KEY POINTS:
Iconic Kiwi band Split Enz will perform three New Zealand concerts in March next year it has been announced.
The band - Tim Finn, Neil Finn, Eddie Rayner, Noel Crombie and Nigel Griggs - will bring the inimitable style of Split Enz to arena stages in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
The concerts will be:
* Sunday 23 March: Westpac Arena, Christchurch
* Tuesday 25 March: TSB Bank Arena, Wellington
* Friday 28 March: Vector Arena, Auckland
Audiences can expect to be treated to a typically extravagant concert full of hits, but Frontier Touring Co's Michael Gudinski says fans should also be prepared for some surprises.
The band members say they are not sure if they will play anything new, however they are planning to release a newish album, which was recorded in 1978, but never released.
Split Enz was formed in the early 70s and featured brothers Tim and Neil Finn as front men. The band had several number one hits, with songs like I See Red, I Got You and Six Months In A Leaky Boat charting in New Zealand, Australia and Canada.
Despite breaking up in 1984 the band has since reformed several times for performances, most recently for a sell-out tour of Australia last year, for which they received rave reviews in the press.
At the time they were reported as saying they hoped they would be able to play in NZ again but that no appropriate venue was available at that time.
At a Melbourne press conference with the band last year, frontman Tim Finn said Split Enz had toured New Zealand in 1992 - the only actual tour since the band split in 1984.
"So we felt we owed Australia. But New Zealand will definitely get a guernsey at some point."
To give fans an idea of what Split Enz may dust off for their NZ shows, here is a set list from the band's 2006 Australian tour:
Brisbane 7-6-06:
Shark Attack
Poor Boy
One Step Ahead
Give It A Whirl
Nobody takes me Seriously
Jamboree
Double Happy
I Hope I Never
Message to my Girl
Dirty Creature
Years Go By
Stuff & Nonsense
Devil You Know
129 (Matinee Idyll)
Starit Old Line
Pioneer/Six Months
I Got You
What's the matter with You
I See Red
Encore #1
Take a Walk
Charlie
My Mistake
Encore #2
Bold as Brass
Time For A Change
History Never Repeats
Tickets for the concerts go on sale on November 15 at Ticketek (Christchurch and Wellington shows) and Ticketmaster (Auckland show).
- NZHERALD STAFF
