Neil Hannon
Michael Berkeley's guest is the singer and songwriter Neil Hannon.
Neil Hannon is a singer, songwriter and the driving force behind the band The Divine Comedy, which he founded in 1989. Along with hit singles such as National Express, and 12 albums with the band, his music appears in an impressively varied range of settings 鈥� including original songs for the recent film Wonka, a chamber opera inspired by Tolstoy for Covent Garden, and the theme tune for the sitcom Father Ted.
Neil talks to Michael Berkeley about growing up in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland with a bishop for a father, writing his first pop song when he was 14, and how, as a self-described "pathetic twerp", he managed to make it in the pop world. His typically wide-ranging musical passions include works by Puccini, Stravinsky, Chopin and Ravel, alongside tracks by Michael Nyman, Kate Bush and Scott Walker.
Producer: Graham Rogers
Last on
Music Played
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Giacomo Puccini
Chi il bel sogno di Doretta (La rondine)
Singer: Kiri Te Kanawa. Orchestra: London Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: John Pritchard.- EMI.
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Igor Stravinsky
Petrushka
Orchestra: New York Philharmonic. Conductor: Leonard Bernstein.- Sony Classical.
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Fr茅d茅ric Chopin
Nocturne in E flat, Op.9 No.2
Performer: Jan Lisiecki.- Deutsche Grammophon (DG).
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Kate Bush
Cloudbusting
Singer: Kate Bush.- Noble & Brite Limited.
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Michael Nyman
Prawn-watching (A Zed and Two Noughts)
Ensemble: Michael Nyman Band. Conductor: Michael Nyman.- Decca Music Group Ltd..
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Neil Hannon
Our Mutual Friend
Ensemble: The Divine Comedy.- Parlophone UK.
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Maurice Ravel
String Quartet in F (1st mvt)
Ensemble: Paganini Quartet.- BNF.
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Scott Walker
Montague Terrace (In Blue)
Singer: Scott Walker.- UMC (Universal Music Catalogue).
Broadcast
- Sun 1 Jun 2025 12:00蜜芽传媒 Radio 3
Podcast
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Private Passions
Guests from all walks of life discuss their musical passions.
