Neil Hannon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Neil Hannon
Hannon performing in 2022
Background information
Born	(1970-11-07) 7 November 1970 (age 54) Derry, Northern Ireland
Origin	Enniskillen, Northern Ireland
Died	Error: Need valid death date (first date): year, month, day
Genres	Alternative rock Britpop art rock baroque pop art pop chamber pop jangle pop orchestral pop alt-pop film score
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter
Instruments	Vocals guitar piano keyboards
Years active	1986–present
Labels	Setanta Parlophone Divine Comedy

Edward Neil Anthony Hannon (born 7 November 1970) is a talented singer and songwriter from Northern Ireland. He is best known as the leader and only constant member of the music group The Divine Comedy, which he started in 1989. Neil Hannon also wrote the famous theme songs for TV shows like Father Ted and The IT Crowd. He also created the original songs for the musical movie Wonka (2023).

Early Life and School

Neil Hannon was born in Derry, Northern Ireland. His father, Brian Hannon, was a minister in the Church of Ireland. Neil spent some of his childhood in Fivemiletown before his family moved to Enniskillen, in County Fermanagh, in 1982. While living there, he went to Portora Royal School.

Neil grew up during a difficult time in Northern Ireland called The Troubles. He has said that writing music helps him escape from those memories. He even shared some of his feelings about it in the song "Sunrise" from his 1998 album Fin de Siècle.

As a young person, Neil enjoyed music made with synthesizers. He especially liked bands like the Human League and OMD. Later, in the late 1980s, he started to love the electric guitar and became interested in indie music.

Music Career Highlights

Neil Hannon is the founder and main person behind The Divine Comedy. This band became very popular in the mid-to-late 1990s. Their successful albums included Casanova (1996), A Short Album About Love (1997), and Fin de Siècle (1998). Neil continues to release albums with The Divine Comedy. Their album Office Politics (2019) reached number 5 on the UK album chart. In April 2025, the band announced their new album Rainy Sunday Afternoon is planned for release in September 2025.

TV Theme Songs and More

Neil Hannon wrote the theme music for the popular TV comedies Father Ted and The IT Crowd. The Father Ted theme was later turned into a song called "Songs of Love" on The Divine Comedy's album Casanova. Both shows were created or co-created by Graham Linehan.

For a Father Ted episode called "A Song for Europe", Neil helped write and sang "My Lovely Horse". This was the song the characters Ted and Dougal entered into a parody of the Eurovision Song Contest. Neil also wrote "The Miracle Is Mine" for the same episode. He also wrote and performed "My Lovely Mayo Mammy" and "Big Men in Frocks" for other episodes.

Neil also created jingles for advertisements in both The IT Crowd and Father Ted.

Other Music Projects

In 2000, Neil Hannon worked with Joby Talbot on four songs for Ute Lemper's album, Punishing Kiss. In 2004, Neil performed with the Ulster Orchestra at the opening of the Belfast Festival at Queen's. He also sang on Joby Talbot's soundtrack for the movie The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in 2005.

In 2006, Neil lent his voice to the Doctor Who soundtrack. He recorded two songs: "Love Don't Roam" for the 2006 Christmas special and a new version of "Song for Ten".

Hannon performing in 2007

Neil Hannon won the 2007 Choice Music Prize for his 2006 album, Victory for the Comic Muse. In 2009, Neil worked with Thomas Walsh from the band Pugwash to create a cricket-themed pop album. They called themselves the Duckworth Lewis Method. Their first album came out in 2009, and a second album, Sticky Wickets, was released in 2013.

Neil composed the music for a stage play based on Arthur Ransome's book Swallows and Amazons (1930). This play first opened in December 2010. A new Divine Comedy album, Bang Goes the Knighthood, was released in May 2010.

In 2012, Neil Hannon's first opera, Sevastopol, was performed in London. It was based on Leo Tolstoy's Sevastopol Sketches. His second opera, In May, premiered in 2013.

In 2013, Neil was asked to write a piece for the Royal Festival Hall's organ. This piece, called To Our Fathers in Distress, was inspired by his father, who had Alzheimer's disease, a brain illness that affects memory. It was performed in London in 2014. In 2015, Neil received the Legend Award from the Oh Yeah organisation in Belfast.

Neil also wrote the music and songs for the Irish sci-fi film LOLA. For this work, he won an IFTA Award at the 2024 IFTAs. He also wrote the songs for the 2023 musical film Wonka.

On January 28, 2024, Neil Hannon was a guest on the BBC Radio 3 show Private Passions. He shared some of his favorite music pieces during the program.

Personal Life

Since 2009, Neil Hannon's partner has been Irish musician Cathy Davey. They got married in January 2023 and live in County Kildare. Neil was previously married to Orla Little, and they have a daughter born around 2002.

Neil and Cathy Davey support an Irish animal charity called My Lovely Horse Rescue. The charity is named after the famous Father Ted Eurovision song that Neil wrote.

Discography

The Divine Comedy Albums

Other Music Contributions

Neil Hannon has also contributed to many other music projects:

• The Cake Sale (compilation) – "Aliens"
• Doctor Who: Original Television Soundtrack (compilation) – "Song for Ten" and "Love Don't Roam" (performer)
• 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 Soundtrack (compilation) – "So Long and Thanks for All the Fish" (performer)
• Reload by Tom Jones – "All Mine" (as the Divine Comedy) (performer)
• Pocket Symphony by 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 – "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" 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 – "Pay Later" and "If You Run" (co-writer and performer)
• Holy Motors (film) - composer and songs
• LOLA – soundtrack and songs
• Wonka – songs (co-writer)

See also

• The Duckworth Lewis Method
• Tinsel and Marzipan