The Divine Comedy: Every Album, Every Song (On Track)

The On Track series examines an artist’s entire output, track by track – or that within a specified date range – the series brings together expert analysis with both fact and opinion.

Towards the tail end of the 1980s, Neil Hannon: a talented singer/songwriter from Northern Ireland, formed his first line-up of The Divine Comedy. In 1989, he signed a deal with independent label, Setanta Records, which led to The Divine Comedy becoming the label’s most successful chart act of the 1990s.

In this book, Alan Draper examines the thirteen original studio albums released under The Divine Comedy banner between 1990 and 2022. This overview includes some interesting additional recordings including single releases and also takes in the pair of albums recorded by offshoot project: The Duckworth Lewis Method, on which Hannon combined forces with fellow Irishman, Thomas Walsh. The sweeping eclecticism on display throughout the recording career of The Divine Comedy is simply breathtaking: from indie roots on the 1990 debut album Fanfare For The Comic Muse; through the groundbreaking hybrid chamber-pop of Liberation and Promenade; to hit singles during the 1990s Britpop era and ambitious orchestral arrangements on later masterworks such as Fin De Siecle and Absent Friends.

Through all these changes, Neil Hannon’s restless spirit has remained a constant factor at the heart of The Divine Comedy, resulting in the extraordinary and ongoing canon of music explored in this book