Editing Neil Hannon

{{short description|Singer and songwriter from Northern Ireland}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=May 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians -->
| name              = Neil Hannon
| image             = The Divine Comedy live in London - 52327395598.jpg
| caption           = Hannon performing in 2022
| image_size        = 
| background        = solo_singer
| birth_date        = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1970|11|07}}
| birth_place       = [[Derry]], Northern Ireland
| death_date        = {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}}
| origin            = [[Enniskillen]], Northern Ireland
| instrument        = {{hlist|
Vocals|guitar|piano|keyboards}}
| genre             = {{hlist|[[Alternative rock]]|[[Britpop]]|[[art rock]]|[[baroque pop]]|[[art pop]]|[[chamber pop]]|[[jangle pop]]|[[orchestral pop]]|[[alternative pop|alt-pop]]|[[film score]]}}
| occupation        = {{hlist|Singer|songwriter}}
| years_active      = 1986–present
| label             = {{hlist|[[Setanta Records|Setanta]]|[[Parlophone]]|Divine Comedy}}
| current_member_of = {{hlist|[[The Divine Comedy (band)|The Divine Comedy]]|[[the Duckworth Lewis Method]]}}
| website           = {{URL|thedivinecomedy.com}}
}}
'''Edward Neil Anthony Hannon''' (born 7 November 1970)<ref>{{cite web |title=The Divine Comedy Facebook |url=https://www.facebook.com/divinecomedyhq/photos/from-tdc-merch-happy-birthday-to-the-one-only-neil-hannonfollow-on-twitter-https/10154684246814028/  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/288798654027/10154684246814028 |archive-date=2022-02-26 |url-access=limited|website=Facebook |access-date=8 November 2019 |date=7 November 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref> is a singer and songwriter from [[Northern Ireland]]. He is the founder and frontman of the [[chamber pop]] group [[the Divine Comedy (band)|the Divine Comedy]], and is the band's only constant member since its inception in 1989. Hannon wrote the theme tunes for the television sitcoms ''[[Father Ted]]'' and ''[[The IT Crowd]]'', as well as the [[Wonka (soundtrack)|original songs]] for the musical film ''[[Wonka (film)|Wonka]]'' (2023).

==Early life and education==
Hannon was born in [[Derry]], Northern Ireland, the son of [[Brian Hannon]], a [[Church of Ireland]] minister in the [[Diocese of Derry and Raphoe]] and later [[Bishop of Clogher]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishnews.com/arts/2016/09/30/news/neil-hannon-the-hardest-thing-for-me-is-to-simplify-712978/|title=Neil Hannon: The hardest thing for me is to simplify|first=Richard|last=Purden|website=The Irish News|date=30 September 2016|access-date=26 May 2018}}</ref> He spent some of his youth in [[Fivemiletown]] before moving with his family to [[Enniskillen]], in [[County Fermanagh]], in 1982.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ireland.anglican.org/archives/pressreleases/prarchive2001/hanpres.html
|title=The Church of Ireland Diocesan Press Release |date=29 October 2003}}</ref> While there, he attended [[Portora Royal School]].<ref>{{cite web|title=A Short Site |url=http://www.ashortsite.com/chronology/detail.php?date=392000040 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923121050/http://www.ashortsite.com/chronology/detail.php?date=392000040 |archive-date=23 September 2015 }}</ref>

Hannon grew up in northern Ireland during [[The Troubles]]. He has stated that part of the reason he writes the music he does is to escape that past,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q7J3jVF5FYw |title=Neil Hannon 30 Years of The Divine Comedy |publisher=YouTube |access-date=17 April 2025}}</ref> sharing some of his opinions on the topic in the final song on his 1998 album ''Fin de Siècle'', "[[Sunrise (The Divine Comedy song)|Sunrise]]".{{cn|date=April 2025}}

Hannon enjoyed [[synthesizer]]-based music as a youngster: he has identified [[the Human League]] and [[Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark|OMD]] as "the first music that really excited [him]". In the late 1980s he developed a fondness of the [[electric guitar]], becoming an "indie kid".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.exberliner.com/features/people/neil-hannon-interview/|title='Being an oddball is part of it': The Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon|last=Cummings|first=Damien|date=18 October 2019|website=Exberliner|access-date=20 March 2021}}</ref>

==Career==
Hannon is founder and mainstay of [[the Divine Comedy (band)|the Divine Comedy]], a band that achieved commercial success in the mid- to late-1990s with the albums ''[[Casanova (The Divine Comedy album)|Casanova]]'' (1996), ''[[A Short Album About Love]]'' (1997), and ''[[Fin de Siècle (album)|Fin de Siècle]]'' (1998).  Hannon continues to release albums as The Divine Comedy, the most recent being ''[[Office Politics (album)|Office Politics]]'' (2019) which reached number 5 in the UK album chart. <ref>https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/divine-comedy-office-politics/</ref> In April 2025, the band announced their new album ''Rainy Sunday Afternoon'' was due for release in September 2025.

Hannon composed the theme music for the sitcoms ''[[Father Ted]]'' and ''[[The IT Crowd]]'', the former theme composed for the show and later reworked into "Songs of Love", a track on the Divine Comedy's breakthrough album ''Casanova''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ashortsite.com/songs/?keyword=fatherted |title=Father Ted Theme |work=ashortsite.com |access-date=10 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106005804/http://www.ashortsite.com/songs/?keyword=fatherted |archive-date= 6 November 2013 }}</ref> Both shows were created or co-created by [[Graham Linehan]]. For the ''Father Ted'' episode, "[[A Song for Europe (Father Ted)|A Song for Europe]]", Hannon co-wrote and sang "My Lovely Horse", the song Ted and Dougal enter in Eurosong (a parody of the [[Eurovision Song Contest]]). For the same episode, Hannon wrote "The Miracle Is Mine", the 'typical' Eurovision ballad sung by Ted's nemesis, Father Dick Byrne. A dream sequence in the episode shows Ted and Dougal in the song's pop video, with Hannon providing vocals. Hannon also wrote and performed "My Lovely Mayo Mammy", sung by Eoin McLove in the episode "[[Night of the Nearly Dead]]", and wrote "Big Men in Frocks", sung by Niamh Connolly (played by [[Clare Grogan]]) in "[[Rock-a-Hula Ted]]". When a raffle is held in order to raise funds to repair the roof of the parochial house, the [[Kraftwerk]]-esque quartet of priests enlisted to perform play an electronic piece of music composed and performed by him. Both of the advertisements for telephone numbers; in ''The IT Crowd'' (the new emergency number) and ''Father Ted'' (Priest Chatback) have jingles composed by Hannon. In the episode "[[A Christmassy Ted]]", his name is mentioned by Mrs Doyle while she attempts to guess that of the mysterious guest.

In 2000, he and [[Joby Talbot]] contributed four tracks to [[Ute Lemper]]'s collaboration album, ''[[Punishing Kiss]]''.

In 2004, Hannon performed alongside the [[Ulster Orchestra]] for the opening event of the [[Belfast Festival at Queen's]]. In 2005, he contributed vocals to Talbot's [[soundtrack]] for the movie version of ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (film)|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]''.

In 2006, it was announced that Hannon was to lend vocals to the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' soundtrack [[Doctor Who (series 1)#Soundtrack|CD release]], recording two songs – "[[Love Don't Roam]]", for the 2006 Christmas special "[[The Runaway Bride (Doctor Who)|The Runaway Bride]]"; and a new version of "Song for Ten", which originally appeared in 2005's "[[The Christmas Invasion]]". On 12 January 2007, ''[[The Guardian]]'' website's "Media Monkey" diary column reported that ''Doctor Who'' fans from the discussion forum on the fan website [[Outpost Gallifrey]] were attempting to organise mass downloads of the Hannon-sung "Love Don't Roam", which was available as a single release in the UK [[iTunes Store]]. This was in order to attempt to exploit the new [[UK Singles Chart]] download rules, and get the song featured in the [[Top 40]] releases.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://media.guardian.co.uk/diary/ |title=Who's in the pop charts? |website=[[The Guardian]] |date=12 January 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080107200528/http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/jan/12/mediadiary |archive-date=7 January 2008 |access-date=5 October 2023}}</ref>

The same year, Hannon sang and wrote the lyrics for the song "Somewhere Between Waking and Sleeping" on the [[Air (French band)|Air]] album ''[[Pocket Symphony]]'', released in the United States on 6 March 2007. This song had been originally written for and sung by [[Charlotte Gainsbourg]] on her 2006 album ''[[5:55]]''. Though it was not included on its 2006 European release, it was added as a bonus track to its American release on 24 April 2007.<ref>[[5:55#Release history]]</ref>

[[File:Neil Hannon.jpg|thumb|Hannon performing in 2007]]
Hannon won the 2007 [[Choice Music Prize]] for his 2006 album, ''[[Victory for the Comic Muse]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Choice Music Prize |website=[[RTÉ.ie]] |url=http://www.rte.ie/ten/2007/0301/choicemusicprize.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104194236/http://www.rte.ie/ten/2007/0301/choicemusicprize.html |archive-date= 4 November 2012 }}</ref> It was announced the following day that he had left [[EMI]] by 'mutual consent'.{{citation needed|date=January 2012}} When the band [[Keane (band)|Keane]] played at [[the O2 Arena]] in London that July, "[[A Bad Dream]]" was introduced by Hannon, who read the poem "[[An Irish Airman Foresees His Death]]" by [[W. B. Yeats]], upon which the song is based.<ref>{{cite AV media |people=[[Keane (band)|Keane]] |date=20 October 2010 |title=Keane – An Irish Airman Foresees His Death – Neil Hannon |access-date=2 October 2023 |type=[[YouTube]] video |time=0:50 |location=[[The O2 Arena]] |publisher=SoulR3d |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCZ1uRYX3iU}}</ref>

In 2009, Hannon collaborated with Thomas Walsh from the Irish band [[Pugwash (band)|Pugwash]] to create a cricket-themed pop album, under the name [[the Duckworth Lewis Method]]. The first single, "The Age of Revolution", was released in June 2009, and was followed by an [[The Duckworth Lewis Method (album)|eponymous full-length album]] the week after.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8061000/8061068.stm |title=interview with The Duckworth Lewis Method |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=21 May 2009 |access-date=11 June 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8061417.stm |title=Interview about cricket and music |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=21 May 2009 |access-date=11 June 2009}}</ref> The group's second album, ''[[Sticky Wickets]]'', came out in 2013.

Hannon composed the music for a stage adaptation of [[Arthur Ransome]]'s novel ''[[Swallows and Amazons]]'' (1930), which premiered in December 2010 at the [[Bristol Old Vic]], with book and lyrics by [[Helen Edmundson]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-features/8926675/Neil-Hannon-on-Swallows-and-Amazons-Is-theatre-the-new-rock-and-roll.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-features/8926675/Neil-Hannon-on-Swallows-and-Amazons-Is-theatre-the-new-rock-and-roll.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Neil Hannon on Swallows and Amazons: Is theatre the new rock and roll? |work=The Telegraph|date=30 November 2011 |access-date=26 October 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref> A new Divine Comedy album, ''[[Bang Goes the Knighthood]]'', was released in May 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/bang-goes-the-knighthood-mw0001993932|title = Bang Goes the Knighthood – the Divine Comedy &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits &#124; AllMusic|website = [[AllMusic]]}}</ref>

On 20 April 2012, Hannon's first opera commission, ''Sevastopol'', was performed by the [[Royal Opera House]] in London.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/acrosstheline/2012/04/neil_hannon_pens_opera.html |title=Neil Hannon pens Opera! |website=[[BBC]] |date=16 April 2012 |access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref> The piece was part of a program called OperaShots, which invites musicians not typically working within the opera medium to create an opera, and was based upon [[Leo Tolstoy]]'s ''[[Sevastopol Sketches]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/apr/23/operashots-review |last=Hall |first=George |title=OperaShots – review |website=[[The Guardian]] |date=23 April 2012 |access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref> Hannon's second opera for which he composed the music, ''In May'' (with book by Frank Alva Buecheler and English translations by Tim Clarke), premiered at [[Lancaster Arts at Lancaster University|Lancaster University]]'s Nuffield Theatre<ref>{{cite web |url=http://inmay.co.uk/about.html |title=In May — About |website=In May |access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref> in May 2013.

In 2013, Hannon was commissioned by the [[Southbank Centre]] to compose a piece for the [[Royal Festival Hall]]'s refurbished organ: ''To Our Fathers in Distress'', "a kind of [[oratorio]]" for chorus, strings and organ, premiered at the Hall in London on 22 March 2014, as part of the Pull Out All the Stop Festival, and was inspired by Hannon's father, the Rt Rev Brian Hannon, who had suffered from [[Alzheimer's disease]] before his death in 2022.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hannon |first=Neil |author-link=Neil Hannon |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2014/mar/10/neil-hannon-fathers-alzheimers-inspiration-to-our-fathers-in-distress |title=Neil Hannon: my father's Alzheimer's was the inspiration behind To Our Fathers in Distress &#124; Music |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=10 March 2014 |access-date=13 September 2015}}</ref> In 2015, Neil won the 2015 Legend Award from the [[Oh Yeah (music centre)|Oh Yeah organisation]] in Belfast.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/features/singer-neil-hannon-says-his-life-is-anything-but-a-rock-n-roll-cliche-34192326.html |title=Singer Neil Hannon says his life is anything but a rock 'n' roll cliche |date=2015-11-12 |website=[[Belfast Telegraph]] |access-date=2019-07-25}}</ref>

Hannon wrote the soundtrack and songs for the Irish sci-fi film ''[[LOLA (film)|LOLA]]'', for which he won an [[IFTA Film & Drama Awards|IFTA Award]] at the [[20th Irish Film & Television Awards|2024 IFTAs]].

Hannon wrote the songs for the 2023 musical film ''[[Wonka (film)|Wonka]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last=D'Alessandro |first=Anthony |title=''Wonka'': Warner Bros Movie Adds Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Olivia Colman & Jim Carter |url=https://deadline.com/2021/09/wonka-warner-bros-movie-adds-sally-hawkins-rowan-atkinson-olivia-colman-jim-carter-1234846668/ |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |access-date=2 October 2023 |date=September 29, 2021 |archive-date=September 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210929173347/https://deadline.com/2021/09/wonka-warner-bros-movie-adds-sally-hawkins-rowan-atkinson-olivia-colman-jim-carter-1234846668/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 28 January 2024 Hannon was the guest of [[Michael Berkeley]] on the BBC Radio 3 programme ''[[Private Passions]]''. His choices included Chopin's [[Nocturnes, Op. 9 (Chopin)|Nocturne in E flat major, Op 9, No. 2]], Ravel's [[String Quartet (Ravel)|String Quartet in F major]] and "[[Scott (album)|Montague Terrace (In Blue)]]" by [[Scott Walker (singer)|Scott Walker]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001vm7l|title=Private Passions – Neil Hannon – BBC Sounds|website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Since 2009 (wed Jan 2023), Hannon's partner has been Irish musician [[Cathy Davey]]. The couple live in [[County Kildare]]. He was previously married to Orla Little, with whom he has a daughter, born about 2002.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/may/23/divine-comedy-neil-hannon |title=Neil Hannon: 'I was born old. I was an old man trapped in a young man's body' &#124; Music |work=The Guardian |date=15 October 2014 |access-date=13 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/music/news/simply-divine-28533616.html |title=Simply Divine |work=Belfast Telegraph|date=5 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/features/singer-neil-hannon-says-his-life-is-anything-but-a-rock-n-roll-cliche-34192326.html |title=Singer Neil Hannon says his life is anything but a rock 'n' roll cliche |author=Una Brankin | work=Belfast Telegraph|date=12 November 2015}}</ref> With Davey, Hannon is a patron of the Irish animal charity My Lovely Horse Rescue, named after the ''Father Ted'' Eurovision song for which he wrote the music.<ref name="gemosi">{{Cite web|url=http://www.gemosi.com/gemosi-support-lovely-horse-rescue/|author=Gemosi|title=Gemosi to support My Lovely Horse Rescue|date=28 January 2014|access-date=5 September 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/the-diary-christmas-party-season-is-upon-us-30780132.html|author1=Bairbre Power|author2=Kirsty Blake Knox|title=The Diary: Christmas party season is upon us|date=30 November 2014|access-date=5 September 2016|quote="My Lovely Horse Rescue, a charity special to the hearts of singers Cathy Davey and Neil Hannon"}}</ref>

Politically, Hannon describes himself as being "a thoroughly [[Left-wing politics|leftie]], ''[[The Guardian|Guardian]]''-reading chap, but of the [[champagne socialist]] variety".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/neil-hannon-it-s-like-whistling-a-happy-tune-as-the-ship-goes-down-1.3899600|author=Mick Heaney|title=Neil Hannon: 'It's like whistling a happy tune as the ship goes down'|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] |date=25 May 2019|access-date=27 March 2021}}</ref>

==Discography==

===The Divine Comedy===
{{Main article|The Divine Comedy discography}}
{{div col}}
*''[[Fanfare for the Comic Muse]]'' (1990)
*''[[Liberation (The Divine Comedy album)|Liberation]]'' (1993)
*''[[Promenade (The Divine Comedy album)|Promenade]]'' (1994)
*''[[Casanova (The Divine Comedy album)|Casanova]]'' (1996)
*''[[A Short Album About Love]]'' (1997)
*''[[Fin de Siècle (album)|Fin de Siècle]]'' (1998)
*''[[Regeneration (The Divine Comedy album)|Regeneration]]'' (2001)
*''[[Absent Friends (album)|Absent Friends]]'' (2004)
*''[[Victory for the Comic Muse]]'' (2006)
*''[[Bang Goes the Knighthood]]'' (2010)
*''[[Foreverland]]'' (2016)
*''[[Office Politics (album)|Office Politics]]'' (2019)
{{div col end}}

===Other contributions===
*''[[The Cake Sale]]'' (compilation) – "Aliens"
*''[[Doctor Who: Original Television Soundtrack]]'' (compilation) – "Song for Ten" and "Love Don't Roam" (performer)
*''[[Amélie (soundtrack)|Amélie]]'' (compilation) – "Les Jours tristes" (instrumental version) (co-writer)
*''[[L'Absente]] by [[Yann Tiersen]]'' – "Les Jours tristes" (English version) (co-writer and performer)
*''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (film)#Soundtrack|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Soundtrack]]'' (compilation) – "So Long and Thanks for All the Fish" (performer)
*''[[Reload (Tom Jones album)|Reload]]'' by [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]] – "All Mine" (as the Divine Comedy) (performer)
*''[[Pocket Symphony]]'' by [[Air (French band)|Air]] – "Somewhere Between Waking and Sleeping" (writer and performer)
*''[[Songs from the Deep Forest]]'' by [[Duke Special]] – "Our Love Goes Deeper Than This" (performer)
*''[[Hyacinths and Thistles]]'' by [[the 6ths]] – "The Dead Only Quickly" (singer)
*''[[Eleven Modern Antiquities]]'' by [[Pugwash (band)|Pugwash]] – "Take Me Away" (performer)
*''[[Punishing Kiss]]'' by [[Ute Lemper]] – (multiple tracks) (performer and writer)
*''Les piqûres d'araignée'' by [[Vincent Delerm]] – "Favourite Song" (duet track)
*''A Mãe'' by [[Rodrigo Leão]] – "Cathy" (performer)
*''[[God Help the Girl]]'' by [[God Help the Girl]] – "Perfection as a Hipster"; Neil Hannon with Catherine Ireton (performer)
*"[[No Regrets (Robbie Williams song)|No Regrets]]" by [[Robbie Williams]] – backing vocals with [[Neil Tennant]] of [[Pet Shop Boys]]
*''[[The Silent World of Hector Mann]]'' by [[Duke Special]] – "Wanda, Darling of the Jockey Club"
*''Irrepetible'' by [[Coque Malla]] – duets on "My Beautiful Monster"
*''Adventure Man'' by [[Eg White|Eg]] – "Pay Later" and "If You Run" (co-writer and performer) 
*''[[LOLA (film)|LOLA]]''  – soundtrack and songs
*''[[Wonka (film)|Wonka]]'' – songs (co-writer)

==See also==
*[[The Duckworth Lewis Method]]
*[[Tinsel and Marzipan]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.thedivinecomedy.com/?page_id=3 Biography of Neil Hannon] – part of [http://www.thedivinecomedy.com/ the official Divine Comedy website]
* {{discogs artist}}
* {{IMDb name|0973252}}

{{The Divine Comedy (band)}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hannon, Neil}}
[[Category:1970 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Male singers from Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:Male songwriters from Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:People educated at Portora Royal School]]
[[Category:Musicians from Derry (city)]]
[[Category:Baritones from Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:The Divine Comedy (band) members]]
[[Category:Pop singers from Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:RTÉ 2fm presenters]]
[[Category:Musical theatre composers from Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:Film score composers from Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:Male singer-songwriters from Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:Composers for pipe organ]]
[[Category:Anglicans from Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:British television composers]]
[[Category:British male film score composers]]
[[Category:Musicians from County Fermanagh]]
[[Category:People from Enniskillen]]
[[Category:Broadcasters from Derry (city)]]
[[Category:20th-century singer-songwriters from Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:21st-century singer-songwriters from Northern Ireland]]