Also included is the iconic 'Song Of Love' - a reworking of the tune originally written for the Channel 4 comedy 'Father Ted'. Seen here in a more stripped down version and with a beautiful set of harmonic vocals playing blissfully over the harpsichord melody it's certainly one of the highlights of the album. Taken from the same session 'A Woman Of The World' was also a contender for the show's theme tune but ultimately became the jaunty deep cut seen here, proving that Hannon is no stranger to recycling creative ideas across his career. Hannon isn't adverse to a spot of constructive plagiarism either - 'Timewatching' is a gloriously flamboyant re-write of 'When I Fall In Love' while 'Lucy' takes Wordsworth's 'A Slumber Did My Spirit Steal' and turns it into the lushest of love songs. The moral here, I think, is that if you're going to rip something off, do it with a sense of panache! Europop' is laced with not entirely bitter irony, a Casio-driven ode to the pros and cons of Smash Hits stardom which has already gatecrashed into the indie top 10 and, with a bit more promotional zeal, could do the same in the grown-ups chart. a b Aston, Martin (June 1996). "The Divine Comedy: Casanova". Q. No.117. Archived from the original on 1 September 2004 . Retrieved 13 April 2020. For the 30th Anniversary reissue, 'Casanova' has been remastered by Frank Arkwright at the legendary Abbey Road Studios, and the iconic images have been restored by photographer Kevin Westenberg.

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. However, at times, Office Politics seems a little too aware of its joke, not unlike like the disco-dope of “The Life and Soul of the Party,” showing off drunken dance moves and rambling to co-workers who do not care. The punchline—that he’s alone and no one likes him—is obvious from the song’s opening line: we get it, office and suburban life are dull, but by this point in the album, it’s a cliche. 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".

Months later I did finally buy 'Expecting To Fly' by The Bluetones but sold it within a year and like the rest of the world, totally forgot about it. Meanwhile 'Casanova' still gets plenty of plays from me today and I still haven't found much music as touching as its best moments.

Engineer [Assistant] – Chris Scard, Darren Nash, Gareth Parton, Gerard Navarro, Paul Mysiak, Robbie Kazandjian, Scott Howland, Tom Gurling Singles ‘Something For The Weekend’, ‘Becoming More Like Alfie’ and ‘The Frog Princess’ became chart hits and airplay staples while an alternate version of ‘Songs Of Love’ became the theme music for legendary Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted. Watch: The Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon grapples with a lovely horse in My Lovely Horse Rescue campaign video". The Independent. 20 September 2018 . Retrieved 10 January 2019. In 2006, whilst on tour, the band did a Take-Away Show video session shot by Vincent Moon. A year later, the first ten or so seconds of "Tonight We Fly" was used as the ending tune to BBC7's Digi Radio. The song was also used for an advertisement for the Airbus A340 airliner. [21]

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Flaherty, Mike (24 October 1997). " Casanova – Review". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 13 April 2020. Neil Hannon – bass, guitar, percussion, piano, arranger, Hammond organ, vocals, producer, tympani [timpani], art direction, Wurlitzer 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. Something for the Weekend" is a song by the Divine Comedy, produced by Darren Allison and Neil Hannon. [1] It was the first single from Casanova and reached number 14 in the UK Singles Chart. [2] The song subsequently became a hit when Chris Evans heard it at a friend's party and had it played on his radio show the following Monday. [3]

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. a b c Bossenger, A.T. (13 March 2014). "10 Essential Britpop Albums". Treble . Retrieved 28 June 2016. 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 ] Yer man is not, it has to be said, the happiest of campers. In fact, the likes of 'Death Of A Supernaturalist' and 'I Was Born Yesterday' are downright miserable but unfurl their tales of woe with such eloquence that Morrissey and Marc Almond comparisons are, I'm afraid, unavoidable.

Europe By Train' is one of the few occasions when Liberation abandons its quasi-Englishness, a cheeky Zorba The Greek parody which is redolent of sunkissed Mediterranean islands and a severe overdose of Ouzo. Treble writer A.T. Bossenger wrote that, with Casanova, Divine Comedy frontman Neil Hannon "started going for a more straightforward pop tone as the base for his songwriting", resulting in the album having a more Britpop flow to it. [1] Its central theme is sex, around which all songs on the album centre, except "The Dogs and the Horses", which is the last song on the album and whose theme is death. [1] Jeremy Lee of ABC News considered that this record brought Neil Hannon "closer to the orchestral pop sound he'd been dreaming of." [2] The CD release consists of 2 discs: the original remastered album, with a second CD of B-sides, demos and alternate versions put together by Neil, much of which is from his personal archive and has never been heard before. This 2CD Set comes with a booklet of photos with extensive liner notes written by Neil covering the context and content of each album. We'd love you to share your 'Casanova' memories and any band memorabilia from this period. Remember to use #TheDivineComedy30 when you post.