NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Entertainment

Neil Finn and Stevie Nicks write song for Auckland's homeless

Isaac Davison
By Isaac Davison
Senior Reporter, Health·NZ Herald·
29 May, 2020 07:30 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The Crowded House and Split Enz frontman has written a song about Auckland's homeless to help raise money for the Auckland City Mission's new building on Hobson Street. Video / File / Auckland City Mission

Neil Finn has been singing on the biggest stages in the world with Fleetwood Mac but his latest initiative is closer to home.

The Crowded House and Split Enz frontman has written a song about Auckland's homeless to help raise money for the Auckland City Mission's new building on Hobson St.

He enlisted bandmate and original Fleetwood Mac superstar Stevie Nicks on the track, Find Your Way Back Home, which is being released to coincide with the city mission's centenary next month.

"I'm honoured to be a part of Neil's song for the Auckland City Mission" Nicks said. "He is on a mission to make this work and I think this beautiful song he has written will certainly help".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Finn, speaking to the Herald from his home in Los Angeles, said the song was partly inspired by an encounter he had at the city mission with someone from his childhood.

He had met the person briefly at his brother's birthday party and was rattled to find him at a homeless shelter a few years ago.

"There are all these people in all of our lives, I think, that we drift away from," he said. That was on his mind as he wrote the song's lyrics.

Stevie Nicks and Neil Finn of Fleetwood Mac performing at Spark Arena in September. The two band members have collaborated for a song to raise money for the Auckland City Mission. Photo: Jason Oxenham
Stevie Nicks and Neil Finn of Fleetwood Mac performing at Spark Arena in September. The two band members have collaborated for a song to raise money for the Auckland City Mission. Photo: Jason Oxenham

"I didn't know them but there was a story there, that was a connection that I made. It just puts it in your backyard.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I live in a pretty fortunate situation and I move in circles that are not in daily contact with homeless people. So it's good to be able to find a pathway in your head to relate to some degree."

He admits that he agonised over the song for months while he was on tour with Fleetwood Mac, obsessively tweaking it and bringing in more musicians to help him, including another band member, Christine McVie.

"I guess I had every incentive to make sure that the words were evocative, simple, relatable, truthful and not crass or message-y.

"It's easy to be nebulous and abstract and I'm quite good at that in my songs generally. So to be direct in a way is a real challenge."

Discover more

Entertainment

Finn-fan looks back at 40+ years of a musical dynasty

10 Aug 11:40 PM
New Zealand

Knighthood for Northlander Farrelly - just don't call him Sir Chris

30 Dec 04:00 PM
HomeGround, the Auckland City Mission's new building, will be nine storeys high and include 80 apartments, more detox beds, a larger medical centre, job training, and other services. Photo / Supplied
HomeGround, the Auckland City Mission's new building, will be nine storeys high and include 80 apartments, more detox beds, a larger medical centre, job training, and other services. Photo / Supplied

While he has occasionally lent a hand to charitable causes, Finn said he did not see himself as an activist.

"I haven't felt compelled to go down that path in terms of speaking out. But in terms of trying to do some kindly acts as you strike situations, I think that's compulsive and we should all be trying to do that."

He had long been an admirer of the city mission's work, and had a connection to it through his friend and architect Nicholas Stevens, who helped design its new $110m building called HomeGround.

"I saw the design and … it seemed quite a groundbreaking thing to do for the homeless of Auckland," Finn said. "I think there would be very few places in the world which would have such an ambitious building project [and a] welcoming space for people."

READ MORE:
• Covid 19 coronavirus: Rough sleeping all but eliminated in New Zealand as pandemic crisis frees up motels and housing
• Premium - Auckland landlords charging Government $300 a night to house homeless
• Shanty town outside Central City Library removed by council and police
• Covid 19 coronavirus: Homeless being placed in motels for lockdown

The nine-storey building is part of a plan by the city mission to eliminate homelessness in Auckland rather than simply manage it. It includes 80 apartments which will be permanent homes for chronically homeless people.

City Missioner Chris Farrelly said he was in awe of the Finn family's generosity: "It seems fitting, in our centenary, to be given a song about the meaning of home."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The Government has contributed $35m to the building's construction, which is expected to be completed next year, The city mission has received a donation of $10m, raised around $30m, and is fundraising for the remaining $23m.

Finn said he hoped proceeds from his song would "put the last coat of paint on it".

• Find Your Way Home is available for download on Spotify on June 2

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Entertainment

Entertainment

'It does change you': Sir Dave Dobbyn opens up on Parkinson’s battle

09 May 05:26 AM
Entertainment

Man charged with stalking Jennifer Aniston after crashing car into gate

09 May 04:11 AM
Reviews

Who are the comedians to see at this year's Comedy Festival?

09 May 04:00 AM

Sponsored: Top tier tiles - faux or refresh

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Entertainment

'It does change you': Sir Dave Dobbyn opens up on Parkinson’s battle

'It does change you': Sir Dave Dobbyn opens up on Parkinson’s battle

09 May 05:26 AM

Dobbyn feels his musicality has been affected, but remains in good spirits.

Man charged with stalking Jennifer Aniston after crashing car into gate

Man charged with stalking Jennifer Aniston after crashing car into gate

09 May 04:11 AM
Who are the comedians to see at this year's Comedy Festival?

Who are the comedians to see at this year's Comedy Festival?

09 May 04:00 AM
Natasha Lyonne and Melanie Lynskey star in Poker Face season two

Natasha Lyonne and Melanie Lynskey star in Poker Face season two

Sponsored: How much is too much?
sponsored

Sponsored: How much is too much?

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP