More Info on Neil HannonSimilar Undetermined MusicSearch Artistopia
Biography
Use dmy dates|date=August 2010Infobox musical artist | name = Neil Hannon| image = Neil Hannon.jpg| caption = Hannon performing in 2007| image_size =| background = solo_singer| birth_name =| alias =| birth_date = Birth date and age|df=yes|1970|11|07| death_date =| origin =| instrument = Vocals, guitar, piano| genre =| occupation =| years_active =| label =| associated_acts = The Divine Comedy (band)|The Divine Comedy , The Duckworth Lewis Method | website =| current_members =| past_members =| notable_instruments = Neil Hannon (born 7 November 1970IMDB name|id=0973252) is a People of Northern Ireland|Northern Irish singer and songwriter, best known as the creator (in 1989) and frontman of the chamber pop band (music)|group The Divine Comedy (band)|The Divine Comedy . The band's official website even goes so far as to say, "The Divine Comedy is Neil Hannon," and Hannon is quoted in an interviewcite web |url= http://www.musicomh.com/interviews/neil-hannon.htm |title=The Divine Comedy – Neil Hannon, locked in a room |year=1999 as saying, "The Divine Comedy will always be my band because... I thought of it first!"
Career
Hannon was born in Derry , Northern Ireland, the son of Brian Hannon , a retired Church of Ireland clergyman and former Bishop of Clogher . He moved with his family to Enniskillen , in County Fermanagh , in 1982.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 While there he attended Portora Royal School .fact|date=January 2012 In 2000, he and Joby Talbot contributed 4 tracks for Ute Lemper 's collaboration album, Punishing Kiss .
In 2004, he played alongside the Ulster Orchestra for the opening event of the Belfast Festival at Queen's . In 2005, he contributed vocals to his long-time collaboration|collaborator Joby 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 his vocal ability to the Doctor Who soundtrack Doctor Who: Original Television 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", originally used 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 on 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.cite web|url= http://media.guardian.co.uk/diary/|title=Who's in the pop charts? |publisher=Guardian Unlimited|date=12 January 2007|accessdate=13 January 2007
The same year, Hannon added his writing and vocal talents to the Air (French band)|Air album Pocket Symphony , released in the United States on 6 March 2007. He is featured on the track "Somewhere Between Waking and Sleeping", for which he wrote the lyrics. This song had been originally written for and sung by Charlotte Gainsbourg on her album, 5:55 . Though it was not included in its 2006 European release, it was added as a bonus track for its American release on 24 April 2007.fact|date=January 2012 Hannon won the 2007 Choice music award for his 2006 album, Victory for the Comic Muse .fact|date=January 2012 It was announced the next day that he had left EMI by 'mutual consent'.fact|date=January 2012 When the band Keane (band)|Keane played at the The O2 (London)|O2 Arena in London in July, " A Bad Dream " was introduced by Hannon. He introduced it by reading the poem " An Irish Airman Foresees His Death " by W.B. Yeats , upon which the song is based.fact|date=January 2012 He is credited with composing the theme music for the comedy shows The IT Crowd , and Father Ted , the latter being a tune specially written for the show that was later reworked into The Divine Comedy's "Songs Of Love" from their breakthrough album Casanova (album)|Casanova .fact|date=January 2012 Both shows were created or co-created by Graham Linehan . For the Father Ted episode Song For Europe (Father Ted)|A Song For Europe , Hannon co-wrote and sang My Lovely Horse , a deliberately bad song that Fathers Ted and Dougal enter into Eurosong (a parody of the Eurovision Song Contest ). In the same episode, Hannon wrote the 'typical' eurovision ballad that is sung by Father Ted's nemesis, and Hannon appears on stage with him as one of the backing singers. A dream sequence in the episode shows Ted and Dougal in My Lovely Horse 's pop video, with Hannon singing. As well as this, 'Eoin McLove' sings "My Lovely Mayo Mammy", but his voice and the song were both contributed by Hannon. When a raffle is being 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 one of the guesses given by Mrs. Doyle, in finding out the name of the mysterious guest. He's considered one of the last crooners in pop landscape. http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=YeWITeExEy4& feature=related "he Divine Comedy - Something For The Weekend live" on YouTube
A new Divine Comedy album, Bang Goes the Knighthood , was released in May 2010.
Hannon has also collaborated with Thomas Walsh (musician)|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 a full length album released the week after.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 |accessdate=11 June 2009cite 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 |accessdate=11 June 2009
Amélie (soundtrack) (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 (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 (Pugwash album)|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)
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
Wanda, Darling of the Jockey Club by Duke Special – The Silent World of Hector Mann (Album)
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
http://www.thehist.com/index.php? option=com_content& task=view& id=699& Itemid=662 Photos and http://www.thehist.com/index.php? option=com_docman& task=cat_view& gid=139& Itemid=664 Recordings of Neil Hannon's visit to the College Historical Society
http://ashortsite.free.fr/site/main.php? dclang=en a short site about The Divine Comedy
2fm Persondata | NAME = Hannon, Neil | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = 7 November 1970 | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Hannon, Neil Category:1970 births Category:Christians from Northern Ireland Category:Living people Category:Male singers from Northern Ireland Category:Songwriters from Northern Ireland Category:People educated at Portora Royal School Category:People from Derry Category:The Divine Comedy members|Hannon, Neill Category:Pop singers from Northern Ireland Category:RTÉ 2fm presenters
