Split Enz - Sydney - 19 May 2026

From 1975 to 1984 Split Enz released nine studio albums and were giants of the Australasia music scene. Having bought “Mental Notes” when it was first released and followed their career throughout, I was keen to see them one more time. This lineup of the band consisted of Tim and Neil (of course), Eddie Rayner, Noel Crombie, and new comers, Matt Eccles on drums and James Milne on bass. They fitted together perfectly both musically and with their on-stage personas. The setlist covered their entire career, 22 songs in all. I thought I did well limiting myself to just ten: History Never Repeats (00:07) Give It a Whirl (03:34) One Step Ahead (06:51) Missing Person (10:36) Matinee Idyll (129) (16:15) Pioneer (19:22) Six Months in a Leaky Boat (21:27) I Got You (27:38) I See Red (31:59) I Hope I Never (38:13) Having seen Tim Finn a couple of years ago, I had a good idea of what to expect, and I was sure that in the musical embrace of the rest of the band any ‘imperfections’ could be easily overlooked. And I was right. In fact, I thought Tim’s singing was better this time, and it gave a new pathos and vulnerability to the songs he took charge of. To those not happy with the performance, it always pays to do your research before deciding whether or not you’ll see an older band. I for one, am very happy I got to see Split Enz again. It was a terrific night of wonderful songs.