I try to put myself into unusual and difficult situations as often as I can in order to capture the element of struggle in the music.

Both Neil and his brother Tim were invested as Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to New Zealand music in the 1993 Queen's Birthday Honours List. [citation needed]
Neil Finn's "Song of the Lonely Mountain" was composed for end credits of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

He has also recorded several successful solo albums and assembled diverse musicians for the 7 Worlds Collide projects. While his brother Tim Finn left for England Neil was the founder of Crowded House with Split Enz's final drummer Paul Hester in 1985.