Paul Hester

Paul Newell Hester was an Australian musician and television personality. He was the drummer for the band Split Enz for their last year together from December 1983 to December 1984, and co-founding member and drummer of the band Crowded House.

Hester was the eldest of two children (his younger sister is Carolyn). He was born in Melbourne, Victoria, the son of 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 and 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.

Initially, the new band formed by Hester and Neil Finn was named "The Mullanes" and then underwent a few name changes. They recruited Nick Seymour to play bass guitar and Craig Hooper on guitar, Hooper left as they secured a recording contract with Capitol Records in the US. However, Capitol disliked the name and the band changed to Crowded House to record their debut eponymous album, Crowded House in 1986. Other records by Crowded House with Hester are: Temple of Low Men (1988), Woodface (1991), Together Alone (1993), and the Best-of collection Recurring Dream (1996).

By 1993, Hester was frustrated by the demands of his career and suffered a phobia about leaving to go on tour. On his return to Australia that year, he started to see a psychiatrist. He remained with Crowded House until 1994, when the pressure of touring and the birth of his first daughter made him want to stay home, rather than remain on the road. Hester left mid-way through a 1994 tour of America, forcing the band to recruit British drummer Peter Jones for the rest of the tour. Hester performed with Crowded House at the band's farewell concert on the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House in 1996. As of 2021, Crowded House have sold well over 20 million albums. In November 2016, the band and all of its original members (including Hester) were inducted into the ARIA Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.