Dua Lipa is making a habit of tackling geographically relevant covers during her Radical Optimism tour, and when she performed in Auckland, New Zealand, she dipped into the Crowded House songbook. Not only that: she also brought out the band’s frontman and songwriter, Neil Finn.
Finn appeared with Lipa and her band to sing Don’t Dream It’s Over, one of his signature songs. Released in 1986, it soared to number two in the Billboard Hot 100, making it Crowded House’s biggest US hit.
Joining Lipa at her Friday night show (4 April), Finn took the first verse, before Dua sang the second. At Lipa’s previous Auckland show on 2 April she honoured Lorde, another New Zealand icon, singing her 2013 debut single, Royals.
Speaking to Spin about the writing of Don’t Dream It’s Over in 2024, Finn suggested that it was a pretty painless process.
“Sometimes songs come out fully formed,” he confirmed. “It’s a good sign when you get one straightaway. And ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ was pretty much written in a day; I did a demo of it the same day I wrote it.”
Written on his brother Tim’s piano, Don’t Dream It’s Over was written by Finn when he wasn’t in the best of moods and feeling a little antisocial. Tim wasn’t there at the time but the late Paul Hester, Crowded House’s drummer at the time, was, and had invited some people over.
Finn, however, just wasn’t feeling it, and retreated to his songwriting. “I just remember going to the piano; I don’t know whether I was writing about them obliquely: ‘They come to build a wall between us.’ That seems like a harsh commentary on a bunch of visitors! But songs are often like that; you get a line that pops out for a seemingly innocent reason. And it takes on greater significance in the context of the song because of what’s around it.”
Don’t Dream It’s Over has often been described as ‘Lennon-esque’ - Finn himself has said that you can’t sing about a ‘paper cup’, as he does in the song, without it being a reference to the Beatle, who mentioned one in A Day In The Life - and its blend of melancholy and optimism is timeless.
During the Australian leg of the Radical Optimism tour, Lipa covered the likes of AC/DC, Natalie Imbruglia, Kylie Minogue and INXS. Her next stop is in Madrid on 11 May.
