Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in 1985. Its founding members were New Zealander Neil Finn and Australians Paul Hester (drums) and Nick Seymour (bass). Later band members include Neil Finn's brother, Tim Finn and sons Liam and Elroy, as well as Americans Mark Hart and Matt Sherrod, with Neil Finn and Nick Seymour being the sole constant members.
Neil Mullane Finn is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known for being a principal member of Split Enz with his brother Tim, the lead singer and a founding member of Crowded House, and a touring member of Fleetwood Mac. Finn joined Split Enz in 1977 after the departure of founding member Phil Judd and influenced a shift away from band's art rock roots and towards a new wave and pop-oriented sound. Gradually rising in creative prominence within the band, he came to write the majority of the band's successful songs in the 1980s, including "One Step Ahead", "History Never Repeats", "I Got You", and "Message to My Girl".
Samuel Alexander Joseph West is an English actor, theatre director and narrator. He has directed on stage and radio, and worked as an actor in theatre, film, television, and radio. He has appeared as reciter with orchestras and performed at the Last Night of the Proms in 2002. He has narrated several documentary series, including five for the BBC about the Second World War.
Hayley Dee Westenra is a New Zealand classical crossover singer and songwriter. Her first internationally released album, Pure, reached number one on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide, making it one of the fastest selling albums in her country's history.
The music of New Zealand has been influenced by a number of traditions, including Māori music, the music introduced by European settlers during the nineteenth century, and a variety of styles imported during the twentieth century, including blues, jazz, country, rock and roll, reggae, and hip hop, with many of these genres given a unique New Zealand interpretation.
Split Enz were a New Zealand band formed in 1972. Regarded as the first New Zealand band to gain significant recognition outside of Australasia, they were initially noted for their progressive/art rock sound, flamboyant visual style and theatrical performances. The band later moved toward a pop/new wave sound that yielded the breakthrough hit single "I Got You" (1980). Split Enz broke up in 1984. Since that time, the band has staged several brief reunions.
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music.
Bond or BOND is an Australian/British string quartet that specialises in classical crossover and synth-pop music. The quartet has sold five million albums.
Brian Timothy Finn is a New Zealand singer, songwriter, musician, and composer. He is best known as a founding member of Split Enz. Finn founded the band in 1972 with Phil Judd and served as lead singer and principal songwriter. Following Judd's departure in 1977, he was joined by brother Neil. Finn wrote or co-wrote some of the band's best-known songs, including "I See Red" and "Six Months in a Leaky Boat". While still a member of Split Enz, he began a solo career, scoring the two hits "Fraction Too Much Friction" and "Made My Day" in 1983; he left the band in early 1984, briefly returning for their farewell tour later that year.
Sir Charles Benedict Ainslie is a British competitive sailor. Ainslie is the most successful sailor in Olympic history. He won medals at five consecutive Olympics from 1996 onwards, including gold at the four consecutive Games held between 2000 and 2012.
Leila Bronia Josefowicz is an American-Canadian classical violinist.
Anoushka Shankar is a British-American sitar player and music artist. She was the youngest and first woman to receive a British House of Commons Shield; she has had nine Grammy Awards nominations and was the first musician of Indian origin to perform live and to serve as a presenter at the ceremony. She performs across multiple genres and styles - classical and contemporary, acoustic and electronic.
David Lee Shire is an American songwriter and composer of stage musicals, film and television scores. The soundtracks to the 1976 film The Big Bus, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, The Conversation and All the President's Men, and parts of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack such as "Manhattan Skyline", are some of his best-known works. His other work includes the score of the 1985 film Return to Oz, and the stage musical scores of Baby, Big, Closer Than Ever, and Starting Here, Starting Now. Shire is married to actress Didi Conn.
Goodnight Nurse was a New Zealand pop punk band formed in Auckland in 2001. The group originally began as a trio, but later changed to a four-piece prior to the release of their second album. It consisted of lead vocalist Joel Little, guitarist and back up vocalist Sam McCarthy, bassist Rowan Crowe, with drummer and back up vocalist Jaden Parkes.
Thomas James Leuluai is a New Zealand professional rugby league coach who is the assistant coach of the Wigan Warriors in the Betfred Super League and a former professional rugby league footballer who played for New Zealand at international level.
Anthony Laffranchi is a former professional rugby league footballer. An Australia and Italy international, and New South Wales State of Origin representative forward, he played in the National Rugby League for the Wests Tigers and the Gold Coast Titans, and for Super League club St Helens.
Jeremy "Jaz" Coleman is an English singer and musician. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as the lead vocalist and keyboardist of post-punk group Killing Joke.
James Graham is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played as a prop for St Helens in the Super League, and at international level for England and Great Britain.
James William Dallinger is a New Zealand rower. He was a member of the World Champion under-23 coxed four in 2006, and the world champion senior coxless four in 2007. He has been selected for the New Zealand coxless four to compete at the Beijing Olympics.
Narek Hakhnazaryan is an Armenian cellist who won the gold medal for cello at the 2011 International Tchaikovsky Competition.
