Waiata (1980-1981)

Split Enz sell out London's Hammersmith Odeon, sack their drummer and hand the kit to their costume designer. A gun to the head and a chair to the ceiling. Canada loves them, America misses the boat, hotels lock the windows. Songs in this programme include 'Iris', 'What's the Matter With You', 'Walking Through The Ruins', 'Lost For Words' plus demos of 'Sooner The Better', 'One Step Ahead' and other rarities. Album Trivia: Waiata Noel Crombie initially designed the album cover to be cut in the shape of a shield. The back cover credits thank Wayne again (as in Wayne Kerr). See album trivia notes for True Colours.​ Waiata was recorded on a 48 track machine, rather than the standard 24 track. Producer David Tickle had a pet rock. Tim Finn, on 'Ghost Girl': "I was inspired to write this by a couple of girls that we met in Christchurch in New Zealand who had very pale faces and didn't say very much. They dressed well and just had an air of mystery about them and an air of decadence." 'Ships' was originally called 'Up To The Nines'. Eddie Rayner sings background vocals on his mostly instrumental 'Wail', with a strained neck and bulging veins, according to Neil. Neil Finn's guitar bridge in 'History Never Repeats' first appeared in 'Bergen Aan Zee', a Split Ends song written by Phil Judd in 1978 which the band played live in concert but never recorded in the studio. Noel Crombie helped out with some lyrics for 'One Step Ahead' when Neil became stuck. One or two lines of his remain in the finished song. 'Clumsy' was first called 'Cheated'. In rehearsals for 'Clumsy', Eddie experimented with the intro to the song, at one point adding a circus-type piano sequence. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details