- Eddie Rayner
Eddie Rayner (born Anthony Edward Charles Rayner on
November 19 1952 ,Wellington ,New Zealand ), is a New Zealandmusician who has played in bands such asSplit Enz , Space Waltz,Crowded House ,The Makers and 801.He has also released two solo albums. The first, "Horse", was an instrumental offering, recorded entirely at Rayner's home studio in
Melbourne , Australia. The second was entitled "Play it Straight", a play on aPhilip Judd Split Enz song called "Play it Strange" that was a particular favourite of Rayner's during the mid- to late-1970s. The song never made an album, but was played live when Judd rejoined the band in 1977. "Play it Straight" consisted of re-arranged and re-recorded versions of material gleaned from other New Zealand composers.Rayner's keyboard talents were a notable part of the Split Enz sound.
Paul McCartney caught one of their shows in 1979 and became a fan of the band, eventually inviting Rayner to play keyboards on his1986 album, "Press to Play ". Rayner has also produced material for many artists including Models, Margaret Urlich, Margot Smith, andThe Exponents , as well as two ENZSO concerts with Split Enz, DameKiri Te Kanawa and theNew Zealand Symphony Orchestra .During the late 90's Eddie Rayner decided to take the Split Enz songs to an orchestral setting. This sparked the idea for the Enzso project. Along with his synth, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, some Newland Singers and some of his old mates from Split Enz, he created orchestral versions for Split Enz songs. The project ended between late
1999 and early2000 .Recently he has acted as Musical Director for the show "
New Zealand Idol ", and participated in reunions of Split Enz and Space Waltz.More information can be found about Ed at http://www.myspace.com/eddierayner
References
* Chunn, Mike, "Stranger Than Fiction: The Life and Times of Split Enz", GP Publications, 1992. ISBN 1-86956-050-7
* Bourke, Chris, "Something So Strong", Macmillan Australia, 1997, ISBN 0-7329-0886-8
* Dix, John, "Stranded in Paradise: New Zealand Rock and Roll, 1955 to the Modern Era", Penguin Books, 2005, ISBN 0-14-301953-8
* [http://www.frenz.com/splitenz/bios/rayner.html Eddie Rayner Bio]
* [http://www.frenz.com/enzso/ Enzso project]
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