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Post Info TOPIC: The Divine Comedy
fredthe3rd


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What's your favourite bit of Dante's classic book- No of course not! I finally managed to get onto TDC forum but it appears to have come to a standstill over a dead cat. So: what's you favourite DC song/album? For me it's Absent Friends album and Our Mutual Friend song.

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Sturdy


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Promenade. Casanova. Oh sod it, all of them.

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Stephen


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Songs - Alfie or Generation Sex. I only know the hits.
Albums - see above.

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Ian


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Not listened to them for ages but "The Summerhouse" springs straight to mind!

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Eamonn


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Our Mutual Friend...love playing it (a bit wonkily) on the piano. Great song.

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andy


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Casanova although my fav song is Tonight we fly. I also love a lot the last record. Seen him / them countless time live.

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saw119


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It will always, and forever, be My Lovely Horse. I don't really like them, I was more a fan of My Life Story!

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triciathetree


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Casanova!

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seductivebarry


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Promenade.

Without any doubt. Don't Look Down is just perfection.

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Stephen


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Saw, me too. My Life Story were/are just a bit more fun. Had the pleasure of seeing them earlier this year and they've still got it!

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saw119


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They always used to put on an excellent live show.

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Stephen


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Yeah, isn't there a story about Damon Albarn having a MLS support slot curtailed because he thought Jake was a much better frontman than himself?

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weej


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The only time I saw MLS live was at the Phoenix festival. The tent was full of thirtysomething couples with matching band t-shirts.

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twiggy


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Wow, I had no idea My Life Story was still around! Sadly they never toured in the U.S. so I've never seen them live...

My favorite Divine Comedy album is Casanova (and all its companions, love "Motorway to Damascus"), though I also love "Tonight We Fly" and "The Booklovers"...

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fredthe3rd


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Hello!

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Ste


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Oof, Commuter Love, Through A Long And Sleepless Night and... annd... Mastermind. First three that sprang to mind, though I'll kick myself for forgetting something soon.

(Kick. Sunrise.)



-- Edited by Ste on Tuesday 26th of June 2012 12:23:32 AM

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weed


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'Through A Long & Sleepless Night' is one of my favourite songs of all time. 'Someone' does it for me as well. 'The Complete Banker' is what I am listening to right now at this moment!

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fredthe3rd wrote:

What's your favourite bit of Dante's classic book- 

 

I thought the arse-faced devils who sing farts and torture corrupt politicians were pretty funny. Good reading, that.



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Stephen


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Oh, I had forgotten "Through A Long And Sleepless Night". This is, as Weed says, one of the best songs ever. Totally took my breath away the first time I heard it, and had to go back and listen again to see if it was quite as good as I thought it was.

It was!

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Ste


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Kicking myself again. When The Lights Go Out All Over Europe is probably more favouritey than Mastermind! Did anyone see them at the Palladium? I think I need to buy that DVD, a friend has it and I keep meaning to. Some marvellous stuff on there. Here's a bit of YouTube spam!

When The Lights..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODwFq4zMrHo&feature=relmfu

And No One knows, which is surprisingly terribly excellent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gox6zrcoQI

Sorry in advance!



-- Edited by Ste on Tuesday 26th of June 2012 04:49:35 PM

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ArrGee


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There is a new Promenade. Only digital. All the reissues available on Deezer, Spotify etc.

the digital format of Promenade has a very special Volume 3 as a digital exclusive...



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Sturdy


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Wow, just gone and checked them all on Spotify. The riches! Still kind of want the proper releases though so I can geek out over the sleevenotes and such.

Happy 1000th post by the way...

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Eamonn


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That new boxset out today of all their albums in deluxe/expanded format looks a thing of beauty.

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andy


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Los of stuff to listen to, and they did not release Foreverland and Office Politics reissue, suppose that's exclusive to physical formats.

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Ian


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Had a listen to some of it this morning, the Country version of "Mastermind" was very unexpected.

The last two albums did come with bonus discs when they were released first time round so I'm guessing they didn't see the value in reissuing them so soon.

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weed


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It's such good value. I'm currently laughing my head off at the "cockney version of Becoming More Like Alfie

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Eamonn


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Ian wrote:

Had a listen to some of it this morning, the Country version of "Mastermind" was very unexpected.

The last two albums did come with bonus discs when they were released first time round so I'm guessing they didn't see the value in reissuing them so soon.

 

I thought they had reissued those with different material on the second disks?

 

He's a funny fecker Hannon but sometimes it gets a bit too fey/silly for my tastes. So I couldnt justify spending £100 on a career retrospective as I would only dig half to two thirds of it.



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ArrGee


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Eamonn wrote:
Ian wrote:

Had a listen to some of it this morning, the Country version of "Mastermind" was very unexpected.

The last two albums did come with bonus discs when they were released first time round so I'm guessing they didn't see the value in reissuing them so soon.

 I thought they had reissued those with different material on the second disks?

He's a funny fecker Hannon but sometimes it gets a bit too fey/silly for my tastes. So I couldnt justify spending £100 on a career retrospective as I would only dig half to two thirds of it.

Given what I spent on the Barbican gigs, another £100 wouldnt make much odds.  However I think I will just listen on Deezer rather than buying the CDs.  However the vinyl is very tempting...



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andy


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Ian wrote:

Had a listen to some of it this morning, the Country version of "Mastermind" was very unexpected.

The last two albums did come with bonus discs when they were released first time round so I'm guessing they didn't see the value in reissuing them so soon.

 

 

Did you get the boxset ? I ordered mine but it wont come until the 16th and it says on the tracklisting that there will be bonus tracks we didnt have before for Foreverland and Office Politics. It was supposed to be released last august but got delayed and in the meantime they included those two records that werent there in the first place if i remember well. Guess they forgot to add them to streaming platforms biggrin

the deluxe version released before included tracks that were not from those sessions. 

https://thedivinecomedy.tmstor.es/?page=splash2&splash=5e61167ea4337



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Ian


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I haven't ordered it yet, I am going to soon. I have been listening on Spotify though.

I bought "Office Politics" on the day of release (last June if my memory serves) and it came with a second disc so I'm guessing that's why they haven't reissued it this time round.

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Eamonn


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I think the second disc last year was Swallows and Amazons - music specifically for some stage show. The reissue bonus disc of Office Politics is demos and outtakes from the actual album as per the other expanded albums.

Wish there was a demo of A Feather In Your Cap on it. One of my favourite songs he's ever done. Can well imagine Jarvis/Pulp performing it.

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andy


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Eamonn wrote:

I think the second disc last year was Swallows and Amazons - music specifically for some stage show. The reissue bonus disc of Office Politics is demos and outtakes from the actual album as per the other expanded albums.

Wish there was a demo of A Feather In Your Cap on it. One of my favourite songs he's ever done. Can well imagine Jarvis/Pulp performing it.

 Office Politics is spectacular, from beginning to end.



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Eamonn


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I think it's a couple of tracks too long (the synth superstore frenzy and Removal Furniture Company are as annoying as they are amusing).

Anyway, seductivebarry of this parish has taken ownership of the boxset and says that Jarvis gets a couple of mentions in the liner notes.

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andy


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Plus we get to hear a DC Bond theme in this reissue with the Night is not Enough. That was unexpected.

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Sturdy wrote:

Wow, just gone and checked them all on Spotify. The riches! Still kind of want the proper releases though so I can geek out over the sleevenotes and such.

Happy 1000th post by the way...

 Thanks - now I am Legendary!   Only 2 of us.  Now only one Boss smile

As an aside, I picked up Casanova for 50p from local charity shop today to play in the car. Despite listening to it countless times on Deezer, Spotify and the like, I never owned it.  What a bargain!  

A few years ago I used to rummage through the vinyl picking up LPs for £1 or less, but now its CDs. 



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Ian


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andy wrote:

Plus we get to hear a DC Bond theme in this reissue with the Night is not Enough. That was unexpected.




I agree, that was totally unexpected.

I also agree with Eamonn, if "Office Politics" was a couple of tracks shorter, it would have been better. And "Feather in your Cap" is my favourite song from that album too

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andy


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Well thanx to computers we can now make our own tracklistings innit biggrin

I like Office Politics the way it is, but lucky you Neil said he cut few tracks before the release. Probably the ones that are bonus tracks on the new box set.



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seductivebarry


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The box set is brilliantly put together. The notes for each album are intriguing- Neil seems to be the first to admit that ambition turned him into a bit of an arse during the first few albums. And the notes for Regeneration are written as almost an apology.

Theres a couple of Jarvis references and a Pulp one too - its explicitly mentioned that Pulp are an influence of his. Which is kinda funny as I seem to remember that Jarvis has previously expressed a bit of a dislike for TDC...

A bit disappointing that they released the box set but didnt include the remixed version of Promenade....which is well worth a listen as its even better than the original. Something I didnt think would be possible.

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andy


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seductivebarry wrote:

The box set is brilliantly put together. The notes for each album are intriguing- Neil seems to be the first to admit that ambition turned him into a bit of an arse during the first few albums. And the notes for Regeneration are written as almost an apology.

Theres a couple of Jarvis references and a Pulp one too - its explicitly mentioned that Pulp are an influence of his. Which is kinda funny as I seem to remember that Jarvis has previously expressed a bit of a dislike for TDC...

A bit disappointing that they released the box set but didnt include the remixed version of Promenade....which is well worth a listen as its even better than the original. Something I didnt think would be possible.

 

To be fair to Neil, most important acts of the 90s were probably assholes back then. I mean, it was a very different times and they were all over the news all time. they were kings and queens. A bit like the Beatles. Must have been hard to keep the feet on the ground. 

I suspect Jarvis always felt a bit threatened by Neil because he was the only lyricist of his time to be able to compete with him. And they were both very popular in France before making it in England. Making similar music. 

and then, When you spend 20 years trying to make it and something as good as DC comes up, i mean... 



-- Edited by andy on Monday 12th of October 2020 07:39:07 AM

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Eamonn


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*15 years....it took DC about 5.

It is interesting that TDC released their Greatest Hits/Best Of at their commercial peak and it nearly got to number 1. But they only had one top ten hit (National Express - which, personally, is another of their songs I find a bit annoying even if it's undoubtedly an earworm) so a lot of songs on that compilation; buyers would have been hearing for the first time. Whereas Pulp Hits contained a lot more recognisable songs but absolutely bombed. All about timing, I guess.

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seductivebarry


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andy wrote:
 

To be fair to Neil, most important acts of the 90s were probably assholes back then. I mean, it was a very different times and they were all over the news all time. they were kings and queens. A bit like the Beatles. Must have been hard to keep the feet on the ground. 


-- Edited by andy on Monday 12th of October 2020 07:39:07 AM

 

That's a fair point, I guess Neil has always come across as a nice chap to me. The disbanding of the 'original' band seems to have been a disagreement over money - going down the usual arrangement of song writer having more whilst the others wanting what Pulp seemed to so and share out evenly. I can imagine Jarvis being a bit of an arse at times but Neil not so. Then again, when I was the Duckworth Lewis Method in Birmingham he was in a stinking mood and clearly didn't want to be there. I guess less is known about Neil as he hasn't been in the public eye so much. 



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Eamonn wrote:

*15 years....it took DC about 5.

It is interesting that TDC released their Greatest Hits/Best Of at their commercial peak and it nearly got to number 1. But they only had one top ten hit (National Express - which, personally, is another of their songs I find a bit annoying even if it's undoubtedly an earworm) so a lot of songs on that compilation; buyers would have been hearing for the first time. Whereas Pulp Hits contained a lot more recognisable songs but absolutely bombed. All about timing, I guess.

 

I wonder if it was the package too. A Secret History had the special edition book thing with rarities - it also covered the who catalogue up to that point. Pulp's was essentially songs from Island and no reason other than the collectors to buy it - the DVD was more attractive to the fans and the real 'gem' imo 



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Just found the bit about Jarvis and Neil. Perhaps it's not as much a dislike as I remembered: "Did you and Jarvis once have an argument about an anorak? That has a basis in truth. Jarvis and I once did a joint cover shoot for a French magazine. I turned up wearing an anorak, basically, because I had no clue. It got back to me afterwards that Jarvis had been outraged. The phrase he used was Youve got to live it (referring to being a pop star, presumably). Afterwards, I thought Hmmm He was probably right. But we never had a face-to-face argument."



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Sturdy


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I remember an interview with Jarvis years ago - or maybe a guest singles column in some magazine or other? - where he said something along the lines of how The Divine Comedy have some pretty good stuff, but once in a while there's a lyric that comes along that just makes you go "urgh". That's a very vague memory though, I probably read it in a newsagents 24 years ago!

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Ian


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Eamonn wrote:

*15 years....it took DC about 5.


It is interesting that TDC released their Greatest Hits/Best Of at their commercial peak and it nearly got to number 1. But they only had one top ten hit (National Express - which, personally, is another of their songs I find a bit annoying even if it's undoubtedly an earworm) so a lot of songs on that compilation; buyers would have been hearing for the first time. Whereas Pulp Hits contained a lot more recognisable songs but absolutely bombed. All about timing, I guess.




I think the fact that TDC released the greatest hits compilation whilst they were still selling records was the reason it sold well. The bonus CD would have certainly helped shift more copies (it convinced me to buy it even though I had already bought all the albums and singles up to that point). Also, consider Pulp's "Countdown 1992-1983" compilation, released at the height of their fame and despite very little promotion and Jarvis' telling fans not to buy it in the mainstream press, it ended up in the top 10.

I remember someone saying at the time that [Pulp's] "Hits" probably flopped because everyone who wanted their greatest hits had already bought "Different Class". Also, those wishing to spread their wings a bit would have bought "His n Hers", "This is Hardcore" and possibly "Intro", so they effectively had everything on there.

If I remember rightly, TDC also promoted the compilation with two singles (a re-recording of "The Pop Singers' Fear of the Pollen Count" and "Gin Soaked Boy", the former reaching the top 20), whereas Pulp didn't, it had been 6 months since "Bad Cover Version".

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ArrGee


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Eamonn wrote:

*15 years....it took DC about 5.

It is interesting that TDC released their Greatest Hits/Best Of at their commercial peak and it nearly got to number 1. But they only had one top ten hit (National Express - which, personally, is another of their songs I find a bit annoying even if it's undoubtedly an earworm) so a lot of songs on that compilation; buyers would have been hearing for the first time. Whereas Pulp Hits contained a lot more recognisable songs but absolutely bombed. All about timing, I guess.

Hits bombed on release, but it eventually went gold in 2007.

I suspect that with Pulp, most people considered Different Class and His n Hers to be the definitive albums, and with 8 of those tracks on hits didnt worry about about the compilation at the time.  

https://www.bpi.co.uk/brit-certified/

 



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andy


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I suspect Jarvis has always been jealous of Neil, coz Hannon is a one man band that can do it all, when Jarvis needs (a bit) of help

Also the comment about the lyrics, if true, is unfair. DC has fun and comical lyrics. Maybe that's what bothers Jarv ? He said he never got into the Beatles for the same reason.



-- Edited by andy on Monday 12th of October 2020 03:49:24 PM

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Sturdy


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I reckon the other thing is, Pulp are more people's favourite band than The Divine Comedy - hence a bigger base of devoted fans who bought every album as they came along. The Divine Comedy have a good number of those too, but also probably a bigger proportion of people who were in the "Oh yeah, I kinda like The Divine Comedy" camp who'd maybe got a couple of their records and might've seen them live at some point without ever really going hyper on them. So for someone like that, the greatest hits comp is ideal if you want to catch up.

But yeah, the fact a lot more effort went into compiling and promoting the TDC one shouldn't be overlooked either. I do like the Hits package, but if TDC had taken the Pulp approach it'd one CD, no singles to promote it, and they'd have missed National Express off!

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Eamonn


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True dat. I wonder how a new Pulp compilation would have fared had it been released during the reunion.

From the Hits tracklisting, add Misshapes/Mile End*/Like A Friend*/After You (as the promo single) and remove Underwear and Miner's Strike.

*Not singles or hits but among Pulp's most popular/streamed songs post-split.

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ArrGee


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Eamonn wrote:

True dat. I wonder how a new Pulp compilation would have fared had it been released during the reunion.

From the Hits tracklisting, add Misshapes/Mile End*/Like A Friend*/After You (as the promo single) and remove Underwear and Miner's Strike.

*Not singles or hits but among Pulp's most popular/streamed songs post-split.

Amazed Mile End & Like a Friend are most streamed.  Maybe people listening to soundtracks. Mis-shapes should have been on Hits, but that would have been 6 Different Class songs.  O.U. should have been on if Razzmatazz was on as it was a single as well.  Personally, I think My Legendary Girlfriend and Countdown should be on a Pulp compilation though the different record labels may make that a little tricky.

Unlikely to happen now.



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Sturdy wrote:

I reckon the other thing is, Pulp are more people's favourite band than The Divine Comedy

 

Only because more people have heard of them. I know plenty of people who like Pulp, but dont really know much other than Different Class. And because that was such a big hit album they dont really care to seek out a hits album. Maybe not wholly comparable, but I suspect it is similar with Happy Mondays and Primal Scream. Plenty of people have Pills n Thrills and Screamadelica, but doubt many have a hits album.



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ArrGee wrote:
Eamonn wrote:

True dat. I wonder how a new Pulp compilation would have fared had it been released during the reunion.

From the Hits tracklisting, add Misshapes/Mile End*/Like A Friend*/After You (as the promo single) and remove Underwear and Miner's Strike.

*Not singles or hits but among Pulp's most popular/streamed songs post-split.

Amazed Mile End & Like a Friend are most streamed.  Maybe people listening to soundtracks. Mis-shapes should have been on Hits, but that would have been 6 Different Class songs.  O.U. should have been on if Razzmatazz was on as it was a single as well.  Personally, I think My Legendary Girlfriend and Countdown should be on a Pulp compilation though the different record labels may make that a little tricky.

Unlikely to happen now.

 

Like A Friend was featured on a popular adult animated series in the US, (plus it was a bonus track on the US version of TIH). Not a huge surprise I guess that Pulp played it on one of the US chat shows live during the reunion.

Mile End probably benefits from the enduring appeal of Trainspotting and its soundtrack.

Underwear was a Common People b-side but wasn't a stand-alone single/hit in the sense Misshapes was (Double A-side status notwithstanding), so should be left off any Pulp hits compilation.

 

I would squeeze OU in if an 80 minutes 1CD capacity allowed. It didn't chart at all though, while Razzmatazz did hit the lofty heights of number 80! (and had a video)

 

The singles from Seppy are a little obscure by comparison and obviously are non-Universal licensed.

 

As for unlikely to happen, that seems to be more about their (non-) relationship with Universal than commercial viability. Suede released another best-of this week. OK, there's 3 reunion albums worth of tracks to add but no one will know them apart from the die-hards. They'll probably still make a few hundred sales from casual browsers though (it's on sale in some supermarkets at the moment).



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If they were going to go pre-Island with a compilation, I reckon they'd also have to abandon the singles-only approach. You'd need some album tracks in there to make it properly representative, plus I'm not sure Everybody's Problem and Master of the Universe really show those incarnations of Pulp at their best...

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ArrGee wrote:
Sturdy wrote:

I reckon the other thing is, Pulp are more people's favourite band than The Divine Comedy 

Only because more people have heard of them. I know plenty of people who like Pulp, but dont really know much other than Different Class. And because that was such a big hit album they dont really care to seek out a hits album. Maybe not wholly comparable, but I suspect it is similar with Happy Mondays and Primal Scream. Plenty of people have Pills n Thrills and Screamadelica, but doubt many have a hits album.

 I'm reminded of a Paul Heaton quote when that Beautiful South best-of unexpectedly sold mega numbers - "I think we're a lot of people's second favourite band..."



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ArrGee


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Just got A Short Album About Love on vinyl. Not sure if it is the same for the CDs, but there is a download code to get the LP + bonus material.

currently under £15 at Amazon.

 

 

 



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The LPs all have a download code to get the extra tracks. The CDs come with a 2nd disc (in the boxset anyway)

 

I have spent since Friday slowing making my way through this lot. It's really great! The linear notes for each album are like a mini Hannon autobiography.



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Also worth noting the LPs & CDs are remastered versions of each album (except the latest 2) & the download codes are super 2020 remixes of each album. I haven't got so far yet to know whether or not they are worth it - but on Spotify has the 2020 remix of Promenade to compare versions before purchasing.

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There's a great film/concert of the Office Politics songs on YouTube from last year set in a "real" French bureau with actors. Watched it last night, great footage (roaming cameras on-stage, close-ups of sexy synths etc.) Really got me in the mood for tomorrow's Barbican livestream. And I'll say it again  A Feather In Your Cap - what a tearjerker (The Tearjerker Returns?).

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OtDEeVKGLNk&t=2803s



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Eamonn wrote:

There's a great film/concert of the Office Politics songs on YouTube from last year set in a "real" French bureau with actors. Watched it last night, great footage (roaming cameras on-stage, close-ups of sexy synths etc.) Really got me in the mood for tomorrow's Barbican livestream. And I'll say it again  A Feather In Your Cap - what a tearjerker (The Tearjerker Returns?).

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OtDEeVKGLNk&t=2803s

 

Seen that a while back, really worth it.

 

And may i add, Room 29 is the perfect bridge between Pulp and Divine Comedy. To me, Neil Hannon and Jarvis could have made a similar record if they had worked together.



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weed wrote:

The download codes are super 2020 remixes of each album. 

Have to see what I get when I finish work today.   I did note this on the Amazon blurb....

2nd disc is the DVD - A Short Film About A Short Album About Love a previously unreleased 50-minute film of the Shepherds Bush Empire concert at which Short Album.. was recorded

Don't suppose that is on the download...



-- Edited by ArrGee on Tuesday 13th of October 2020 03:03:26 PM

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As luck would have it I got a couple of returns for the Barbican gig tomorrow night. Result.

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Eamonn wrote:

There's a great film/concert of the Office Politics songs on YouTube from last year set in a "real" French bureau with actors. Watched it last night, great footage (roaming cameras on-stage, close-ups of sexy synths etc.) Really got me in the mood for tomorrow's Barbican livestream. And I'll say it again  A Feather In Your Cap - what a tearjerker (The Tearjerker Returns?).

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OtDEeVKGLNk&t=2803s




I only discovered this recently and I agree, it's fantastic. I don't think they played "A Feather in Your Cap" much live last year so that was great to see.

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thecritic.co.uk/the-divine-comedy-at-30/

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ArrGee wrote

 

2nd disc is the DVD - A Short Film About A Short Album About Love a previously unreleased 50-minute film of the Shepherds Bush Empire concert at which Short Album.. was recorded

Don't suppose that is on the download...



-- Edited by ArrGee on Tuesday 13th of October 2020 03:03:26 PM

 Oh I watched the DVD last night and it is superb! There are 2 or 3 songs from it that were put up on youtube by the drummer, Miggy (RIP) a few years ago. 

It was never released because after having spent a fortune filming it (Fun fact: the funds for this huge concert/album were possible because of Edwyn Collins' 'A Girl Like You'), the record company suddenly chucked all of their toys out of their pram after the orchestra sent in a bill for image rights.

 

To finally see it is magical!



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Well-put together stream from the Barbican tonight. A bit short as a gig, just an hour, but great performance by Neil and band. I always forget how awkward he is with his in-between bantz.

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I'm really curious. I have ordered (but not yet received) the boxset, without ever having heard a full song of theirs. first time I did that. but a lot of people whose opinions I value seem to love this band and the box set looked so lovely and complete that I decided to buy it. I can't wait...

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Freek wrote:

I'm really curious. I have ordered (but not yet received) the boxset, without ever having heard a full song of theirs. first time I did that. but a lot of people whose opinions I value seem to love this band and the box set looked so lovely and complete that I decided to buy it. I can't wait...

 

Wow 30 years of Divine in one go, you're lucky. Enjoy. 



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ArrGee wrote:
Eamonn wrote:
Ian wrote:

Had a listen to some of it this morning, the Country version of "Mastermind" was very unexpected.

The last two albums did come with bonus discs when they were released first time round so I'm guessing they didn't see the value in reissuing them so soon.

 I thought they had reissued those with different material on the second disks?

He's a funny fecker Hannon but sometimes it gets a bit too fey/silly for my tastes. So I couldnt justify spending £100 on a career retrospective as I would only dig half to two thirds of it.

Given what I spent on the Barbican gigs, another £100 wouldnt make much odds.  However I think I will just listen on Deezer rather than buying the CDs.  However the vinyl is very tempting...

 I gave in.  I couldnt resist at £102.94 on Amazon and bought the CD box set.      



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Ooh, is it? Closer to £150 last time I checked. Spending too much money online on myself since Lockdown (music, clothes, books...), have to resist these deals or I'll never be a homeowner.

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Eamonn wrote:

Ooh, is it? Closer to £150 last time I checked. Spending too much money online on myself since Lockdown (music, clothes, books...), have to resist these deals or I'll never be a homeowner.

Not a homewrecker then

Also have to add in £120 on a Bowie box set (Who can I be now - vinyl), £10 for last Franz Ferdinand LP.  I might need a bigger house...

... anyway its bonus money from not having to spend on travel, gigs, pubs, theatre, cinema, football etc.   However my teenage daughter has a tendency to lose things that I need to budget for.  Coats, Masks, Gloves, Zip cards (4 since September!), etc.  





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Now that the DC box has sold-out, I kinda regret not buying it. Anyone who did....do you know whether the individual 2CD reissues of TDC's back-cat released at the same time as the box last autumn have the same liner notes/essays by Neil as the Cupid, Folly And Time boxset has? I thought I might buy some of the individual albums, especially if the content is the same (albeit not in that cute book-format as per the box). Thanks.

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I bought both the CD boxset and some of the individual vinyls to fill gaps in my collection & the vinyl inserts have the same liner notes. They are great too as Neil is pretty open and honest in them & they read like a mini Hannon autobiography.

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Cool. Which albums notes mention Pulp/Jarvis? (I'm probably that sad that any Pulp references might tempt me off the fence into buying that particular album).

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I'm pretty sure it would be Cassanova. I'll check in the morning.

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Yep Cassanova. He's basically saying how he needed to do a record that would get him on the britpop bandwagon & mentions His name Hers. I'm sure he mentions 'Common People specifically somewhere too.



-- Edited by weed on Thursday 5th of August 2021 06:37:18 PM

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For anyone interested, Neil Hannon has written 7 songs for the new "Wonka" movie. Alas, its not sung by him but by Chalamet... oh well, worth a listen on streaming services.

The rest of the score is written by Joby Talbot, who was in DC during Casanova mainly.

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a nice coup for Messrs Hannon and Talbot. The film seems like it's doing well.

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andy wrote:

For anyone interested, Neil Hannon has written 7 songs for the new "Wonka" movie. Alas, its not sung by him but by Chalamet... oh well, worth a listen on streaming services.

The rest of the score is written by Joby Talbot, who was in DC during Casanova mainly.

 Dublin date on 29 December https://nyfdublin.com/  



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I am surprised Divine Comedy are the support. However, the only time I saw Hawley solo, Paul Weller was the support.

ROCK N ROLL CIRCUS: RICHARD HAWLEY plus The Divine Comedy, The Coral + more to be announced

Thursday 29th August 2024 Don Valley Bowl, Sheffield


rock_n_roll_circus_richard_hawley-7022951223.jpg



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WOW. Hawley + DC... just missing Pulp and its the perfect night.

Makes sense DC is support in Sheffield, I dont think Neil Hannon is that popular in those areas.

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andy wrote:

WOW. Hawley + DC... just missing Pulp and its the perfect night.

Makes sense DC is support in Sheffield, I dont think Neil Hannon is that popular in those areas.

The Divine Comedy sold out 5 consecutive nights at Barbican (and Paris) revisiting their back catalogue in its entirety.  They have thirteen 40 singles and nine top 40 LPs.  They sold out London Palladium in hours.  And Neil Hannon has just done the Wonka sound track.

Richard Hawley has one single that scraped into the top 40 (at #40) and six top 40 LPs. And the music for a play.

As for Paul Weller, he has 16 top ten LPs (6 #1, 7 #2) and umpteen top 40 singles and thats before considering his work with The Style Council and The Jam.

Must be a Sheffield thing, cos it makes no sense to me

 



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ArrGee wrote:
andy wrote:

WOW. Hawley + DC... just missing Pulp and its the perfect night.

Makes sense DC is support in Sheffield, I dont think Neil Hannon is that popular in those areas.

The Divine Comedy sold out 5 consecutive nights at Barbican (and Paris) revisiting their back catalogue in its entirety.  They have thirteen 40 singles and nine top 40 LPs.  They sold out London Palladium in hours.  And Neil Hannon has just done the Wonka sound track.

Richard Hawley has one single that scraped into the top 40 (at #40) and six top 40 LPs. And the music for a play.

As for Paul Weller, he has 16 top ten LPs (6 #1, 7 #2) and umpteen top 40 singles and thats before considering his work with The Style Council and The Jam.

Must be a Sheffield thing, cos it makes no sense to me

 

 Not that it really changes your argument, but the Longpigs did have two top-twenty singles ('On and On' and the reissued 'She Said').



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ArrGee wrote:
andy wrote:

WOW. Hawley + DC... just missing Pulp and its the perfect night.

Makes sense DC is support in Sheffield, I dont think Neil Hannon is that popular in those areas.

The Divine Comedy sold out 5 consecutive nights at Barbican (and Paris) revisiting their back catalogue in its entirety.  They have thirteen 40 singles and nine top 40 LPs.  They sold out London Palladium in hours.  And Neil Hannon has just done the Wonka sound track.

Richard Hawley has one single that scraped into the top 40 (at #40) and six top 40 LPs. And the music for a play.

As for Paul Weller, he has 16 top ten LPs (6 #1, 7 #2) and umpteen top 40 singles and thats before considering his work with The Style Council and The Jam.

Must be a Sheffield thing, cos it makes no sense to me

 

 

It must be yeah... I'm not specialist but from outside England, cities like Sheffield, Liverpool or Manchester seem to be a bit "different" from the rest of the country biggrin

I'd say Richard is a local treasure, when DC attracts only people in capitals. Festivals know what they are doing though, they exactly where the fans are and that's how they plan their headliners. 

I'm still gutted i missed those DC shows. I had tickets for the first shows planned in 2020 that were cancelled due to covid and then when they did it again i was moving and could not go hmm

 



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Yeah, Hawley has local caché that is hard to quantify but strong enough that he's "the boss" of a local line-up.
And the success of the Standing At The Sky's Edge musical has given his profile another boost nationwide.

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Eamonn wrote:

Yeah, Hawley has local caché that is hard to quantify but strong enough that he's "the boss" of a local line-up.
And the success of the Standing At The Sky's Edge musical has given his profile another boost nationwide.

Will be interesting to see the international impact of Neil Hannon's songs on the Wonka soundtrack on tour plans of The Divine Comedy in 2024. Been 20 years since the last dates in US.



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Probably negligible if he's not singing on them.

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ArrGee wrote:
Eamonn wrote:

Yeah, Hawley has local caché that is hard to quantify but strong enough that he's "the boss" of a local line-up.
And the success of the Standing At The Sky's Edge musical has given his profile another boost nationwide.

Will be interesting to see the international impact of Neil Hannon's songs on the Wonka soundtrack on tour plans of The Divine Comedy in 2024. Been 20 years since the last dates in US.

 

None.

 

If only more Movie work for him, but that's it. DC's new album is at "planning" stage right now so maybe a little festival tour this summer but that's it. 



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Back at Barbican for 2 nights in October 2025. Tickets on sale Thursday 17 April 10am. Also lots of other dates

Mon 6th Liverpool, Philharmonic Hall
Tue 7th Nottingham, Royal Concert Hall
Wed 8th Bath, Forum
Fri 10th Gateshead, The Glasshouse
Sat 11th London, Barbican
Sun 12th London, Barbican
Mon 13th Brighton, Dome
Wed15th Cambridge, Corn Exchange
Thu 16th Sheffield, City Hall
Fri 17th Wolverhampton, Uni The Civic Hall
Sat 18th Swansea, Arena
Mon 20th Glasgow, Royal Concert Hall
Tue 21st York, Barbican
Thu 23rd Oxford, New Theatre
Fri 24th Manchester, Bridgewater Hall
Sat 25th Bristol, Beacon

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The comeback song, Achilles, is quite clever isn't it? Not that you'd expect anything less.

I never get why it's called a collective. Isn't Neil effectively the entire Divine Comedy? He writes everything, no one else is in pictures or does promo. The rest are effectively interchangeable session/live players, right?


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Eamonn wrote:

The comeback song, Achilles, is quite clever isn't it? Not that you'd expect anything less.

I never get why it's called a collective. Isn't Neil effectively the entire Divine Comedy? He writes everything, no one else is in pictures or does promo. The rest are effectively interchangeable session/live players, right?

 

I'm not too sold on the single for now. Its well done, nothing bad to say about it: but that was exactly what i was expecting. He's done things like that in the past: it's like a mix between Laday of a Certain Age, Catherine the Great and Norman and Norma. It's ok, i know he needs a single that fits his image, it's easy and will be played on radio... and the rest of the album should be way better. Just like the previous ones, the "main" single was actually the weakest track on the record.

As for the DC thing: Yeah, he's been a one man band since after Regeneration in the early 2000. The "band" thing didn't quite work, although there was no bad feeling (he worked with ex-DC Joby Talbot on Wonka). So since Charmed Life, he's Divine Comedy, but with a steady backing band, it's almost the same people since then, and they are quite impressive live, having seen them many, many times. He's got Andrew Skeet who arranges all the strings on his records, so he's kinda the shadow man in Divine Comedy. But his demos are quite impressive : all is basically there, then Skeet translate it into readable music for the sessions players and adds nuance. 

He's keeping the Divine Comedy because he started it all alone, actually. But yeah, its not a band. It's Neil Hannon and is sidekicks. 



-- Edited by andy on Thursday 10th of April 2025 07:07:07 AM

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