{"id":511414,"date":"2026-05-31T07:59:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T07:59:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/511414\/"},"modified":"2026-05-31T07:59:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T07:59:18","slug":"the-divine-comedys-neil-hannon-on-fame-and-farming-im-a-grumpy-old-bastard-now-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/511414\/","title":{"rendered":"The Divine Comedy\u2019s Neil Hannon on fame and farming: \u2018I\u2019m a grumpy old bastard now\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThis is how you do it,\u201d Neil Hannon<\/a> says. Standing in his driveway in Co Kildare, Hannon leans over a stile to scratch a black-and-white kunekune pig behind the ears, a good scratch in just the place he likes. A 1990s Irish pop phenomenon famous for chart-topping hits that include National Express and Becoming More Like Alfie, Hannon has at 55 transformed himself into a kind of accidental rural gentleman \u2013 a pig whisperer if you will.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s quite the sight. A cherry tree in full blossom is scattering pale pink petals as pigs snuffle the unmanicured earth in front of the house, a Georgian residence that Hannon bought in the mid-2010s. There are bustling sheep, chilled-out donkeys and good-living chickens, all members of the My Lovely Horse Rescue<\/a> charity located on the grounds, cofounded by Hannon\u2019s wife, the singer-songwriter and activist Cathy Davey<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s something to draw the eye everywhere you look: a polytunnel at the rear of the house, a slab of wood repurposed as a footbridge, ivy creeping up the walls, a wreath adding pep to the front door, new bay windows gleaming.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a vision of pretty practicality. The house and its grounds are cluttered and elegant and purposeful, very much the relaxed idyll of the two people who have made it their own, along with their pets and Davey\u2019s 150-odd rescue animals. To borrow a line from Wonka, the Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet<\/a>-starring movie that Hannon composed the songs for in 2023, it\u2019s a world of pure imagination.<\/p>\n

Hannon is happy to be home. He makes tea in the kitchen while ruminating about the chaos of recent years, when builders came in to renovate the property and didn\u2019t leave.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been out of this house, in various small rented places, while we renovated,\u201d he says. Hannon and Davey had thought the renovation would take six months. It ultimately took about 15.<\/p>\n

What happened? <\/p>\n

\u201cJust the usual crap. If you watch Grand Designs, you know when the glass doesn\u2019t get delivered?\u201d he says with a sigh. <\/p>\n

The couple had longed for the renovation; he shows me the new decor with delight: the Bor\u00e5stapeter patterned wallpaper, the range stove, the slim double-glazing. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Paul Simon in Dublin review: An emotionally flooring, intimate performanceOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a very draughty old Georgian house and impossible to heat. It\u2019s now got the highest energy rating. But at what cost?\u201d <\/p>\n

He lets out a cackle both dry and despairing. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt put me in a bad place. I started writing the album when we got back in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Witticisms and droll wordsmithery are usually stock-in-trade for Hannon. The Divine Comedy, of which he is the founder and mainstay, made their name with breezy, knowing ditties such as Generation Sex and Something for the Weekend. <\/p>\n

But Hannon\u2019s most recent album, Rainy Sunday Afternoon, his 13th, surprises with its vulnerability. Thoughts about loss and mortality loom large, undisguised by cheery major chords or effervescent trumpet parps.<\/p>\n

Hannon\u2019s father, Brian<\/a>, a former bishop of Clogher, died in 2022, 15 years after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer\u2019s disease. For Hannon and his family, their loss happened over years, and it was painful. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe person is taken away from the people who love them very gradually,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a slow demise. That was hard. When he died there was no great mourning, because I feel I\u2019ve been doing it for about a decade.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father is captured on The Last Time I Saw the Old Man, a song as stark as it sounds, with lyrics about his hands \u201cso fragile and grey \/ I was worried I might break them\u201d.<\/p>\n

Hannon struggles with the idea of being so vulnerable on record. \u201cI\u2019ve a dread of constant sincerity,\u201d he says, looking suddenly even more slight than usual. \u201cThat sets my teeth on edge. I hate people saying that it\u2019s a very vulnerable record.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is that because it makes him feel vulnerable generally? He laughs. \u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hannon isn\u2019t a fan of going to therapy \u2013 \u201cI guess I have a 1970s brain. It seems a bit Californian\u201d \u2013 but songwriting allows him to gauge his inner temperature. He doesn\u2019t want to pretend so much any more or cavort for the sake of a youth pop audience. <\/p>\n

\u201cI have done ridiculously jolly songs in my life,\u201d he says, \u201cbut I don\u2019t think they\u2019re a good representation of my personality. As I get older I\u2019m less willing to put on a happy face.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NeilNeil Hannon:’While we were doing Wonka I was dreaming of doing another Divine Comedy record.’ Photograph: Kevin Westenberg <\/p>\n

For many years Hannon would, as he puts it, do anything for fame. <\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up with pop stars, and I loved them, and I wanted to be one,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

A self-confessed dweeb \u2013 \u201c\u2018nerd\u2019 was wrong, because that implies I was academically advanced\u201d \u2013 he had grand ambitions for himself and his music. Escapism was part of his dream: he lived in Derry until 1982, then in Enniskillen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was insulated from the Troubles in many ways growing up,\u201d he says. \u201cMy family were the rector\u2019s family. Usually a nice house, even if they didn\u2019t pay my dad bugger all. It was a pleasant upbringing. But the news was always horrific. The effect it had on me was to convince me I wanted to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

After attending Portora Royal School in Enniskillen, where Oscar Wilde<\/a> and Samuel Beckett<\/a> also studied \u2013 \u201cIt\u2019s a good roll-call\u201d \u2013 Hannon rerouted to London and Setanta Records, where, as a young man in sharp suits, hammering out chords on the piano, his wildest dreams started coming true.<\/p>\n

He appeared on Top of the Pops, the BBC\u2019s weekly music show. He partied at Food Records, a label that championed Blur<\/a>, among other bands. He drank fine wine with Neil Tennant<\/a> of the Pet Shop Boys. He posed for Cosmopolitan in a glossy spread, it appears, that would make a vicar blush.<\/p>\n

\"NeilNeil Hannon circa 2001. Photograph: Tim Roney\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Was he nude? \u201cIt was me draped,\u201d he says. \u201cWe were re-creating the cover of Lovesexy, by Prince<\/a>\u201d \u2013 which features the singer lying naked against an orchid \u2013 \u201cto the point that I shaved my legs. The only problem was I had forgotten to tell my mum, and somebody at the pony club brought the magazine up to her. They said: \u2018Look, it\u2019s your son.\u2019 She was horrified.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a long time since those halcyon days, and Hannon rarely hangs out with big names from that era now. \u201cTim Wheeler,\u201d he says, volunteering the name of the Ash frontman. \u201cWhenever we bump into each other it\u2019s genuinely pleasant. He\u2019s the nicest man in rock. I\u2019m a grumpy old bastard now, but he seems to still have that childlike enthusiasm. Good on him.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Hannon began to retreat from mainstream pop fame, his love affair with music deepened.<\/p>\n

Exhibitionism became a thing of the past. A purer kind of engagement with songwriting emerged \u2013 over the decades his career has laid bare beautiful delights: an Ivor Novello-nominated album with his friend Thomas Walsh, for The Duckworth Lewis Method; soundtrack work on Wonka and the Irish film Lola, for which he won an Ifta; and album after album of meticulous songwriting.<\/p>\n

At a recent gig at the National Concert Hall<\/a> in Dublin, part of his ongoing tour, he cherry-picked with aplomb from different parts of his career. \u201cThere\u2019s now quite a long list of songs that seem undroppable,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

Highlights included Norman and Norma, At the Indie Disco, and A Lady of a Certain Age \u2013 perhaps the finest song he has written, with a wry, observational tone worthy of No\u00ebl Coward: \u201cYou chased the sun around the Cote d\u2019Azur \/ Until the light of youth became obscured \/ And left you on your own and in the shade \/ An English lady of a certain age.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019d have been able to write that had I not met people like that \u2013 posh friends of my mum\u2019s,\u201d he says. \u201cThere was a friend of hers, a lovely lady, who arrived every couple of years in a Triumph Spitfire, with a headscarf and massive glasses. That kind of person.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a youth Hannon was a committed socialist. Not much has changed since other than his capacity to withstand the news cycle. \u201cI always enjoyed politics growing up,\u201d he says. \u201cBut it\u2019s not enjoyable any more. I can\u2019t go a couple of hours without checking in on things. It\u2019s a freak show.\u201d <\/p>\n

One new song, Mar-a-Lago by the Sea, reflects on \u201csycophants and narcs \/ cannibals and sharks\u201d. \u201cDonald Trump<\/a> is a c**t,\u201d he says. \u201cMy knowledge of politics is more nuanced than that might suggest. But that sums it up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hannon tries to live his life by sound principles. Davey is vegan; he\u2019s doing his best to travel in that direction. \u201cI\u2019ve successfully transitioned into plant-based butter, and I have Oatly on my cereal, but when it comes to tea I just can\u2019t drink it without real milk,\u201d he says with a grimace.<\/p>\n

\"NeilNeil Hannon’s talent took him to pop’s inner circle. Photograph: Kevin Westenberg. <\/p>\n

Propped up in the kitchen is a tile showing a couple who bear a resemblance to Hannon and Davey. It was a present, he says. The pair married in 2023, going about the rites in a relaxed fashion that felt right to them. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no proposal,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was something we\u2019d meant to do for a long time but had never got around to. We did it on the sly, on the cheap. After the registry office we went to Pizza Express with the relis [relatives]. We have a slightly weird life. We\u2019re both so busy in completely different directions, but we enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe every couple create their own love language. Hannon and Davey regularly sing to each other, in a daft way, at home. When Hannon is in the shower in the morning and the water is a little hot, he emits an \u201coh yeah\u201d that\u2019s exactly the yelp Prince makes at the start of his song Sign o\u2019 the Times. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd now everyone can imagine me in the shower,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

Dogs are a huge part of their lives: four furry, burly handlers are present for this interview: Rufus (nosing beneath my arm), Poppy, Ailsa and Daisy \u2013 \u201cI\u2019m afraid she won\u2019t get up. She\u2019s the oldest of the crew.\u201d <\/p>\n

When Molly, their favourite dog, was alive they\u2019d make up narratives and jokes for her. \u201cAll these dogs have colourful back stories that we\u2019ve invented for them,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s part of the fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marriage means something different to Hannon now, perhaps, than it used to. \u201cI think just going, \u2018Did you feed the birds this morning?\u2019 is an important part of life and to be enjoyed. It\u2019s not expecting any sort of grand resolution to this funny old life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NeilNeil Hannon performs with Ian Watson, Andrew Skeet, Lucy Wilkins, Tim Weller, Simon Little and Tosh Flood in Milan, Italy. Photograph: Sergione Infuso\/Corbis via Getty Images <\/p>\n

Hannon shows me into his music room, where, alongside his keyboards, guitars and jackets hanging on the walls (for soundproofing), as well as a scattering of awards, there\u2019s a beautiful poster for The Nameless, Davey\u2019s 2010 album.<\/p>\n

Proximity is useful when it comes to trying to persuade Davey, who has been semi-retired from music for the last while, to contribute vocals to his records \u2013 \u201cas a rule she would rather do anything else\u201d. Willow, Hannon\u2019s twentysomething daughter from his marriage to Orla Hannon, is also a musician. He asked her on to the record, to contribute backing vocals on a song, Invisible Thread, that poignantly examines their bond.<\/p>\n

Hannon never told her that directly. \u201cWe\u2019re not the sort of family that talks about those things,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen I was dropping her home she said, \u2018Thanks for having me on your album.\u2019\u201d I said, \u2018Thank you for doing it. I\u2019m not paying you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

He laughs. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re alike. I can even pinpoint periods when I had the exact same haircut.\u201d <\/p>\n

Her band Burglar<\/a> are very cool, I say. \u201cI know. Much cooler than me. They sound like the stuff I wanted to sound like when I started out, but I didn\u2019t know how. They\u2019re so much better than I would have been.\u201d<\/p>\n

You sense a regret that those days are behind Hannon now, even if he is still grateful for having come up in the industry at a time when musicians were paid their dues.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had sticky periods, [but] we\u2019ve done well over the years. A part of it is just cumulative. If you make enough songs and some get used for disparate reasons, it gradually mounts up until the [royalty] cheque is healthy. Which is wonderful. I might have to downsize if I stopped doing this, but I could probably survive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not that he plans to go away any time soon. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we were doing Wonka I was dreaming of doing another Divine Comedy record. Also, I don\u2019t know how to do anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Divine Comedy<\/a> are at Leisureland, Galway, on Friday, June 5th, as part of the city\u2019s folk festival<\/a>; and appearing with David Gray<\/a> at the Marquee, Cork, on Saturday, June 13th, and Sunday, June 14th; SSE Arena, Belfast, on Tuesday, June 16th, and Fairview Park, Dublin, on Wednesday, June 17th<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThis is how you do it,\u201d Neil Hannon says. Standing in his driveway in Co Kildare, Hannon leans…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":511415,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[75],"tags":[3901,221749,356,18,117,19,17,31952,129599,221750,37011,16682,79068,13805],"class_list":["post-511414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-blur","tag-cathy-davey","tag-donald-trump","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-national-concert-hall","tag-neil-hannon","tag-neil-tennant","tag-oscar-wilde","tag-prince","tag-samuel-beckett","tag-timothee-chalamet"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116668135663646279","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=511414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/511415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}