Neil Hannon, Originally from Derry, has been the only ever-present member of the band, being its founder in 1989 when he was joined by John McCullagh and Kevin Traynor. Their first album, the heavily R.E.M.-influenced and now-deleted Fanfare for the Comic Muse, enjoyed little success though. A couple of equally unsuccessful EPs - Timewatch (1991); Europop (1992) - were to follow, with newly-recruited member John Allen handling lead vocals on some tracks. After the commercial failure of the latter EP, this line-up soon fell apart.
Hannon, however, was not deterred in his efforts and re-appeared in 1993 with Liberation. Featuring a fairly diverse musical outlook that goes from the tongue-in-cheek synth pop of Europop(nearly unrecognisable from the previously-released version) to the classical stylings of Timewatching.
Indeed, it was only some minor success in France that really enabled Hannon to proceed to his second effort Promenade. Released in 1994, this was heavily driven by classical influences, with Michael Nyman's stylings clearly an influence. Hannon himself acknowledged this when he apparently sent a copy of his new album to the composer, jokingly asking him not to sue. Essentially a concept album about a day spent by two lovers, it also received similar critical acclaim to that which Liberation was afforded. Commercial success, though, was not forthcoming.
At around the same time, Hannon also wrote and performed the theme music for the TV sitcom Father Ted (which would subsequently be incorporated into the song Songs of Love on the album Casanova), and later wrote the music for the deliberately bad mock-Eurovision song My Lovely Horse for one episode. Hannon resisted widespread requests from fans to release the track as a single for the Christmas market, but it was eventually released in 1999 as the third track on the CD-single Gin Soaked Boy. This would not be the only time they would be responsible for a TV theme, as In Pursuit Of Happiness was also used by the BBC science and technology show, Tomorrow's World. Hannon also recently composed the music for the comedy series "The IT Crowd".
The album Casanova (1996), and in particular the single Something for the Weekend led to the band's first major successes, with Neil Hannon becoming a distinctive, albeit unlikely, popstar in an immaculate suit, and always appearing the elegant dandy. At the height of their commercial success, the band put out A Short Album About Love (a reference to the Krzysztof Kieślowski movie A Short Film About Love), recorded live at soundcheck with the Brunel Ensemble in preparation for a concert at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, from which several songs were released as b-sides. It was aptly released on Valentine's Day in 1997. Subsequently, the band contributed a reworking of Noel Coward's I've Been to a Marvellous Party to a compilation of covers of the writer's songs, with Hannon affecting a Cowardesque lilt (albeit interspersed with an aggressive electronic musical backing).
The foppish image, but not the suit, was ditched for the more sombre album Fin De Siècle in 1998, although its biggest hit, the jaunty National Express, a song about the national coach operators, belied its more intimate, soul-searching tone. Maintaining the balance between these poles, 1999's Secret History - the Best of The Divine Comedy included a re-recording of Liberation track The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count and two new songs (Gin-Soaked Boy and Too Young to Die) alongside the band's main hits. In the same year, the band also collaborated with Tom Jones on a cover version of Portishead's All Mine, featured on his album Reload.
A serious side to the band was also in evidence in 2000's collaboration with Ute Lemper on her album Punishing Kiss, most of which featured The Divine Comedy as Lemper's backing band.
The 2001 album Regeneration attempted to remove the band still further from its association with comedy. Hannon hired famous producer Nigel Godrich to "remake" the band. Neil ditched the suit and donned the Britrock band image. However, the album was a greater critical than commercial success, and soon after its release it was announced that The Divine Comedy were splitting up. However within a year Hannon was touring again with a revised band line-up, playing a series of joint-headline gigs in the USA, UK and Ireland featuring both The Divine Comedy and Ben Folds, who would cover The Divine Comedy's Songs of Love on his Sunny 16 EP.
Eventually a new album surfaced in the form of 2004's Absent Friends. Striking a balance between the occasionally earnest sound of the band's later material and the lighter tone of the more popular releases, it encapsulated the essence of The Divine Comedy. 2004 saw two dates of particularly acclaimed performances, one at the London Palladium (which was later released as a live DVD) and one at the Royal Albert Hall.
In January 2005, Hannon announced that he had acquired the worldwide copyrights to all of his recorded output with his former record label, Setanta Records. He declared on the band's official website that he would be launching his own record label Divine Comedy Records in order to re-release his 1990s output.
Hannon's ninth album under the Divine Comedy moniker, Victory for the Comic Muse (a reference to his debut), was released in June 2006. It is suggested by fans to be less personal and more free-approach in tone than his most recent albums. The bulk of the record was recorded in just two weeks, hence the more spontaneous sound, and features appearances from Travis bass player Dougie Payne.
Hannon collaborated with Thomas Walsh of Pugwash to create an album themed around the sport of cricket. Released under the alias The Duckworth Lewis Method, the self-titled album was released in 2009 to critical acclaim.
The following year saw the tenth Divine Comedy album and first on his own label, Bang Goes the Knighthood.
The Frog Princess
The Divine Comedy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I guess I ought to make it clear
That I saw nothing through her see-through dress
Until she whispered in my ear
You don't really love me and I don't really mind
'cause I don't love anybody, that stuff is just a waste of time
Your place or mine?
I met a girl, she was a complete mess
I had to see if underneath that dress
Her heart was really made of stone
You don't really love me and I don't really mind
'cause I don't love anybody, that stuff is just a waste of time
Your place or mine?
I met a girl, she was a frog princess
And yes I do regret it now
But how was I to know that just one kiss
Could turn my frog into a cow?
And now I'm rid of her I must confess
To thinking 'bout what might have been
And I can visualize my frog princess
Beneath a shining guillotine
You don't really love me and baby that is alright
'cause I don't love anybody,
I come and go through peoples love-lives
Your place or mine?
The Divine Comedy's song The Frog Princess tells the story of a man who meets a girl who is a frog princess. Initially curious about her, he sees nothing through her see-through dress until she whispers to him. The girl says that she doesn't mind that he doesn't really love her because she doesn't love anybody either since love is a waste of time. The man asks if they should go to his place or hers. However, the man meets the girl again and discovers that she is a complete mess. He regrets not leaving her alone; but he wants to know if under her exterior is a heart made of stone. She still doesn't mind not being loved because love is a waste of time. The man again asks whether they should go to his place or hers. In the end, the man makes the mistake of kissing her, which turns her into a cow. He gets rid of her and sometimes thinks about what might have been. The man imagines her as a frog princess beneath a shining guillotine. Just like before, he doesn't love anybody, and he comes and goes through people's love-lives. The song sends the message that love may not be worth it, and it's okay not to love anybody.
Line by Line Meaning
I met a girl, she was a frog princess
I met a girl who was a mess and didn't have much to offer.
I guess I ought to make it clear
I need to clarify the situation.
That I saw nothing through her see-through dress
I couldn't see beyond her physical appearance.
Until she whispered in my ear
Until she spoke to me directly.
You don't really love me and I don't really mind
You don't have real feelings for me and it's okay because I don't either.
'cause I don't love anybody, that stuff is just a waste of time
I don't believe in love and think it's pointless.
Your place or mine?
Do you want to go to your place or mine?
I met a girl, she was a complete mess
I met a girl who was a hot mess.
I should've left her well alone, but oh no, not me
I shouldn't have pursued her, but I did anyway.
I had to see if underneath that dress
I had to see if she was worth my time.
Her heart was really made of stone
She was emotionless and hard-hearted.
And yes I do regret it now
I regret getting involved with her.
But how was I to know that just one kiss
I didn't know that one kiss could change everything.
Could turn my frog into a cow?
Could ruin everything I thought I had.
And now I'm rid of her I must confess
Now that she's gone, I have to admit.
To thinking 'bout what might have been
I can't help but wonder about what could have been.
And I can visualize my frog princess
I can still see her in my mind.
Beneath a shining guillotine
In a violent and tragic end.
You don't really love me and baby that is alright
You don't have real feelings for me and that's okay.
'cause I don't love anybody,
Because I don't believe in love.
I come and go through peoples love-lives
I move in and out of people's relationship lives.
Your place or mine?
Do you want to go to your place or mine?
Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: NEIL HANNON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Stephen Smith
This song got me through an especially acrimonious divorce in 1996 it made me laugh then and still makes me smile whenever I hear it now. So many great lines..... 'how was I to know that just one kiss...….. could turn my frog into a cow' and the sound of the guillotine falling gave me a lovely image of my ex missus, God bless her. Thank you Neil Hannon for this and so many other clever lyrics. A truly great wordsmith.
Graham Witcher
Neil Hannon is indeed one of the best songwriters of our generation. He is an an influence on my music.
Jonnnn
Yes he’s an influence on my music too
Lupo de' Lupis
He is a modern Burt Bacharach, the northern irish son ;)
Lee Murphy
such an ignored gem. shows off the quality of this band perfectly. adore this so much
Master Debater
One of the finest singer songwriters of the last twenty five years
Helenka Hajossyova
Most accurately one of the best, finest of the last two centuries!!
Alexander Russell
Easily
cláudio da silva
He's just amazing!
Master Debater
@Don Mackay76 Weird comment