The Divine Comedy

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". History The beginning and early success (Fanfare to Promenade) The Divine Comedy were founded in 1989, by Neil Hannon who had been the only ever-present member of the band until he was joined by John McCullagh and Kevin Traynor. Their first album, Fanfare for the Comic Muse, enjoyed a minor success and was later deleted. A couple of equally unsuccessful EPs – Timewatch (1991) and Europop (1992) – followed, 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. 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. 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.