The Divine Comedy were founded in 1989 by Neil Hannon, who was the only member of the band until he was joined by John McCullagh and Kevin Traynor. They soon signed to Setanta Records, and they released their first album, 'Fanfare For The Comic Muse', in 1990. The record enjoyed some minor success, but was later deleted, after which the band released a couple of equally unsuccessful EPs, with 'Timewatch' appearing in 1991 and 'Europop' the following year. For these records newly recruited member John Allen handled lead vocals on some tracks, but after the commercial failure of the 'Europop' EP, this line-up soon fell apart. Hannon, however, was not deterred in his efforts and entered the studio again in March 1993, teaming up with co-producer/drummer Darren Allison, for the recording of 'Liberation'. This album is characterised by a plethora of literary references: 'Bernice Bobs Her Hair' recalls a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald; 'Three Sisters' draws upon the play by Anton Chekhov; and 'Lucy' is essentially three William Wordsworth poems abridged to music. It had some minor success in France, and this enabled Hannon to proceed with his second effort with the new line-up, and 'Promenade' was released in 1994. It was heavily driven by classical influences, with Michael Nyman's stylings clearly an inspiration, and Hannon himself acknowledged this when he reportedly sent a copy of his new album to the composer, jokingly asking him not to sue. This album was essentially a concept album about a day spent by two lovers, and although it also received similar positive feedback to 'Liberation', it still failed to ignite the general public, and it was not a major commercial success.
Soon after the release of the album, the band went on tour with Tori Amos, supporting her during her European dates, and it was during this time that Hannon wrote and performed (with drummer Allison) the theme music for the sitcom 'Father Ted', as well as composing the music for the mock-Eurovision song 'My Lovely Horse' that featured in one episode. Despite widespread requests from fans to release the track as a single for the Christmas market, it eventually appeared as the third track on the CD-single 'Gin Soaked Boy'. This was not be the only time he would be responsible for a TV theme: 'In Pursuit Of Happiness' was used by the BBC science and technology show 'Tomorrow's World', and he also composed the music for 'Father Ted' co-writer Graham Linehan's Channel 4 comedy series 'The IT Crowd'. The band's next album, 1996's 'Casanova', and in particular the single 'Something For The Weekend', led to their first major success, having been championed by BBC Radio One's Chris Evans on his Breakfast Show, and further singles from 'Casanova', including 'Becoming More Like Alfie' and 'The Frog Princess', helped cemented the band's reputation.
At the height of this commercial success, they released 'A Short Album About Love' (a reference to the Krzysztof Kieślowski film 'A Short Film About Love'), recorded live at a soundcheck with the Brunel Ensemble in preparation for a concert at the Shepherd's Bush Empire. It was aptly released on Valentine's Day in 1997, and shortly afterwards the band contributed a reworking of Noël Coward's 'I've Been To A Marvellous Party' to 'Twentieth-Century Blues: The Songs of Noël Coward', a compilation of covers of the writer's songs. 1999 brought the band's biggest commercial success to date, with the release of the infectious 'National Express' single, and it's parent album 'Fin De Siècle' did well enough for Setanta to issue 'Secret History – The Best Of The Divine Comedy', which included two new songs, 'Gin-Soaked Boy' and 'Too Young to Die'. The band performed at the V2001 Festival, and their 2001 album 'Regeneration' attempted to remove the band still further from its association with humour, with Hannon ditched his sharp suits and donning a Britpop band image. 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 US, UK and Ireland. A new album surfaced in the form of 2004's 'Absent Friends', and it attempted to strike a balance between the occasionally earnest sound of the band's later material and the lighter tone of the more popular releases. Hannon's ninth album with the Divine Comedy, 'Victory For The Comic Muse', was released in June 2006, with the bulk of the material being recorded over two weeks, and much of it was live rather than multi-tracked, giving it a more spontaneous sound. Around this time Hannon took part in various projects, including an album of cricket-themed songs with the The Duckworth Lewis Method, a band put together by Hannon and Thomas Walsh of Pugwash. In May 2010 The Divine Comedy released their tenth album entitled 'Bang Goes The Knighthood' on DC Records, followed by 'Foreverland' in September 2016 and the double album 'Office Politics', in June 2019, and in 2020 they celebrated their 30th anniversary by re-releasing all of their albums, along with b-sides, demos, alternate versions, rarities and unreleased material, in a 24-disc box set. As my own tribute to a unique and much-loved band here is a four-disc set of all the band's non-album singles and b-sides, from those early unsuccessful EP's to their re-emergence after their 2004 split.
Track listing
Disc I - 1991-1996
01 Timewatch (single 1991)
02 Jerusalem (b-side of 'Timewatch)
03 New Wave (b-side of 'Europop' 1991)
04 Intifada (b-side of 'Europop' 1991)
05 Monitor (b-side of 'Europop' 1991)
06 Hate My Way (from the 'Indulgence No. 1' EP 1993)
07 Untitled Melody (from the 'Indulgence No. 1' EP 1993)
08 Birds Of Paradise Farm (b-side of 'Something For The Weekend' 1996)
09 Love Is Lighter Than Air (b-side of 'Something For The Weekend' 1996)
10 Comme Beaucoup De Messieurs (French single 1996)
11 Untitled Melody (b-side of 'Comme Beaucoup De Messieurs')
12 Motorway To Damascus (b-side of 'The Frog Princess' 1996)
13 Something Before The Weekend (b-side of 'The Frog Princess' 1996)
14 Neptune's Daughter (b-side of 'The Frog Princess' 1996)
Disc II - 1997-1999
01 Make It Easy On Yourself (b-side of 'Everybody Knows (Except You)' 1997)
02 I've Been To A Marvellous Party (promo split single with Shola Ama 1998)
03 Postcard To Rosie (b-side of 'Generation Sex' 1998)
04 London Irish (b-side of 'Generation Sex' 1998)
05 Time Lapse (b-side of 'Generation Sex' 1998)
06 Chasing Sheep Is Best Left To Shepherds (b-side of 'Generation Sex' 1998)
07 Little Acts Of Kindness (b-side of 'Generation Sex' 1998)
08 Last Stand In Metroland (b-side of 'The Certainty Of Chance' 1998)
09 Miranda (b-side of 'The Certainty Of Chance' 1998)
10 The Dead Only Quickly (b-side of 'The Certainty Of Chance' 1998)
11 Knowing The Ropes (b-side of 'The Certainty Of Chance' 1998)
12 With Whom To Dance (b-side of 'The Pop Singer's Fear Of The Pollen Count' 1999)
13 This Side Of Paradise (b-side of 'The Pop Singer's Fear Of The Pollen Count' 1999)
14 Vapour Trail (b-side of 'The Pop Singer's Fear Of The Pollen Count' 1999)
Disc III - 1999-2001
01 Gin Soaked Boy (single 1999)
02 I Am (b-side of 'Gin Soaked Boy')
03 My Lovely Horse (b-side of 'Gin Soaked Boy')
04 Going Downhill Fast (b-side of 'National Express' 1999)
05 Radioactivity (b-side of 'National Express' 1999)
06 Famous (b-side of 'National Express' 1999)
07 Overstrand (b-side of 'National Express' 1999)
08 Edward The Confessor (b-side of 'Bad Ambassador' 2001)
09 U.S.E. (b-side of 'Bad Ambassador' 2001)
10 Pictures Of Matchstick Men (b-side of 'Bad Ambassador' 2001)
11 Soul Trader (b-side of 'Love What You Do' 2001)
12 You (b-side of 'Love What You Do' 2001)
13 Get Me To A Monastry (b-side of 'Love What You Do' 2001)
Disc IV - 2001-2006
01 No Excuses (b-side of 'Perfect Lovesong' 2001)
02 Les Jours Tristes (b-side of 'Perfect Lovesong' 2001)
03 Thinking The Unthinkable (b-side of 'Perfect Lovesong' 2001)
04 Oh Yeah (b-side of 'Perfect Lovesong' 2001)
05 The Power Of Love (single 2001)
06 All Things (b-side of 'Come Home Billy Bird' 2004)
07 Idaho (b-side of 'Come Home Billy Bird' 2004)
08 Girl Least Likely (b-side of 'Come Home Billy Bird' 2004)
09 Anthem For Bored Youth (b-side of 'Absent Friends' 2004)
10 Mr. Right (b-side of 'Absent Friends' 2004)
11 Elaine (b-side of 'Diva Lady' 2006)
12 Premonition Of Love (b-side of 'Diva Lady' 2006)
13 Births, Deaths And Marriages (b-side of 'Diva Lady' 2006)
14 Lili Marlene (b-side of 'Lady Of A Certain Age' 2006)
15 Long Slow Suicide (b-side of 'To Die A Virgin' 2006)
