Paul Hester
| Paul Hester | |
|---|---|
San Francisco 1987
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Paul Newell Hester |
| Born |
8 January 1959 Melbourne, Australia |
| Died | 26 March 2005 (aged 46) Melbourne, Australia |
| Genres | Rock, pop rock, jangle pop, indie rock, alternative rock, new wave |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Drums, percussion, vocals, keyboards, acoustic guitar, conga, timbales |
| Years active | 1976–2005 |
| Associated acts | Crowded House, Split Enz, Deckchairs Overboard, Tarmac Adam, The Wiggles |
Paul Newell Hester (8 January 1959 – 26 March 2005) was an Australian musician and television personality. He was the drummer for the bands Split Enz and Crowded House.
Hester was the older of two children (his younger sister is Carolyn) from Melbourne, Australia born to a bushman father and jazz drummer mother. At an early age, he was encouraged by his mother, to play drums. His extrovert personality did not impress his teachers, and he left school early attempted various jobs before starting a musical career. He spent most of his teen years living in the Dandenong Ranges, the family home being on the edge of Sherbrooke Forest at the Sherbrooke/Kallista boundary. Some of the Melbourne bands he played in from 1976 to 1978 included Thunder and Edges. In 1979 he co-founded a Melbourne-based band called Cheks (renamed Deckchairs Overboard when they moved to Sydney in 1982).
He lived with Deborah Conway of Do-Ré-Mi during the early 1980s, while playing regularly in Love Party. Hester later worked with Conway in Rose Amongst Thorns (1990–1991) and Ultrasound (1995).
At the departure of drummer Mal Green from Split Enz in 1981, their percussionist Noel Crombie took up the role of drummer. After the release of the Enz album Time and Tide in 1982, the band took a break to focus on other projects. According to the radio documentary Enzology, when they reformed in mid-1983, both Finn brothers returned somewhat distracted. Tim Finn had just released the very successful solo album Escapade, while younger brother Neil Finn had a child on the way.
The reunion resulted in Conflicting Emotions (November 1983), an album which marked the beginning of the end for the band. Before the tour to support the album it was decided that Crombie would return to percussion (something he says he enjoyed more than drumming), and the band would find a new drummer. Hester was auditioned on the advice of Rob Hirst of Midnight Oil and got the job. In June 1984, founder Tim Finn left Split Enz, and they released See Ya 'Round in November which included "This is Massive" which was written by Hester. When Split Enz disbanded in December, Hester and Neil Finn decided to start a new group.
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