The Divine Comedy is a pop band from Northern Ireland fronted by Neil Hannon. Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For popular forms of music in general, see Popular music. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Setanta Records was started in a Camberwell flat by former bicycle courier Keith Cullen. ... Parlophone is a record label which was founded in Germany prior to World War I by the Carl Lindstrom Company. ... For popular forms of music in general, see Popular music. ... Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ... Neil Hannon (born 7 November 1970[1]) is a singer and songwriter, best known as the creator (in 1989) and frontman of the orchestral pop group, The Divine Comedy. ...

History

The beginning & early success (Fanfare to Promenade)

Neil Hannon has been the only ever-present member of the band, being its founder in 1989 when he was joined by John McCullagh and Kevin Traynor. Their first album, the heavily R.E.M.-influenced and now-deleted Fanfare for the Comic Muse, enjoyed little success, though. A couple of equally unsuccessful EPs - Timewatch (1991); Europop (1992) - were to follow, with newly-recruited member John Allen handling lead vocals on some tracks. After the commercial failure of the Europop EP, this line-up soon fell apart. This article is about the band. ... Deletion is a music industry term referring to the removal of a record from a labels official catalog. ... Fanfare for the Comic Muse is the deleted debut LP by The Divine Comedy, originally released in 1990. ...

Hannon, however, was not deterred in his efforts and re-appeared in 1993 with Liberation. Featuring a fairly diverse musical outlook that goes from the tongue-in-cheek synth pop of 'Europop' (nearly unrecognisable from the previously-released version) to the classical stylings of 'Timewatching', it is also characterised by a plethora of literary references: 'Bernice Bobs Her Hair' recalls a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald; 'Three Sisters' draws upon a play by Anton Chekov; and 'Lucy' is essentially three William Wordsworth poems abridged to music. This led to a degree of critical acclaim, but commercial success still proved elusive. Liberation is an album by The Divine Comedy. ... Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American Jazz Age author of novels and short stories. ... Chekhov in a 1905 illustration. ... William Wordsworth (April 7, 1770 – April 23, 1850) was a major English romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their 1798 joint publication, Lyrical Ballads. ...

Indeed, it was only some minor success in France that really enabled Hannon to proceed to his second effort Promenade. Released in 1994, this was heavily driven by classical influences, with Michael Nyman's stylings clearly an influence. Hannon himself acknowledged this when he apparently sent a copy of his new album to the composer, jokingly asking him not to sue. Essentially a concept album about a day spent by two lovers, it also received similar critical acclaim to that which Liberation was afforded. Commercial success, though, was not forthcoming despite some of Hannon's best songwriting to date, including "Don't Look Down", "The Summerhouse" and subsequent live favourite "Tonight We Fly". Promenade is The Divine Comedys third album. ... Michael Nyman (born March 23, 1944) is a British minimalist composer, pianist, librettist and musicologist, perhaps best known for the many scores he wrote during his lengthy collaboration with the British filmmaker Peter Greenaway. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

At around the same time, Hannon also wrote and performed the theme music for the TV sitcom Father Ted (which would subsequently be incorporated into the song "Songs of Love" on the album Casanova), and later wrote the music for the deliberately bad mock-Eurovision song "My Lovely Horse" for one episode. Hannon resisted widespread requests from fans to release the track as a single for the Christmas market, but it was eventually released in 1999 as the third track on the CD-single "Gin Soaked Boy". This would not be the only time they would be responsible for a TV theme, as "In Pursuit Of Happiness" was also used by the BBC science and technology show, Tomorrow's World. Hannon also recently composed the music for the comedy series "The IT Crowd". See TV (disambiguation) for other uses and Television (band) for the rock band European networks National In much of Europe television broadcasting has historically been state dominated, rather than commercially organised, although commercial stations have grown in number recently. ... A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. ... Father Ted was a popular 1990s television situation comedy set around the lives of three priests on the extremely remote (and completely fictional) Craggy Island off the west coast of Ireland. ... The modern logo was introduced for the 2004 Contest to create a consistent visual identity. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, which is usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion. ... Tomorrows World was a long-running BBC television series, showcasing new (and often wacky) developments in the world of science and technology. ... This article contains a trivia section. ...

The road to fame (Casanova through A Secret History...)

The album Casanova (1996), and in particular the single "Something for the Weekend" led to the band's first major successes, with Neil Hannon becoming a distinctive, albeit unlikely, popstar in an immaculate suit, and always appearing the elegant dandy. At the height of their commercial success, the band put out A Short Album About Love (a reference to the Krzysztof Kieślowski movie A Short Film About Love), recorded live at soundcheck with the Brunel Ensemble in preparation for a concert at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, from which several songs were released as b-sides. It was aptly released on Valentine's Day in 1997. Subsequently, the band contributed a reworking of Noel Coward's "I've Been to a Marvellous Party" to a compilation of covers of the writer's songs, with Hannon affecting a Cowardesque lilt (albeit interspersed with an aggressive electronic musical backing). Sporty Parisian dandies of the 1830s: a girdle helped one achieve this silhouette. ... Krzysztof KieÅ›lowski   (June 27, 1941 Warsaw, Poland – March 13, 1996 Warsaw, Poland) was an influential Oscar-nominated Polish film director and screenwriter, known internationally for his film cycles Three Colors and The Decalogue. ... A Short Film About Love (Polish: Krótki film o miłości) is an expanded film version of the sixth episode of director Polish language ten-part made-for-television drama, The Decalogue. ... The Shepherds Bush Empire (the first word is sometimes spelled Shepherds) is a music venue in Shepherds Bush in West London, England run by the Academy Music Group. ... In recorded music, the terms A-side and B-side refer to the two sides of 7 inch vinyl records on which singles have been released since the 1950s. ... Noel Coward Sir Noel Peirce Coward (December 16, 1899 – March 26, 1973) was an English actor, playwright, and composer of popular music. ...

The foppish image, but not the suit, was ditched for the more sombre album Fin De Siècle in 1998, although its biggest hit, the jaunty "National Express", a song about the national coach operators, belied its more intimate, soul-searching tone. Maintaining the balance between these poles, 1999's Secret History - the Best of The Divine Comedy included rerecordings of Liberation tracks "The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count" and "Europop", and two new songs ("Gin-Soaked Boy" and "Too Young to Die") alongside the band's main hits. In the same year, the band also collaborated with Tom Jones on a cover-version of Portishead's 'All Mine', featured on his album Reload. Image File history File links Divine_Comedy_-_Something_For_The_Weekend_excerpt. ... Software development stages In computer programming, development stage terminology expresses how the development of a piece of software has progressed and how much further development it may require. ... FOP (Formatting Objects Processor) is an XSL-FO processor written in Java, which provides the feature to convert XSL-FO files to PDF or direct-printable-files. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... National Express is the brand under which the majority of long distance bus and coach services in the United Kingdom are marketed, and also the company that manages this network and operates some of the services. ... Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ... Sir Thomas Jones Woodward, KBE (born 7 June 1940), known by his stage name as Tom Jones, is a Grammy Award winning Welsh popular music singer particularly noted for his powerful voice. ... For the town, see Portishead, Somerset. ... Reload is the title of an album, released in 1999 by Welsh singer Tom Jones. ...

A serious side to the band was also in evidence in 2000's collaboration with Ute Lemper on her album Punishing Kiss, most of which featured The Divine Comedy as Lemper's backing band. Neil Hannon and Joby Talbot also contributed two original songs and an arrangement of Brecht and Weill's "Tango Ballad", whilst Neil Hannon sang two songs ("Tango Ballad", "Split") as duets with Lemper. Ute Lemper (born July 4, 1963) is a German chanteuse and actress. ... Neil Hannon (born 7 November 1970[1]) is a singer and songwriter, best known as the creator (in 1989) and frontman of the orchestral pop group, The Divine Comedy. ... Joby Talbot (born 1971) is a British composer. ... Bertolt Brecht Brecht redirects here. ... Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900 – April 3, 1950), born in Dessau, Germany and died in New York City, was a German and in his later years, a German-American composer active from the 1920s until his death. ...

Post-Setanta & recent activity (Regeneration to present)

The 2001 album Regeneration attempted to remove the band still further from its association with comedy. Hannon hired famous producer Nigel Godrich to "remake" the band. Neil ditched the suit and donned the Britrock band image. However, the album was a greater critical than commercial success, and soon after its release it was announced that The Divine Comedy were splitting up. However within a year Hannon was touring again with a revised band line-up, playing a series of joint-headline gigs in the USA, UK and Ireland featuring both The Divine Comedy and Ben Folds, who would cover The Divine Comedy's "Songs of Love" on his Sunny 16 EP. Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina) is an American singer-songwriter and the former frontman of the musical group Ben Folds Five. ... Conditions ideal for applying the sunny f/16 rule In photography, the sunny f/16 rule is a method to obtain correct exposure without using a light meter. ...

Eventually a new album surfaced in the form of 2004's Absent Friends. Striking a balance between the occasionally earnest sound of the band's later material and the lighter tone of the more popular releases, it encapsulated the essence of The Divine Comedy. 2004 saw two dates of particularly acclaimed performances, one at the London Palladium (which was later released as a live DVD) and one at the Royal Albert Hall. The Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences is an arts venue dedicated to Queen Victorias husband and consort, Prince Albert. ...

In January 2005, Hannon announced that he had acquired the worldwide copyrights to all of his recorded output with his former record label, Setanta Records. He declared on the band's official website that he would be launching his own record label Divine Comedy Records in order to re-release his 1990s output. It is understood that he will be re-releasing Liberation (1993) through to Fin de Siècle (1998) on his own label in 2007. Setanta Records was started in a Camberwell flat by former bicycle courier Keith Cullen. ...

Hannon's ninth album under the Divine Comedy moniker, Victory for the Comic Muse (a reference to his debut), was released in June 2006. It is suggested by fans to be less personal and more free-approach in tone than his most recent albums. The bulk of the record was recorded in just two weeks, hence the more spontaneous sound, and features appearances from Travis bass player Dougie Payne. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... Travis are a Scottish Britpop band from Glasgow, comprising Fran Healy (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Dougie Payne (bass, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals), Andy Dunlop (lead guitar, banjo, keyboards, backing vocals) and Neil Primrose (drums, percussion). ... Dougie Payne (born Douglas Payne, 14 November 1972, in Glasgow, Scotland) is the bassist and backing vocalist of the Scottish rock band Travis. ...

Neil Hannon also provided vocals for songs on the soundtrack for the film of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy released in 2005, working with Joby Talbot, the composer for the film and former Divine Comedy band member. This sci-fi connection continued in late 2006, when he contributed vocals to two tracks - 'Song For Ten' and 'Love Don't Roam' - on the official Doctor Who soundtrack.^[1] In an interview with Bullz-Eye.com, Hannon explained that, "literally, I was asked to add my vocal by the composer of the songs, who writes for the show. And I didn’t feel that I could say no, simply because I spent my childhood watching this program. It would be just plain wrong to not do it."^[2] The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy film based on the book of the same name by Douglas Adams. ... Joby Talbot (born 1971) is a British composer. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into The Runaway Bride (Doctor Who). ... Doctor Who is a long-running award-winning British science fiction television programme (and a 1996 television film) produced by the BBC. The series shows the adventures of a mysterious time-traveller known as the Doctor, who explores time and space in his TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension(s) In...

Hannon also leant his vocals to 'Aliens', the last track on the Irish charity album The Cake Sale in 2006, organised by Brian Crosby of Bell X1 and featuring a variety of mainly Irish musicians. Aliens in the plural may refer to more than one of several types of aliens, such as extraterrestrial beings or those foreign to a place The Aliens was the name of Roky Ericksons backing band Aliens is a 1986 film starring Sigourney Weaver and the sequel to Alien Aliens... The Cake Sale are a collective of mostly Irish musical artists formed by Brian Crosby of Bell X1. ... Bell X1 are an Irish band, hailing from North County Kildare, Ireland. ...

Most recently, the first ten or so seconds of 'Tonight We Fly' was used as the ending tune to BBC7's Digi Radio. The song was also used for a commercial for the Airbus A340 airliner^[3]. BBC 7 is a digital radio station broadcasting comedy, drama, and childrens programming 24 hours a day. ...

Band members

The line-up of the band has at times consisted only of Neil Hannon, but has also included: Neil Hannon (born 7 November 1970[1]) is a singer and songwriter, best known as the creator (in 1989) and frontman of the orchestral pop group, The Divine Comedy. ...

• Bryan Mills
• Chris Worsey
• Grant Gordon
• Ivor Talbot
• Joby Talbot
• John Allen
• John McCullagh
• Kevin Traynor
• Miggy Barradas
• Natalie Box
• Rob Farrer
• Simon Little
• Stuart 'Pinkie' Bates
• Lucy Wilkins
• John Evans

Joby Talbot (born 1971) is a British composer. ... John Allen was the first president of the University of South Florida, from 1960 to 1970. ... Stuart Pinkie Bates was part of Neil Hannons The Divine Comedy (band). ... John Evans may refer to: [[John Evans *John Evans (bishop), Bishop of Bangor from 1701 to 1715, later Bishop of Meath. ...

Discography

Studio albums

Fanfare for the Comic Muse (1990)	Liberation (1993)	Promenade (1994)	Casanova (1996) #48 (UK)
A Short Album About Love (1997) #13 (UK)	Fin de Siècle (1998) #9 (UK)	Regeneration (2001) #14 (UK)	Absent Friends (2004) #23 (UK)
Victory for the Comic Muse (2006) #43 (UK)

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Fanfare for the Comic Muse is the deleted debut LP by The Divine Comedy, originally released in 1990. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Liberation is an album by The Divine Comedy. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Promenade is The Divine Comedys third album. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar). ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Casanova is The Divine Comedys fourth album. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A Short Album About Love is the fifth album by The Divine Comedy, released in 1997. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... For the meaning of the phrase, see Fin de siècle. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Regeneration is the seventh studio album by The Divine Comedy - and their first for Parlophone/EMI - on March 12, 2001. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Absent Friends is the eighth studio album by The Divine Comedy. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Victory For The Comic Muse is a 2006 studio album by Neil Hannon, under band name The Divine Comedy. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

Compilations

A Secret History... The Best of the Divine Comedy (1999) #3 (UK)

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A Secret History. ... Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ...

Singles

From Liberation:

• "Lucy" (18 October 1993)

From Casanova: is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ...

• "Something for the Weekend" (17 June 1996) #14 UK
• "Becoming More Like Alfie" (12 August 1996) #27 UK

Non-album release: is the 168th day of the year (169th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... August 12 is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ...

• "Comme Beaucoup De Messieurs" (with Valérie Lemercier - French version of Becoming More Like Alfie) (September 1996, France only)

From Casanova:

• "The Frog Princess" (4 November 1996) #15 UK

From A Short Album About Love: November 4 is the 308th day of the year (309th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ...

• "Everybody Knows (Except You)" (10 March 1997) #14 UK

Non-album release: March 10 is the 69th day of the year (70th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

• "I've Been To A Marvellous Party" (from the Twentieth-Century Blues: The Songs of Noel Coward tribute album) (30 March 1998) #28 UK

From Fin de Siecle: March 30 is the 89th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (90th in leap years). ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ...

• "Generation Sex" (14 September 1998) #19 UK
• "The Certainty of Chance" (16 November 1998) #49 UK
• "National Express" (25 January 1999) #8 UK

From A Secret History: September 14 is the 257th day of the year (258th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... November 16 is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 45 days remaining. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 25th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ...

• "The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count" (re-recording of a song from Liberation) (9 August 1999) #17 UK
• "Gin Soaked Boy" (1 November 1999) #38 UK

From Regeneration: is the 221st day of the year (222nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ... November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ...

• "Love What You Do" (26 February 2001) #26 UK
• "Bad Ambassador" (14 May 2001) #34 UK
• "Perfect Lovesong" (29 October 2001) #42 UK

From Absent Friends: is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 14 is the 134th day of the year (135th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 29 is the 302nd day of the year (303rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

• "Come Home Billy Bird", featuring Lauren Laverne on vocals, (22 March 2004) #25 UK
• "Absent Friends" (14 June 2004) #38 UK

From Victory for the Comic Muse: Lauren Laverne (born Lauren Gofton on 28 April 1978 in Sunderland, England) is a disc jockey, television presenter and former singer. ... March 22 is the 81st day of the year (82nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 14 is the 165th day of the year (166th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

• "Diva Lady" (12 June 2006) #52 UK
• "To Die a Virgin" (14 August 2006) #67 UK

is the 163rd day of the year (164th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... August 14 is the 226th day of the year (227th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

EPs

• Timewatch (October 1991)
• Europop (January 1992)
• Indulgence No.1 (18 October 1993)
• Indulgence No.2 (July 1994)
• Bavarian EP (25 October 2004) (Downloaded via the official website.)

is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... October 25 is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

DVDs

• Live At The Palladium (2004)

Misc

• There Is a Light That Never Goes Out; on The Smiths is Dead tribute album, marking 10 years since the release of The Smiths album The Queen Is Dead - November 1996
• I Three Cheers For Pooh, Cottleston Pie, Piglet Ho ; on the charity album Colours Are Brighter - October 2006
• Love Don't Roam, Song For Ten; on the official Doctor Who soundtrack - December 2006

There Is A Light That Never Goes Out is a song by the British rock group The Smiths, written by Morrissey and Johnny Marr. ... The Smiths were an English rock group active from 1982 to 1987. ... The Queen Is Dead is the third studio album of The Smiths. ... A charity record (also known as a charity single) is a release of a song for a specific charitable cause. ... Colours Are Brighter is a charity record scheduled to be released on Rough Trade Records on October 16, 2006. ... Doctor Who is a long-running award-winning British science fiction television programme (and a 1996 television film) produced by the BBC. The series shows the adventures of a mysterious time-traveller known as the Doctor, who explores time and space in his TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension(s) In...

References

1. ^ BBC Doctor Who website
2. ^ Bullz-Eye.com
3. ^ [1]

External links

• The Divine Comedy Official Homepage
• Something for the Weekend featuring the Divine Comedy Dictionary
• Interview On Subculture Magazine - November 2006
• The Divine Comedy at musicOMH.com
• a short site about The Divine Comedy
• Concert photos by Laurent Orseau (Black Session)