Page 54 - NEW TITLES JANUARY - MARCH 2024

THE DIVINE COMEDY ON TRACK

EVERY ALBUM, EVERY SONG
Alan Draper

ISBN 978-1-78952-308-9

9 7 8 1 7 8 9 5 2 3 0 8 9
Publication: 29 FEBRUARY 2024
th
ISBN: 9781789523089
Price: £16.99
Binding: Paperback

Format: 210 x 148 mm
Extent: 176 pp
Illustrated: 16 colour pages
Thema: AVLP Popular Music

Comparative title: 9781789522327Stackridge On Track

• Massive cult status. Neil Hannon is very much a
musician’s musician.
• Hit albums in the UK include Fin de Siècle and
2019’s Office Politics.
• Hannon also wrote the theme tunes for TV
comedy series Father Ted and The IT Crowd.

Towards the tail end of the 1980s, Neil Hannon: a talented
singer/songwriter from Northern Ireland, formed his first line-
Sonic Bond podcast at http://www.sonicbondbookcast.co.uk/ up of The Divine Comedy. In 1989, he signed a deal with
independent label, Setanta Records, which led to The Divine
Comedy becoming the label’s most successful chart act of the
Alan Draper is a writer and musician living in Fareham, Hampshire 1990s.
with his wife Radiance. Starting his musical career as guitarist with
The Alsatians in 1978, he wrote both sides of their 1980 single: ‘Teen In this book, Alan Draper examines the thirteen original
Romance’/’Our Man In Marrakesh’. His song ‘Complications’ studio albums released under The Divine Comedy banner
featured on the album Rocking With The Renees by The Gymslips, between 1990 and 2022. This overview includes some
a top twenty hit on the independent chart in 1983. His first solo album interesting additional recordings including single releases and
Earth Magic appeared in 1989, followed by Ascension Day in 1999, also takes in the pair of albums recorded by offshoot project:
both displaying folk, classical and progressive rock influences. His The Duckworth Lewis Method, on which Hannon combined
first book: Stackridge On Track, was published by Sonicbond in forces with fellow Irishman, Thomas Walsh.
August 2022.
The sweeping eclecticism on display throughout the
recording career of The Divine Comedy is simply breathtaking:
Sales: Star Book Sales LLP from indie roots on the 1990 debut album Fanfare For The
T: 01404 515050 Comic Muse; through the groundbreaking hybrid chamber-pop
E: enquiries@starbooksales.com of Liberation and Promenade; to hit singles during the 1990s
Britpop era and ambitious orchestral arrangements on later
Orders: Combined Book Services Ltd. masterworks such as Fin De Siecle and Absent Friends.
Email: orders@combook.co.uk
Phone: 01892 837171 Through all these changes, Neil Hannon’s restless spirit has
remained a constant factor at the heart of The Divine Comedy,
Prices and specifications are provisional and are subject to change resulting in the extraordinary and ongoing canon of music
without notice. 15/09/2023 explored in this book.