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The Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon on the change from black to golden brown...
Orchestrated pop, a nice line in suits and the traditional demeanour of an English gent - it wasn’t a surprise they were asked to cut a song for Noel Coward tribute album ‘2Oth Century Blues’ in ‘98. Hold it right there! All the images you have of The Divine Comedy, dispose of them because their new album is, as the saying goes, something else. ‘Regeneration’ offers a simpler, more direct and return-to-basics musical language. The band wanted to return to its roots, as it were, to rediscover things that led them to expanses of music so grand they required (very expensive) full orchestral accompaniment...
Musical direction is not the only change for this band who came out of Northern Ireland back in 1989, but also the change of label status, from the independent set-up at Setanta to multi-national majordom at EMI; furthermore, the album was produced by Nigel Goodrich (known for his work with Travis, Beck and, obviously, Radiohead). Looks like there’s plenty of room for a big ambition to start fulfilling itself...
“I’m very ambitious,” Neil Hannon comes on all candid, “and have to admit that I’ve been since day one, everything I’ve done is just another step... It might sound a bit cynical but I’ve always had a gameplan for this, and that was to spend a decade with an independent label and then move on to a major. I’ve seen REM doing it, moving from IRS to the Warners (Warner Brothers), and I thought it is a great thing to get in such a situation where you’ve already got a position and not go back to the bottom of the pile and work your way up again. It seems to have worked out without ever having to compromise on music, making an album the way we want to and then trying to sell it. The bigger the help the better for us!”
Phantom éclair...
Quizzed on his ambition, whether it was so strong to override insecurity, he admits that fears remain.
“Well, it happens, you have once or twice bad-night sleep and you start to think that maybe there isn’t a reason for you to have an inspiration, again. But you recover, start to play around and it comes to you... It is a bit of a sportsman-like, a lot of it comes from practice, training. If they have crisis of confidence then it affects their performance and you can't allow yourself to start doubting because it’ll be the end of you.”
To continue the surprising analogy, which sportsman in particular does he sees himself as?
“A snooker-player.”
Nice recovery, but to be expected from your pithy AngloIrish types.
And double-espresso to go!
“There is more humour on this record than there is pathos,” proclaims the now-longhaired and jumper&chords wearing frontman. “I wouldn't like to think of this album as a dark one, although a few people have called it that, but I don’t really get it. It is possible that people think so because it starts from a more serious point of view but there are definitely moments oflightness, light comic touches are there... This is more of a browny-goldy album, like the cover, and not a black one.”
Hannon, who missed on university, writes more insightful lyrics than Coldplay who did meet on campus. The19-year-old Neil brought DC Mark I to London - in that line-up he played guitar and someone else sang - and soon secured a contract with Setanta, but after one release, the rest of the members headed back home leaving him with the band’s name but working solo for a couple of albums.
“Corporations are so strong,” the self-confessed optimist states slyly at the end, “they leap at anything before it is formed and has had any chance to be an underground movement, to develop and establish itself; but there is going to be a big backlash... We try to move it a bit in our small way.”
Tour dates:
24 October – Rock City, Nottingham
25 October – Anson Rooms, Bristol
26 October – Brixton Academy, London
Guest editor: Deirdre Molloy
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