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.
To Die A Virgin
The Divine Comedy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Since the eighth of November
And though it seems like forever
I very clearly remember
You told me on our first date
What you'd do on my birthday
Well hooray it's my birthday!
And frankly, baby, I can't wait.
I don't want to die a virgin
The other day I discovered
A magazine of my brother's
I read it under the covers
It got me all hot and bothered.
Now every time that I see you
Your uniform becomes see-through
You don't know how much I need you
The "Handy Andys" I've been through
I don't want to die a virgin
The pines and the cedars rejoice in his fall
How are you fallen from heaven?
Oh Hellel, star of the morning
With all the bombs and the bird-flu
We're probably gonna be dead soon
And here we are in your bedroom
Oh did I tell you I love you I love you I love you
I can feel your heart beating
And your breathing increasing
Your folks are out for the evening
I really hope I'm not dreaming
I don't want to die a virgin
The Divine Comedy's song "To Die A Virgin" tells the story of a young couple eager to lose their virginity to each other. The song opens with the singer reminiscing about their first date, and how his/her partner had mentioned doing something special on their birthday. The singer expresses excitement at the thought of experiencing sexual intimacy for the first time, and emphasizes the desire to not die without having such an experience.
The second verse takes a more sensual turn, as the singer describes how discovering a magazine has fueled his/her desire for the partner. The singer suggests the partner's uniform becomes see-through, furthering the intensity of sexual desire. The singer addresses the partner's importance and the implied need for therapeutic sexual satisfaction as he/she mentions the mediocre sexual encounters with other individuals known as "Handy Andys".
The final verse of the song emphasizes the fragility of existence given the presence of potential events such as a pandemic like bird flu and war with bombs, which can bring about one's random and untimely death. The singer describes the joyous response of nature to the downfall of the Devil which invokes the question of morality and unusual behavior leading to one's death. The singer shares a moment of intimacy and vulnerability with the partner in the bedroom as they express their love for each other, emphasizing the singer's desire to savor the moment before eventual demise.
Line by Line Meaning
Well we've been going together
We've been together as a couple for a while
Since the eighth of November
Since a specific date in the past
And though it seems like forever
Even though it feels like a long time
I very clearly remember
I have a clear memory of something
You told me on our first date
You said something to me when we first went out
What you'd do on my birthday
What you planned to do for my birthday
Well hooray it's my birthday!
It's currently my birthday
And frankly, baby, I can't wait.
I'm really excited about it
I don't want to die a virgin
I don't want to leave this world without having experienced sex
The other day I discovered
Recently, I found something
A magazine of my brother's
My brother's magazine
I read it under the covers
I read it hidden from view
It got me all hot and bothered.
It aroused me sexually
Now every time that I see you
Whenever I look at you
Your uniform becomes see-through
I become aroused by seeing through your clothes
You don't know how much I need you
I desire you intensely
The 'Handy Andys' I've been through
The sexual partners I've had in the past
With all the bombs and the bird-flu
Considering the possibility of death from various causes
We're probably gonna be dead soon
We're likely to die soon
And here we are in your bedroom
We're currently in your bedroom
Oh did I tell you I love you I love you I love you
I want to express my love for you
I can feel your heart beating
I can sense your heartbeat
And your breathing increasing
Your breathing is becoming faster
Your folks are out for the evening
Your parents are away for the night
I really hope I'm not dreaming
I want this to be real and not a dream
I don't want to die a virgin
I still desire to have sex before I die
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: NEIL HANNON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind