ShareThe Divine Comedy performing their Rainy Sunday Afternoon Tour at The Royal Concert Hall Nottingham on Tuesday 7th October 2025.
Images and Review by Kevin Cooper
The Divine Comedy are happily a band that cannot be pigeon-holed and that is maybe one of the reasons why a packed crowd turned out at the Royal Concert Hall on Tuesday night to witness Neil Hannon and his band deliver a set list that reminded them that The Divine Comedy are a jewel in the British music scene.
They strolled on to the stage to a cacophony of applause and opened with Achilles from their thirteenth album of finely tuned pop songs, Rainy Sunday Afternoon which is another multi-layered piece of work recorded at Abbey Road Studios. Following up with the raunchy Generation Sex the tempo was slowed for the lovely The Last Time I Saw The Old Man, written about his father.
Hannon’s six piece band are a very polished team of musicians and mid set he had his own unique way of introducing them by wheeling around a drinks trolley and serving each band member a wine or beer on stage.
At The Indie Disco came early in the set which went down a storm and even the retro references could not diminish the sense that The Divine Comedy are still a vital musical force and are a band that has quietly outlived many of their 90’s contemporaries.
Something For The Weekend was dark, witty, catchy and unforgettable whereas Norman and Norma was a real classic. Neapolitan Girl and Our Mutual Friend still remain concert favourites and as Hannon finely balances between old and new songs, Bang Goes The Knighthood sat nicely into the curiously titled The Man Who Turned Into A Chair and the delightfully fresh and crisp Mar-a Lago By The Sea.
Apart from Hannon’s knack for putting terrifically catchy tunes over chord sequences of greater sophistication than most pop music musters, he is also an astonishing weaver of tales, especially on the likes of A Lady Of A Certain Age which was both poignant, unflinching and sung with heartfelt eloquence.
Closing the main set with In Pursuit Of Happiness, The Heart Is A lonely Hunter, and Other People they had delivered a well thought out show that culminated with their greatest hit, National Express that brought the house down whilst Tonight We Fly had the crowd dancing along to every word.
For the encore they were back for Becoming More Like Alfie, and Songs Of Love, better known as the theme tune for comedy classic, Father Ted with its beautiful weaving lyrics. Last song of the night was the magical moving Invisible Thread, a touching recognition of the relationship that Hannon has with his daughter.
The crowd had gone to the Concert Hall expecting a sickly dose of nostalgia but instead were treated to a handful of new songs that left them wanting to hear more. And what was really apparent was just how much Hannon and the band enjoyed delivering the show, and there was plenty to enjoy with a set that tried to please everyone and succeeded.
