Following the chart success of their recent album ‘Rainy Sunday Afternoon,’ a sold-out UK tour and an appearance on BBC’s ‘Later…with Jools Holland’, The Divine Comedy round off a tremendous year with an appropriately festive offering.
‘All the Pretty Lights’ is the latest single to be taken from The Divine Comedy’s thirteenth album ‘Rainy Sunday Afternoon’ which charted at number 4 on the UK Album Chart and number 1 on the UK Independent Chart – the band’s highest charting studio album to date, with their best opening week’s sales since 2004’s classic ‘Absent Friends’.
A tribute to the wonder and excitement of a childhood Christmas, “All the Pretty Lights” was written, produced, and arranged by Neil Hannon and recorded at Abbey Road last autumn. Neil says, “It began with the title (I liked the sound of the words) and a scrap of melody. That title brought to mind my family’s visit to London in the late ’70s. To be a 7 year old in London at Christmas was like being in Mary Poppins. Utterly magical! These memories are a bit garbled and possibly enhanced with age, but the song is as much about the fallibility of memory as about nostalgia for Christmas past.”
“All the Pretty Lights” is accompanied by a gorgeous animated video, illustrated by long-term TDC collaborator Mathieu Persan with animation by Maéva Pensivy. Mathieu says: “We were delighted to collaborate once again with an artist for whom we have deep admiration. We wrote the script to match as closely as possible the very moving lyrics and the emotion – sometimes bittersweet and tinged with nostalgia. Neil wanted a classic mid-century aesthetic, so I drew inspiration from the great illustrator Miroslav ?a?ek to recreate a childlike and joyful world. Maéva then created the animations, inspired by the wonderful Hanna-Barbera productions, to bring the images to life and give them a fresh character. The result: a colourful and cheerful little film that looks as though it came straight out of the 1950s.”
Neil adds. “Mathieu and Maéva’s video is a thing of beauty and wonder. We share a love of classic 50s graphics, and this seemed a great opportunity to fully inhabit that world.”
Looking ahead to the new year, the band will tour Europe and Ireland in the spring, with further UK and Irish dates in June and July, including a special guest slot on David Gray’s summer outdoor shows.
The Divine Comedy are delighted to announce the addition of a London date at the Royal Festival Hall on Sunday July 12th 2026. Tickets go on sale at 10am on Friday 21st November – ticket link HERE
The Divine Comedy’s headline shows in June / July 2026 are:
June 2026
Sat 27th Norwich, The LCR UEA
July 2026
Fri 3rd Edinburgh, Usher Hall
Tue 7th Portsmouth, Guildhall
Wed 8th Aylesbury, Waterside Theatre
Sun 12th London, Royal Festival Hall (NEW DATE)
All ticket links can be found HERE
The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon on “Rainy Sunday Afternoon” | XS Noize Podcast #245 – Listen below:
Be the first to comment