Neil Hannon: Thirty Years Of The Divine Comedy

Neil Hannon: Thirty Years Of The Divine Comedy on BBC One NI, 10.45pm, Tuesday 26 January.

In a unique new film for BBC Northern Ireland, charming gentleman of indie-pop Neil Hannon invites viewers into a free-of-charge tour around his ‘mind-palace’, curated by the man himself.

Featuring an array of purposefully-placed props and prompts (and a fine selection of hats), this jolly jaunt around Neil’s ‘palace’ sees the singer-songwriter in candid, colourful and comedic form as he charts his career with The Divine Comedy – from the band’s beginnings to his most recent release, 2019’s Office Politics, and on into the 2020s.

In this half-hour programme Neil reflects on how a bookish boy born in the North West and raised in Fermanagh went on to become the sharp suited popstar of the 1990s and one of Northern Ireland’s most enduring and prolific musical talents.

From the heady days of 1990s chart success with albums such as Promenade, Casanova and Fin de Siècle and singles including National Express, Something For The Weekend and Becoming More Like Alfie, through to penning the theme tune My Lovely Horse for Father Ted and the ‘regeneration’ of the band in the new millennium with albums including Absent Friends and Bang Goes The Knighthood, his has been an exciting, eclectic and at times eccentric career that continues to entertain his fans.

Neil Hannon: Thirty Years Of The Divine Comedy is part of BBC Northern Ireland’s Season Of Arts coming to BBC iPlayer and BBC One NI and BBC Two NI from Friday, January 22. Go to Season Of Arts in the Northern Ireland category of BBC iPlayer to discover more content.