Venus, Cupid, Folly And Time - Thirty Years Of The Divine Comedy

We are excited to announce ‘Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time - Thirty Years of The Divine Comedy’, the much-anticipated reissue of The Divine Comedy's back catalogue on CD, LP, digital download and limited edition 12 CD Boxset. These formats will be released on Friday 9th October and followed by a unique global livestream from the Barbican on Wednesday 14th October. There are unlimited tickets available for this pay-per-view event, and you are guaranteed the best seat in the house! Click 'Watch Online' to buy your tickets now.

Unfortunately due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation, the London and Paris dates scheduled for September 2020 have been postponed to September 2021. Tickets for the Barbican are valid for the new shows while the Cité de la Musique have issued refunds with tickets going back on sale in early 2021. A link will be sent out to anyone who previously purchased tickets to enable them to get tickets for the new dates before they go on general sale. Please contact the venues for more information.

The thirtieth anniversary celebrations are a series of live concerts at the Barbican, London and Cité de la Musique, Paris! Performing as an eleven piece ensemble, the band will play two albums in full each night starting at the Barbican. There are still tickets available for the London shows, so we'd love you to join us!

SEPTEMBER 2021 -
2nd (London) / 25th (Paris)
Liberation / Promenade
3rd (London) / 26th (Paris)
Casanova / A Short Album About Love
4th (London) / 27th (Paris)
Fin de Siècle / Regeneration
5th (London) / 28th (Paris)
Absent Friends / Victory For The Comic Muse
6th (London) / 29th (Paris)
Bang Goes The Knighthood / Foreverland

In preparation for these concerts, you'll be able to listen to the reissues and revisit the world of The Divine Comedy in all of their remastered glory!

In 1990 musical history was made when a twenty year old Neil Hannon signed his first record deal and began releasing one glorious album after another under the name The Divine Comedy. Let the fireworks begin as, in celebration of that anniversary, Divine Comedy Records remaster and reissue nine of the band’s classic albums on CD, LP and digitally:
‘Liberation’ (1993), ‘Promenade’ (1994), ‘Casanova’ (1996), ‘A Short Album About Love’ (1997), ‘Fin de Siècle’ (1998), ‘Regeneration’ (2001), ‘Absent Friends’ (2004), ‘Victory For The Comic Muse’ (2006) and ‘Bang Goes The Knighthood’ (2010).

The albums have been remastered from the original tapes at the legendary Abbey Road Studios by Frank Arkwright (Blur, The Smiths) with the audio overseen throughout the project by engineer/mixer/producer Guy Massey, whose work on The Beatles Stereo Remasters won him a Grammy Award.

Each CD release consists of 2 CDs: the original remastered album, with a second CD of B-sides, demos and alternate versions curated by Neil Hannon, much of which has never been heard before. The CD release of ‘A Short Album About Love’ comes with a DVD of ‘A Short Film About A Short Album About Love’ – a previously unreleased 50-minute film of the Shepherd’s Bush Empire concert at which ‘Short Album..’ was recorded. The CDs come with a booklet of photos, credits and extensive liner notes written by Neil covering the context and inspiration behind the album and its songs.

Each LP release consists of the original remastered album, cut at Abbey Road, packaged with a download code for the album and bonus tracks. The LPs are heavyweight black vinyl in a gatefold sleeve accompanied with photos, credits and Neil's liner notes.

The 12 volume CD boxset ‘Venus, Cupid, Folly And Time - Thirty Years Of The Divine Comedy’ brings together all the remastered albums and bonus material, as well as new editions of 2016's ‘Foreverland’ and 2019's ‘Office Politics’ updated with bonus material and liner notes. Each 2CD set in the box comes packed in a slipcase featuring an illustration inspired by each album by acclaimed artist Mathieu Persan.
The boxset also features ‘Juveneilia’ - an exclusive 2CD compilation of early material put together by Neil from his personal archive, including recordings stretching back to 1984. It contains the ‘lost’ 1990 album ‘Fanfare For The Comic Muse’ and long out-of-print EPs ‘Timewatch’ and ‘Europop’. Also included is a lyric book which collects the lyrics from the studio albums alongside pages from Neil's original notebooks.

The CD, vinyl and boxset editions are available to pre-order now at our webstore alongside an array of awesome bundles! We also have a brand new range of merchandise featuring T-shirts, mugs and tote bags sporting the stylish ‘Venus, Cupid, Folly And Time’ motif. If you buy the boxset from us, you will receive an exclusive numbered 'Letter From The Author' signed by Neil Hannon.

This post has been updated to reflect the changes brought about by the impact of Covid-19 on music events since June 2020.