The legendary Split Enz will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year and Eddie Rayner is hinting something may be in the pipelines to mark the occasion.
Rayner, known as the keyboard player for Split Enz and many other interesting musical projects, was RNZ's guest on The Mixtape
Another Life Photo: Supplied
Rayner, who was the band's keyboardist for 12 years, told The Mixtape he and his former bandmates had been "talking about it".
"Who knows whether we'll do anything," he said.
"We have been talking about it ... whether or not we'll do anything is another thing."
Split Enz, which disbanded at the end of 1984, last reunited for a performance in 2009.
Rayner said he was conscious of the need to cherish the band's legacy and he went out of his way to look after all its memorabilia.
"I can put my hands on any Split Enz live recording, I know where all the tapes are, where all the multitracks are, and I just think it's important to do that," he said.
"I've got my finger on all of it."
Split Enz Photo: supplied
Rayner, whose new band, Another Life, sees him collaborate with musicians from other well-known groups including Coconut Rough and The Swingers, has had a hugely successful music career.
In addition to his time with Split Enz he has played in the groups Orb, Space Waltz, Crowded House, The Makers, and The Angels for a short time, as well as undertaking numerous solo music projects.
Jamming for a month with McCartney
In the course of a wide-ranging conversation, during which he picked six of his favourite songs, he told The Mixtape the most flattering experience of his life was being asked to play on Paul McCartney's sixth solo album, Press to Play.
Other musicians collaborating on the album included The Who's Pete Townshend, Genesis' Phil Collins, guitarist Carlos Alomar and 10cc's Eric Stewart.
"I stayed with Paul for about a month ... every morning we'd turn up at the studio and Paul'd sit on the drums and I'd sit on the piano and we'd have a jam. That went on for weeks," Rayner said.
"It was just a great thing to do, it really was, and all sorts of people called in, all sorts of very, very famous personalities calling in all the time."
Rayner said during the course of recording the album in the mid-1980s, he also introduced McCartney to the songwriting of his former Split Enz bandmate, Neil Finn.
"Neil was just writing his first album and I had all the demos of songs like World Where You Live and Mean to Me and Don't Dream It's Over ...
"I did a lot of those demos in my front room in Melbourne, and I took them over and played those songs to Paul alongside songs like Message to my Girl and so I'm sure that's where he became a Split Enz fan and particularly a Neil Finn fan."
Rayner said it had been "quite a mindspin" to try and pick just six songs to share on the programme and although it wasn't one of the tunes he chose, he lamented the fact Split Enz's Six Months in a Leaky Boat hadn't been a bigger hit the world over.
"It should have been a big international hit but unfortunately it came out at the same time as the Falklands War was on," he explained.
"It was going to be released in England on a particular date and the English government pulled it; they wouldn't allow it to be released because apparently it was not considered the right vibe for sailors going to the Falklands."
Eddie Rayner's Mixtape song choices:
'Alone Again, Naturally' - Gilbert O’Sullivan
'Black and White Rag' - Winifred Atwell
'Something in the Air' - The Conrays
'I'll Never Lose You' - Suzanne Lynch
'Laugh About It' - Another Life
