Neil Finn’s recent appearance on Dua Lipa’s Radical Optimism tour may have seemed like an unlikely one, but it turns out that the Crowded House frontman was more familiar with the pop star’s material than you might have thought.
Finn joined Lipa on stage in Auckland earlier this year to perform Don’t Dream It’s Over, one of his band’s biggest hits, and it seems that each artist got their appreciation for the other thanks to a family member.
Speaking to ABC News Australia about how the duet came about, Finn suggests that it was Lipa’s father who reached out to him over email. “Her dad is her manager and he was a big fan, and she apparently is too,” he says.
And although Finn doesn’t fit the typical Dua Lipa fan mold, he reveals that a couple of relatives had put her on his radar.
“I happened to have familiarity with Dua Lipa and really liked her,” says Finn, “partly because Mania and Buddy, my two grandsons - Liam’s children - were dancing to that music last summer, so I got to know it pretty well, Houdini and the like. I just think she’s great and it was such a great thing to get up with her. She’s so gracious and the band were fantastic - they played [Don’t Dream It’s Over] really well.”
Finn knows better than most what it’s like to work with your family, of course - his brother, Tim, has spent time in Crowded House (prior to that, Neil and Tim were in Split Enz) and Neil’s sons Liam and Elroy are now in the band alongside their dad.
In fact, they’ll soon be heading out on tour: check out the Crowded House website for date and ticket information. “We feel bands have got a future,” says Finn.
