ABC News: 6th April 2001
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Publication   ABC News
Date   6th April 2001

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Eddie Vedder, Backup Singer Extraordinaire

April 6: They're not your average doo-wop girls, but members of Radiohead and Pearl Jam have been spotted in New Zealand as backup singers in an all-star jam.

The alternative rock gurus have been teaming up with Crowded House vet Neil Finn to sold out crowds at a small club in Auckland. "The concept for the show is to invite friends whose music I admire to collaborate with me in presenting a weeklong musical extravaganza," Finn said on the Web site ChannelV.com, which broadcast one of the gigs.

The New Zealand native is out with his second solo album, One Nil, although he let his friends play some of their music at the five concerts.

The makeshift band was made up of Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, Phil Selway and Ed O'Brien of Radiohead, former Smiths member Johnny Marr and Soul Coughing's Paul Kelly and Sebastian Steinberg. They ran through songs from Pearl Jam, The Smiths and Finn's earlier band, Split Enz.

Finn will next tour the United Kingdom on his own in support of his new album and is expected to add dates in the United States.