| A Secret History... The Best of the Divine Comedy | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | 30 August 1999 | |||
| Genre | Orchestral pop | |||
| Length | 70:53 | |||
| Label | Setanta | |||
| Producer | Various | |||
| The Divine Comedy chronology | ||||
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| Singles from A Secret History... The Best of the Divine Comedy | ||||
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A Secret History... The Best of the Divine Comedy is a greatest hits compilation album by Irish chamber pop band the Divine Comedy, released in 1999 by Setanta Records.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| MusicOMH | (positive) [2] |
The album was the last to be released by the band on the Setanta label and features a collection of singles and best-known songs from their previous five studio albums. A new recording of "The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count" and a remixed version of "Your Daddy's Car"—both originally from the band's 1993 album Liberation —were included, along with two new tracks: "Gin Soaked Boy" and "Too Young to Die". The band's recording of Noël Coward's "I've Been to a Marvellous Party", from the tribute album Twentieth-Century Blues: The Songs of Noël Coward , was also included. [3]
A limited edition was available with an accompanying hard-back book and extra CD of "rarities". The book features Kevin Westenberg photographs taken from previous album photo shoots, interspersed with the recollections of people who had worked closely with the band, including Graham Linehan and Sean Hughes.
The additional CD, Rarities, features a full disc of rare, live and demo recordings, including cover versions of tracks by David Bowie, Talk Talk and Kraftwerk. Of special interest is the inclusion of "Soul Destroyer", a demo of a track from sessions for the band's debut album, Fanfare for the Comic Muse , an album which had previously been all-but ignored from the back catalogue.
All tracks are written by Neil Hannon, except where otherwise indicated
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "National Express" | Fin de Siècle | 5:06 | |
| 2. | "Something for the Weekend" | Casanova | 4:20 | |
| 3. | "Everybody Knows (Except You)" | A Short Album About Love | 3:50 | |
| 4. | "Generation Sex" | Fin de Siècle | 3:30 | |
| 5. | "Becoming More Like Alfie" | Casanova | 3:00 | |
| 6. | "The Summerhouse" | Promenade | 4:14 | |
| 7. | "Your Daddy's Car" (Remix) | Liberation | 4:03 | |
| 8. | "The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count" (Re-recording) | Liberation | 3:54 | |
| 9. | "The Frog Princess" | Casanova | 5:13 | |
| 10. | "Gin Soaked Boy" | Previously unreleased | 5:03 | |
| 11. | "Lucy" | Liberation | 4:39 | |
| 12. | "Songs of Love" | Casanova | 3:23 | |
| 13. | "In Pursuit of Happiness" | A Short Album About Love | 3:29 | |
| 14. | "I've Been to a Marvellous Party" | Noël Coward | Twentieth-Century Blues: The Songs of Noël Coward | 3:42 |
| 15. | "The Certainty of Chance" | Neil Hannon, Joby Talbot | Fin de Siècle | 6:12 |
| 16. | "Too Young to Die" | Previously unreleased | 4:20 | |
| 17. | "Tonight We Fly" | Promenade | 2:57 |
Limited Edition Rarities CD
All tracks are written by Neil Hannon, except where otherwise indicated
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" (Live at Her Majesty's Theatre, London '94) | 3:36 | |
| 2. | "Bleak Landscape" (Home Demo, London '93) | 3:45 | |
| 3. | "The Booklovers" (Live at Théâtre de Ville, Paris '94) | 4:13 | |
| 4. | "The Certainty of Chance" (Home Demo, London '97) | 3:28 | |
| 5. | "Commuter Love" (Live at Shepherds Bush Empire, London '98) | 5:02 | |
| 6. | "Dear Lord and Father of Mankind" (Live TV, Belfast '98) | Traditional | 3:52 |
| 7. | "A Drinking Song" (Live at the Olympia, Dublin '94) | 3:39 | |
| 8. | "The Frog Princess" (Live at Shepherds Bush Empire, London '96) | 6:29 | |
| 9. | "Generation Sex" (Home Demo, London '97) | 3:43 | |
| 10. | "Life on Mars?" (Live at Théâtre National de Bretagne, Rennes '98 with Yann Tiersen) | David Bowie | 3:12 |
| 11. | "Life's What You Make It" (Acoustic Session – Elephant Studios, London '93) | Mark Hollis, Tim Friese-Greene | 2:53 |
| 12. | "The Model" (Live in Düsseldorf '94) | Ralf Hütter, Karl Bartos, Emil Schult | 3:56 |
| 13. | "National Express" (Live somewhere in a large field '99) | 4:32 | |
| 14. | "Painting the Forth Bridge" (Home Demo, Fivemiletown '93) | 4:05 | |
| 15. | "Queen of the South" (Acoustic Session – Elephant Studios, London '93) | 4:03 | |
| 16. | "The Summerhouse" (Live at Théâtre de Ville, Paris '94) | 4:38 | |
| 17. | "Soul Destroyer" (Studio Demo, Banbridge '89) | 1:59 | |
| 18. | "Your Daddy's Car" (Home Demo, Fivemiletown '91/'92) | 4:04 | |
| 19. | "[Unlisted track] "Moon River"" (Home Demo, Fivemiletown, 1991) | Johnny Mercer, Henry Mancini | 1:25 |
| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Irish Albums (IRMA) [4] | 2 |
| UK Albums (OCC) [5] | 3 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI) [6] | Gold | 100,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Edward Neil Anthony Hannon is a singer and songwriter from Northern Ireland. He is the founder and frontman of the chamber pop group 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 original songs for the musical film Wonka (2023).
Neil Francis Tennant is an English singer, songwriter and music journalist, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo the Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Chris Lowe in 1981. He was a journalist for Smash Hits, and assistant editor for the magazine in the mid-1980s.
The Divine Comedy are a pop band from Northern Ireland, formed in 1989 and fronted by Neil Hannon. Hannon has been the only constant member of the group, playing, in some instances, all of the non-orchestral instrumentation except drums. The band has released 12 studio albums. Between 1996 and 1999, nine singles released by the band made the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart, including the 1999 top ten hit, "National Express".
Liberation is the second album by Northern Irish chamber pop band the Divine Comedy, released on 18 August 1993 by Setanta Records. Following the unsuccessful Fanfare for the Comic Muse, the group started improvising on their new album which was recorded in Fundamental, London in March 1993. Although it was the band's second album, the band's leader, Neil Hannon, often refers to it as the first, due to the stylistic differences from their debut album, Fanfare for the Comic Muse.
Promenade is the third album by Northern Irish chamber pop band the Divine Comedy, released in 1994 on Setanta Records.
Casanova is the fourth studio album by Northern Irish chamber pop band the Divine Comedy. It was released in 1996 by Setanta Records, and it happened to be the band's commercial breakthrough. It was certified Gold in the UK in July 1997, aided by the release of the album's first single, "Something for the Weekend", which reached No. 13 on the charts. Two other singles released from the album, "Becoming More Like Alfie" and "The Frog Princess", charted at No. 27 and No. 15, respectively.
See Ya 'Round is the tenth and final studio album by New Zealand's premier new wave band, Split Enz, and was released in 1984, following the departure of founding member Tim Finn, whose solo career had officially taken off the year before. Remaining songwriter Neil Finn, claiming to be a little daunted by the prospect of leading his older brother's band, subsequently announced that this would be the final Split Enz studio recording. Since he only had an EP's worth of material ready, the record was filled out by lightweight, experimental contributions from each of the other band members. In interviews, Neil has revealed that the original EP was to have been the first five tracks on the album.
Victory for the Comic Muse is the ninth studio album by Northern Irish chamber pop band the Divine Comedy, released in 2006 by EMI.
Fin de Siècle is the sixth album by Northern Irish pop band the Divine Comedy. It was released on 31 August 1998 by Setanta Records. Following the release of fifth studio album A Short Album About Love (1997), frontman Neil Hannon demoed new material at his flat in Clapham. During this time, the relationship between the band and their label Setanta Records was straining as a result of heated discussions over tour costs and studio sessions. They recorded their next album in three studios with Jon Jacobs as the main producer and Hannon co-producing. Fin de Siècle is a chamber pop concept album that details living in the 20th century.
A Short Album About Love is the fifth studio album by Northern Irish chamber pop band the Divine Comedy, released in 1997 by Setanta Records. It was recorded on 20 October 1996 at Shepherd's Bush Empire, London.
Fanfare for the Comic Muse is the debut album by Northern Irish chamber pop band the Divine Comedy, released in 1990 by Setanta Records. Recording took place at Homestead Studios in May 1990 with producer Sean O Neill. Lorcan Mac Loughlann engineered the sessions, and Mudd Wallace mixed the recordings.
"National Express" is a song by Northern Irish band the Divine Comedy. On 25 January 1999, it was released as the third single from their sixth album, Fin de Siècle (1998), and reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart and number 18 in Ireland. The song is based on Neil Hannon's observations of life from the window of a National Express coach.
"The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count" is a song by the Divine Comedy. Written by Neil Hannon, it was originally recorded for the Liberation album and was issued as the B-side of "Lucy".
"Generation Sex" is a song by the Divine Comedy. It was the first single from the album Fin de Siècle and features narration by presenter and columnist Katie Puckrik. It reached number nineteen on the UK Singles Chart.
Pugwash are an Irish pop band fronted by Drimnagh-born musician Thomas Walsh. Pugwash has released six albums since its debut LP Almond Tea in 1999. Influences on the band's sound are regularly cited as including XTC, Electric Light Orchestra and Jeff Lynne, the Beach Boys, the Kinks, Honeybus and the Beatles, though Walsh dismisses the Beatles comparisons as "lazy".
"Gin Soaked Boy" is a song by Irish chamber pop band The Divine Comedy. It was the second single from the album A Secret History... The Best of the Divine Comedy, released in 1999 on Setanta Records. The song peaked at No. 38 on the UK Singles Chart and stayed on the chart for two weeks.
"Lucy" is the debut single by the Divine Comedy, released in October 1993. Written by Neil Hannon and William Wordsworth, it is the only single from the album Liberation.
"Something for the Weekend" is a song by the Divine Comedy, produced by Darren Allison and Neil Hannon. It was the first single from Casanova and reached number 14 in the UK Singles Chart. The song subsequently became a hit when Chris Evans heard it at a friend's party and had it played on his radio show the following Monday.
Office Politics is the twelfth studio album by Northern Irish chamber pop band the Divine Comedy, released on 7 June 2019 by Divine Comedy Records. It is a concept album concerning the workplace and the ever-growing role machines play in it. The deluxe edition of the album features a bonus disc of Divine Comedy singer-songwriter Neil Hannon's original piano demos for his songs for Royal National Theatre's 2007 musical adaption of Swallows and Amazons.
The discography of Northern Irish chamber pop band the Divine Comedy consists of twelve studio albums, two live albums, two compilation albums, five extended plays and twenty-six singles.
