Hawkins, Stan (2015). Queerness in Pop Music: Aesthetics, Gender Norms, and Temporality. Routledge. p.193. ISBN 978-1-317-58972-3. The Divine Comedy celebrated its 30th anniversary by reissuing remastered versions of the band's first nine albums (from Liberation to Bang Goes the Knighthood) on LP and CD. All eleven albums were included in the box set Venus, Cupid, Folly, and Time: 30 Years of the Divine Comedy, released in October 2020. [24] The 24-disc box set consists of 12 albums of two CDs: each with an original remastered album, with a second CD of B-sides, demos, alternate versions, rarities and unreleased material curated by Neil Hannon. The collection includes the original album Fanfare for the Comic Muse, and other pre- Liberation material. The CD release of A Short Album About Love comes with a DVD of A Short Film About A Short Album About Love – a previously unreleased 50-minute film of the Shepherd's Bush Empire concert at which Short Album... was recorded. [25] a b c d The History of The Secret History (CD booklet). The Divine Comedy. Setanta Records. SETCDL100. {{ cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) ( link) Wright, Helen. "Review: Absent Friends". musicOMH. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011 . Retrieved 4 November 2011.

Graham, Stephen (31 August 2018). "Twenty Years of Fin de Siècle". We Are Cult . Retrieved 26 March 2021. Your computer may be infected with malware or spyware that makes automated requests to our server and causes problems. 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. [4] The record 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. [5] Post-Setanta ( Regeneration to Office Politics) [ edit ] The Divine Comedy performing at the Summer Sundae festival in 2007. And then there’s “The Happy Goth”, the album’s landmark achievement. A surefire new entry to any fan’s list of favorite DC songs of all time, “Goth” wraps a hilarious and note-perfect lyric around the bounciest melody Hannon’s written this side of “National Express”. But it’s his rhyming of “cloth” with the ice planet of “Hoth” from the Star Wars movies (which also doubles as metaphor for the color of his subject’s skin) that elevates the song to the stuff of, yes, genius.Clayton-Lea, Tony (9 October 2020). "The Divine Comedy: Venus, Cupid, Folly & Time review – 30 years of smart pop". The Irish Times . Retrieved 8 September 2021. Hannon and an eleven-piece ensemble will also be celebrating the band's 30th anniversary with residencies at The Barbican in London and the Cité de la Musique in Paris. These shows, postponed from September 2020 to September 2022, will feature the band playing two of the classic albums, per show, in a five-show residency in each venue. Memo: The Divine Comedy Announce New Album 'Office Politics' ". The Divine Comedy . Retrieved 10 November 2021. On 1 April 2019, the Divine Comedy announced a new single "Queuejumper", first played on BBC 6 Music on 3 April. It was followed by the announcement of Office Politics, the band's first double album, which was released on 7 June 2019. [23] The release of "Queuejumper" was followed by the single "Norman and Norma", released on 16 May 2019, and an animated music video for the songs "Infernal Machines" / "You'll Never Work in this Town Again", released on 3 October 2019.

Neil Hannon was the only member of the Divine Comedy by this point, as the band had split up shortly after the release of 2001's Regeneration. Hannon had decided to continue using the Divine Comedy name for this album and was aided by long-time collaborator Joby Talbot, who arranged and conducted the orchestra.

Tracklist

The album Casanova (1996), and in particular the single " Something for the Weekend", championed by Chris Evans, then BBC Radio 1 breakfast show DJ and presenter of TFI Friday, led to the band's first major success. [3] Casanova was the third album to be produced by Darren Allison and Neil Hannon, thus completing a trilogy of albums which began with Liberation in 1993. [4] Further singles from Casanova, including "Becoming More Like Alfie" and "The Frog Princess", both of which received some airplay, and further cemented the band's reputation. Charmed Life, [26] a double compilation album was released on 4 February 2022. Special limited edition copies included a bonus album, simply named Super Extra Bonus Album. [27] Ten days after its release, Charmed Life claimed the number one spot on the Official Independent Albums Chart. A European tour of Charmed Life has been announced. [28] Band members [ edit ] Tangari, Joe (11 July 2004). "Review: Absent Friends". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012 . Retrieved 4 November 2011. Lynskey, Dorian. "The Divine Comedy Absent Friends". Blender. Archived from the original on 20 August 2004 . Retrieved 7 December 2021. The Divine Comedy are a pop band from Northern Ireland, formed in 1989 and fronted by Neil Hannon. Hannon has been the only constant member of the group, playing, in some instances, all of the non-orchestral instrumentation except drums. The band has released 12 studio albums. Between 1996 and 1999, nine singles released by the band made the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart, including the 1999 top ten hit, " National Express".