Neil Hannon Has Always Been The Heart & Soul Of The Divine Comedy

The Divine Comedy has the unfortunate distinction of being discussed as a band whose musical greatness is only matched by how abysmally it has been marketed from the very beginning. Listening to their albums is as enthralling as it is frustrating – the mere thought of music so articulate and witty being confined to a selected public is unfulfilling, in the same way that it gives you the aggrandizing feeling that comes from having discovered something that is clearly a cut above the rest, and that hasn’t been vitiated by being exposed to the most ordinate cognition.

Speaking with property, when we talk about The Divine Comedy we are talking about a single man that has been accompanied by a revolving set of musicians. This man is Neil Hannon, an Irish-born performer that possesses a phenomenal bag of pipes and a stage presence that equals the elegance and verve of his compositions. I personally find him the closest to a modern-day Oscar Wilde in his dandyism and mercurial wit.

The Divine Comedy has released 11 albums during its career. Although the band did never have a bonafide hit, there was some serious chart activity at the time they released their fourth album. “Casanova” (1996). They were able to piggyback on the furor caused by British bands like Oasis and Blur and land a Top 20 single in the shape of “Something For The Weekend”. And the song “Becoming More Like Alfie” (culled from the same disc) did also hit the Top 30. Continue reading →