最近点播的用户: Dura@redemption (2009.11.14 18:51)

The Divine Comedy is the alias for Neil Hannon, a Northern Irish pop singer/songwriter with aspirations of becoming a new wave fusion of Scott Walker, Morrissey, and Electric Light Orchestra. During the early '90s, he built up a strong cult following with a pair of idiosyncratic, critically acclaimed records before his third album, Casanova, became a mainstream success in the wake of Britpop and Pulp's popularity. "Becoming More Like Alfie" and "Something for the Weekend," both pulled from Casanova, became hits after receiving significant airplay from Radio 1 DJ Chris Evans, and the Divine Comedy moved from British indie rock favorites to a minor mainstream cult in their own right.

Originally, the Divine Comedy was an R.E.M.-influenced guitar-driven trio, formed in Londonderry, Ireland, by Neil Hannon (vocals, guitar; born in Londonderry, Ireland, November 7, 1970), John McCullagh (bass), and Kevin Traynor (drums). Inspired by R.E.M., the trio released an EP, Fanfare for the Comic Muse, in the spring of 1990 and supported the record with a few concerts, including a supporting slot for My Bloody Valentine. In 1991, John Allen joined the band as lead vocalist, and the group released the EP Timewatch, which was recorded when Hannon was still vocalist, that fall. The following year, they relocated to London, where they regularly supported Suede on club gigs. Produced by Edwyn Collins, the Europop EP was released later in 1992. It was the last recording the original lineup would release.

Following Europop, the Divine Comedy fell apart, and Hannon went back to Londonderry, where he began to write songs again. In 1993, he was signed to Setanta as the Divine Comedy and released Liberation to positive reviews. Promenade followed in 1994, again to positive reviews throughout the U.K. music press; it appeared on year-end lists from NME, Melody Maker, and Q, among others. Both albums were heavily influnced by composer Michael Nyman. Around this time, Neil Hannon wrote the theme to the sitcom, Father Ted, which would later become Casanova album track, Songs Of Love.

Following the release of Promenade, Blur, Oasis, and Pulp made British indie rock acceptable for the pop mainstream, and the Divine Comedy benefited from their progress. Released early in 1996, Casanova was greeted with enthusiastic reviews and it slowly began to build an audience. "Something for the Weekend" became a staple on Chris Evans' radio show, and he had the Divine Comedy on his TFI Friday television show, the first TV appearance for Hannon. When it was released as a single a month later, "Something for the Weekend" entered the charts at 14. Soon, Hannon was appearing not only on the cover of Melody Maker, but there were articles about him throughout mainstream press, from The Guardian to Just Seventeen. "Becoming More Like Alfie" was released in August, and while it peaked at 27, it nevertheless expanded the band's audience, as did "The Frog Princess," which reached 15 in November. The Divine Comedy supported the final single with a tour with a 30-piece orchestra, culminating with a concert at London's Shepherds Bush Empire, which provided the basis for the band's next album, A Short Album About Love. Released to coincide with Valentine's Day 1997, A Short Album About Love was greeted with positive reviews and the strongest initial sales of any Divine Comedy record to date.

In 1998, the band released Fin De Siècle, a far darker album, though it contained the jaunty National Express, which became their biggest hit – and a bit of a millstone around their necks.

In 1999, the Divine Comedy celebrated ten years; they also ended their deal with Setanta Records. The release of A Secret History marked the occasion, but Hannon had his hand in other projects. He contributed vocals to Tom Jones' Reload as well as Ute Lemper's album Punishing Kiss.

A new deal with Parlophone surfaced at the dawning of the new millennium and Hannon headed into the studio with producer Nigel Godrich. The end result was the album Regeneration. This particular album focused on the seven band members as a whole. Unfortunately, it was also the last release with the band. Hannon expressed a need to go solo, and he picked up an acoustic guitar and played several club gigs before joining piano man Ben Folds for a slew of American dates in spring 2002.

In 2004, after moving to Dublin and becoming a father, Hannon — the only remaining member — released the critically acclaimed, self-produced Absent Friends, a patchy but occasionally inspired record that reunited him with Godrich and longtime collaborator Joby Talbot. It has several tracks which refer to his then-new fatherhood, especially "Charmed Life" and the melancholy "Leaving Today". Single "Come Home, Billy Bird" featured XFM DJ and ex-Kenickie singer Lauren Laverne on guest vocals.

Hannon returned to the studio in 2006 for the Divine Comedy's latest album, Victory for the Comic Muse, which utilised 28 other musicians and was recorded in just two weeks. Considered by many to be a return to the form of the Casanova era, it is a massively varied record, which features more traditional TDC tracks such as "To Die A Virgin", combined with an eastern bloc opera ("The Plough"), whimsical floatings ("Count Grassi's Passage Over Piedmont") and an unexpected cover of "Party Fears Two" by The Associates. (Hannon has covered many songs live and on b-sides, but never on one of his own albums)

Hannon has been most recently seen contributing to Murray Gold's Dr Who soundtrack album, singing on "Song For Ten" and the show-stopper "Love Don't Roam." He has also contributed to the latest album by by the French electronic act, Air.

A new Divine Comedy record is expected in 2008.