I've been wanting to write about The Divine Comedy for quite some time now, yet never followed through for some reason. Well, there's no direct occasion for posting a blog about Neil Hannon and his mates right now (except for their sheer greatness), but it's been two years since 'Victory for the Comic Muse', their latest album, hit stores - so we're bound to hear about some new stuff any day now.
Since he founded the band in 1989, only constant TDC member Hannon stumbled upon more than his fair share of highs and lows. For instance, the Irishman's debut album 'Fanfare for the Comic Muse' relentlessly bombed upon its initial release in 1990. These days, this heavily REM-influenced curiosum is regarded by fans as an interesting musical coming-of-age, with Hannon only being twenty years old at the time. Some equally unsuccessful EPs followed, until finally in '93 the first favoring reviews entered the picture for the 'Liberation' LP. No wonder considering their Dante-esque moniker, the album was packed with literary references such as Anton Chekhov (in 'Three Sisters'), F. Scott Fitzgerald (in 'Bernice Bobs Her Hair') and William Wordsworth (in 'Lucy', basically a combination of three of his poems). Yet still, maybe quite unsurprisingly, the larger audience that this kind of music deserved remained unreachable.
That was about to change, when in 1996 'Casanova' became their first hit record, reaching #48 in the British billboards. Since then, all TDC albums made the charts, 1999's 'Fin de Siècle' even reaching the #9 position. Meanwhile, Hannon made the theme music for the excellent BBC series 'Father Ted'; for a funny Eurovision-spoof he wrote called 'My Lovely Horse', check YouTube. The series only made it to three seasons, since main actor Dermot Morgan suddenly died in 1998. Still, those episodes we have belong to some of the funniest British comedy ever.
Posted here are 'Ignorance Is Bliss', the first track off the debut album, as well as their first hit single 'Something for the Weekend' off the 'Casanova' album, and 'Songs of Love', of which the Father Ted theme song is a reworking. Enjoy!
Since he founded the band in 1989, only constant TDC member Hannon stumbled upon more than his fair share of highs and lows. For instance, the Irishman's debut album 'Fanfare for the Comic Muse' relentlessly bombed upon its initial release in 1990. These days, this heavily REM-influenced curiosum is regarded by fans as an interesting musical coming-of-age, with Hannon only being twenty years old at the time. Some equally unsuccessful EPs followed, until finally in '93 the first favoring reviews entered the picture for the 'Liberation' LP. No wonder considering their Dante-esque moniker, the album was packed with literary references such as Anton Chekhov (in 'Three Sisters'), F. Scott Fitzgerald (in 'Bernice Bobs Her Hair') and William Wordsworth (in 'Lucy', basically a combination of three of his poems). Yet still, maybe quite unsurprisingly, the larger audience that this kind of music deserved remained unreachable.
That was about to change, when in 1996 'Casanova' became their first hit record, reaching #48 in the British billboards. Since then, all TDC albums made the charts, 1999's 'Fin de Siècle' even reaching the #9 position. Meanwhile, Hannon made the theme music for the excellent BBC series 'Father Ted'; for a funny Eurovision-spoof he wrote called 'My Lovely Horse', check YouTube. The series only made it to three seasons, since main actor Dermot Morgan suddenly died in 1998. Still, those episodes we have belong to some of the funniest British comedy ever.
Posted here are 'Ignorance Is Bliss', the first track off the debut album, as well as their first hit single 'Something for the Weekend' off the 'Casanova' album, and 'Songs of Love', of which the Father Ted theme song is a reworking. Enjoy!
MP3: The Divine Comedy - Ignorance Is Bliss
MP3: The Divine Comedy - Something for the Weekend
MP3: The Divine Comedy - Songs of Love
1 comments:
Songs of Love is not a reworking of the Father Ted theme song. It's the other way around.
Nice blog BTW.
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