Eddie Rayner

Eddie Rayner is a keyboard player, a composer, a producer, well basically an all round musical legend. He appeared on several Phil Manzanera songs on his K-Scope album.
Born Anthony Edward Rayner in Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand in 1952, he started playing piano aged 12.

From 1974 until 1984 he played keyboards, composed and produced for the New Zealand supergroup Split Enz. Eddie was of such great importance to the band that on the True Colours tour of Australia and New Zealand, when he fell ill and missed a show the audience was each refunded $4!

After Split Enz broke up in 1984, he went on to play as a session musician, most notably on Tim Finn's Before and After and on Paul McCartney's Press to Play album.

Another band that Eddie had a great influence on was Australian band Crowded House. He was a producer on their debut album Crowded House, and also co-wrote a song on that same album. For many years he was their keyboard player on the road, and also contributed keyboards to several tracks on their acclaimed Together Alone album.

In 1990 he relesed an album with The Makers, a duo consisting of himself and vocalist Brian Baker. A second The Makers album, Hokey Pokey was released in 1992.

1995 and he finaly released a solo album. Named Horse this album is comprised instrumentals, all written and performed by himself.

1996 saw the release of Enzso, a collection of Split Enz songs which Eddie had arranged for performance by vocalists and a symphony orchestra. Both the Enzso album and tour earned acclaim from both critics and fans alike.

Now in 1998 Enzso 2 has been released, once again using the best talent New Zealand has to offer, with the NZ Symphony Orchestra, Sam Hunt, Dave Dobbyn and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa all recording versions of Split Enz songs. The album was released internationaly in 1999.

Eddie Rayner is credited on the following Roxy Music and Solo Albums