle and had a clutch of songs that Mike thought were too good to let languish. So together with Greg Clark and Brent Eccles, they formed Citizen Band, who enjoyed a successful career in New Zealand in the late seventies and early eighties.
But when hopes of making it across the Tasman in Australia proved elusive,
Mike went back to Auckland. After managing The Crocodiles for a year, there followed a stint
where Mike was the general manager of Mushroom Music. It was during this
stint where he brought the likes of Dave Dobbyn, another old boy of Sacred
Heart, to the public notice. Then he went to London for three years to
work as an accountant. At the end of 1988, he came home and spent around
a year working with Tim Finn on promoting his album of that time. After
that he went to Sony where he was general manager of publishing until mid 1992,
when he took up his current position as general manager of the Australasian Performing Rights Association (APRA) in Auckland.
Mike still hooks up with his old Enz mates and Dave Dobbyn from time to
time. His book "Stranger Than Fiction, the life and times of Split Enz" has become a must have for fans of the band and
of music in general. He also penned the introduction to the program for the
Enzso shows. He is currently married to Brigid and is a father of four.
Noel Crombie
Geoffrey Noel Crombie was born on April 17, 1953 at Wellington, New Zealand. He was the percussionist for Split Enz, and was responsible for making all the unusual noises and smashing gongs in their music. He also helped in the design of stage costumes and creating promotional film clips for the group. He is 6 feet tall and has brown hair and blue eyes.
Noel's main interests include cooking and sewing. As was mentioned, he designed and made the crazy costumes that Split Enz wore, as well as stage props. He was mostly responsible for the unique haircuts the band had in the earlier days. He also helped with the Split Enz artwork. Noel's sewing career started in 1972 at Auckland, when he wanted a pair of pink-checked trousers. He looked everywhere and could not find nor afford any, so he made them himself on a second-hand $12 sewing machine. This spawned the birth of the "House of Crombie" where 9 years later he is churning out neon jockey suits with tussles and braid. Along with his interests, Noel's past jobs include being a postal assistant and also being an artist.
Emlyn Crowther
Paul Emlyn Crowther was born on October 2nd, 1949 in Dunedin on New Zealand's south island. He worked as an electrician and with musical electronics, and played in various bands before he became a part of Split Enz. He was a part of the band 'Orb', which included Eddie Rayner and Wally Wilkinson, future Split Enz members, and singer/songwriter/guitarist Alastair Riddell, who turned down an invitation to join Split Enz as a replacement for Phil Judd in 1977.
Eddie had recently joined Split Enz and the band was in need of a drummer, so Eddie called up Paul and that secured him a spot in the band. Paul went with the band to Australia and along the way adopted his middle name of Emlyn as part of the 'new beginning' ritual most of the band members undertook at the time. His drumming contributed to the theatrical and experimental nature of the Split Enz sound of the time. In March 1976, he went with the band to live in London for the re-recording of Mental Notes with Phil Manzanera, the signing of a deal with Chrysalis and a few live performances. It was in the latter part of that year that the group let him go, during one of the band's particularly low points of frustration.
After the end of his career with Split Enz, Emlyn went back to New Zealand and worked with a couple of band projects. He played regular gigs with a cover band for several years, and from 1980 to 1990 he was involved with a sound company. Recently, he has been doing front of house sound for New Zealand band 'The Mutton Birds'. He lives in Auckland with his wife, two teenage daughters and young son.
Malcolm
Green
Biography coming soon.
Nigel Griggs
Nigel Griggs was born in Hatfield, England
on August 18, 1949. He started playing bass guitar at the age of 14 thanks to
some influence from his brother, who had a band but no bassist. The band
also included Malcolm Green on drums. In 1970 or so the band split,
so Nigel went to America to join his first major band, a flamenco rock band called
'Carmen', who made several albums. . He later returned to England around the December
of 1976 and met up with Malcolm again. He told Nigel about the current
band he was in, which was Split Enz, and Nigel soon joined them as their
bassist.
Currently, Nigel makes his home in Australia. He mostly enjoys photography and sound recording as
his hobbies. He is also a big fan of soccer and enjoys it in a very big way.
Philip Judd
Philip Judd was one of the founding members and early creative forces behind New Zealand's Split Enz. Not long into being with Split Enz, Phil quickly became disillusioned with the music industry and dropped out of the band in 1977. After rejoining Split Enz and leaving again, he spent a short time with two legendary New Zealand punk bands: Suburban Reptiles and Enemy. That led to him eventually setting up his own three-piece band known as Swingers.
Swingers had some minor success in their homeland, which included a number one hit with the great song 'Counting the Beat.' However they fell apart by the early '80s. Judd then released his first and only solo album in 1982 called Private Lives. It was virtually ignored though, so Judd changed directions. He started focusing more on composing film music and pursuing art. In 1986, Phil joined up with former Split Enz band mates Nigel Griggs and Noel Crombie, along with guitarist Michael Den Elzen. They united to form the group Schnell Fenster. After releasing two albums, the group broke up in 1992.
Judd has since returned to film music along with a rumored future solo project in the works. Despite consistently producing some really terrific music, Judd's eccentric approach to pop music and skewed outlook have sadly been overlooked by the industry.
Eddie Rayner
Edward Rayner was born in Wellington, New Zealand on November
19, 1952. His nickname is 'The Proff' because he began learning things at a very early age and knows
everything, according to him. He began his musical career at age 12 when he
took a few piano lessons from the local music teacher. He was sent off to boarding school in
1969 when he was 17 to the same school in which Tim and Jonathan were studying at.
Eventually he became part of the group Split Enz with Tim and Jonathan.
From 1974 until 1984 he
played keyboards, composed and produced for the group Split Enz. Eddie
was of such great importance to the band that on the True Colours tour of
Australia and New Zealand, when he fell ill and missed a show the audience was
each refunded $4. After Split Enz broke up in 1984, Eddie went on to
play as a session musician, most notably on Tim Finn's 'Before and After'
album and on Paul McCartney's 'Press to Play' album.
Eddie also had a great influence on the New Zealand band Crowded House.
He was a producer on their debut album 'Crowded House', and also co-wrote a
song on that same album. For many years he was their keyboard player on
the road, and also contributed keyboards to several tracks on their acclaimed
'Together Alone' album.
In 1990 he released an album with The Makers, a duo consisting of himself and
vocalist Brian Baker. A second album called 'Hokey Pokey' was released
in 1992. In 1995 he finally released a solo album named 'Horse'.
This album is comprised of instrumentals, all written and performed by
himself. 1996 saw the release of 'ENZSO', a collection of Split Enz
songs in which Eddie had arranged for performance by vocalists and the New
Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Both the 'ENZSO' album and tour earned
acclaim from both critics and fans alike. In 1998 'ENZSO 2' had been
released and once again it used the best talent New Zealand had to
offer. It included the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra with Sam
Hunt, Dave Dobbyn and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa all recording versions of Split Enz
songs. The album was released internationally in 1999. In 2002
Eddie released a new solo album that was called 'Play It Straight'. This
album saw a selection of new and old songs, and it includes musicians such as
Annie Crummer and Maurice Greer.
Besides music, Eddie has outside interests in production. Once he stopped playing keyboards for Split Enz, he took a job in production for N.Z. Pop Mechanicz & Models. He was also a sheep farmer before joining the band. He, as well as his manager Nathan, have an obsession with water pistols, and he once got in trouble with customs over his pistols because they looked like the real thing.
Thanks a ton to Chris Camfield for some of these pics.