“Don’t Dream It’s Over”

Crowded House formed in 1985 in Melbourne, Australia. They’ve released eight albums, including their most recent one, Gravity Stairs, which came out last month. But on their very first album, they had a big hit with “Don’t Dream It’s Over.”

Crowded House made “Don’t Dream It’s Over” with Grammy-nominated producer Mitchell Froom, who they went on to work with multiple times. For this episode, I talked to frontman Neil Finn about how the song was first written, and how it developed with his bandmates and collaborators in the studio. And we talked about the profound connection people have had with the song over the years.

You can buy or stream “Don’t Dream It’s Over” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

Paul Hester – drums
Nick Seymour – bass
Tim Pierce – guitar
Tim Finn invited Neil to join Split Enz after Phil Judd left the band
Roland Space Echo
Hammond organ
Capitol Studios
Jim Keltnerand Jerry Scheff played on “Now We’re Getting Somewhere”
Crowded House, Sydney Opera House, 1996
Ariana Grande, Manchester, 2017
U2, Las Vegas, 2024