enz attack

Rip It Up, Issue 38, 1 September 1980, Page 1

enz attack

Duncan Campbell

Tim Finn has always exuded self-confidence, even when times were hard for Split Enz. He always had faith in the band and in himself, and that faith has now hit the jackpot. True Colours spent 10 weeks at number one in Australia, the single, “I Got You", was eight weeks in the same position, a record for a local act, Australian or New Zealand. True Colours sold 180,000 copies in Australia and 33,000 in New Zealand. "It’s neat," says Finn. "It's good for New Zealand, it’s good for us, and everybody’s happy. "Next time round, everyone's going to be glued, axes will be poised, but what the hell. We think we’ve got a better album still. We may not peak at that commercial level for another two or three albums, even though we’ll still do well.” See what I mean about self-confidence? Finn always has an eye on the future, the eternal optimist. And with good reason. "It’s fantastic, because we’re out of debt for the first time in four years, we can now actually look forward to making some money." New Freedom Where others in his position tend to shrug off financial success, Finn has never been one to look the gift horse in the mouth. He readily appreciates the benefits, especially with the newfound freedom it’s given Split Enz in the recording of their new album. "For the first time ever, we’ve felt free in the studio, there’s been no pressure. We had as long as we wanted, and we just experimented. It's not a consolidation, it’s not a re-statement. It’s a new album, it’s moved away from True Colours. The songs are still structured quite firmly, but with a lot of overdubbing. We spent a lot more time getting the right sounds, and each member of the band was able to spend as long as he liked getting his particular parts. "Undeniably, True Colours was a strong album, but I think this one goes beyond what True Colours was and it was inevitable that it would, we couldn't just do another True Colours, we had to move away consciously and sub-consciously, really." There are 12 songs on the album, six from Tim, four from Neil, and two instrumentals by Eddie. No title has been chosen yet, nor has a single. They've got four to choose from, and one will be released probably in October. It was recorded over five weeks in Melbourne’s Armstrong Studios, and will be mixed at the Farmyard Studios, north of London. Producing again is 20-year-old boy wonder, David Tickle, who Tim can't praise high enough. ■ "He’s a dream come true, we couldn’t ask for better," he enthuses. "He understands our music, he’s a brilliant engineer, and he’s just at the start of his career as a producer. He’s the nearest to a genius I think I’ve met." . U.S. Success The American scene is looking bright too, with a big feature in Billboard magazine, a lot of media attention, and True Colours being added to many radio playlists. At the time of this interview, Tim and Neil were off to the States for a 10-day promotional tour. The band is now in London, where they will play five dates, including London’s prestigious Hammersmith Odeon, a 5,000-seater: “That was A&M’s idea,” says Tim. "It’s a bit of a gamble, but the way the single's going, it looks like it’ll pay off." After mixing the album, they’ll be back in the States for a four or five-week tour. Details are still to be finalised, and much will depend on how True Colours charts. If all goes well, Split Enz will be playing two or three thousandseater venues. After that, they’ll return to the UK, with a closer eye on European countries: It’ll be mid-January 1 981 before they're back in this part of the world, coinciding with the release of the new album. The idea is to hold off release so it doesn’t clash with other local big names. That’s what was done with True Colours, and the advantage of that move is plain. A&M also want to give True Colours a fair shot in America and Britain. NZ In 1981 A New Zealand tour is pencilled in for late January or early February. "For the first time, we’re really confused as to what venues to play. For most of the centres it’ll be the same as usual, but for Auckland we really don’t know where we’re going to play. We definitely don’t want to do the Town Hall or

Logan Campbell We may do a theatre positioned halfway down Queen St, but not His Majesty’s. We'd really like to return to an intimate theatre venue.

“That’s our biggest hope now, to come back into New Zealand with the money we've earned overseas, and put on a really full-scale production without being vulgar. We want to do a really strong presentation, and the best place to do that sort of thing is inside a theatre. “If we can't get a theatre, maybe we'll go to Western Springs and do a big pose out there.''