Neil Hannon keeps the music flowing with The Divine Comedy’s new album and 2026 tour

Neil Hannon keeps the music flowing with The Divine Comedy’s new album and 2026 tour

19-09-25

From crafting whimsical songs for Wonka to penning one of his most personal albums yet, Neil Hannon shows no sign of slowing down. Today sees the release of Rainy Sunday Afternoon, the brand-new record from The Divine Comedy, out Friday, alongside the announcement of further UK headline shows for summer 2026.

It’s been a golden run for Hannon, who wrote songs for Paul King’s hit film (and Matinee Radio favourite) Wonka, cementing his reputation as one of Britain’s most inventive songwriters. That same theatrical flair runs through Rainy Sunday Afternoon, a five-star slice of pop sophistication that MOJO has already hailed as “Hannon’s most personal and poignant album to date.”

The new record closes with Invisible Thread, a moving meditation on parenthood, recently released with a touching video starring Ardal O’Hanlon. Written, produced and arranged by Hannon and recorded at Abbey Road, the song captures the bittersweet moment when children step into the world on their own.

To mark the album’s launch, The Divine Comedy have expanded their 2026 tour schedule. Alongside a string of arena dates supporting David Gray, the band will headline Norwich’s LCR UEA (27 June), Edinburgh’s Usher Hall (3 July), Portsmouth Guildhall (7 July) and Aylesbury Waterside Theatre (8 July). Tickets go on sale Thursday 15th at 10am.

The dates follow an extensive sold-out run this autumn, which includes three nights at London’s Barbican, plus a spring return to Belfast and Dublin in March 2026. Add in a run of September instores across the UK — with events in Glasgow, Leeds, Birmingham, London and beyond — and it’s clear that fans are eager to connect with Hannon’s latest chapter.

Rainy Sunday Afternoon is available to preorder now in multiple formats, including black and limited edition colour LPs, standard CD and a deluxe edition featuring Live in Paris & London. With its blend of baroque pop arrangements, dry wit and emotional candour, the record feels like both a continuation and a renewal for an artist who has long straddled the worlds of pop, theatre and film.

For anyone who fell under the spell of his Wonka songs, Hannon’s new material offers that same mix of magic and melancholy. Rainy Sunday Afternoon may be rooted in the everyday — parenting, weather, the quiet passing of time — but in Hannon’s hands it becomes quietly transcendent.

With an album launch this week and more tour dates to come, Neil Hannon and The Divine Comedy are reminding us that great songwriting, like chocolate, is best savoured slowly and shared widely.

Get tour and album details from the official site HERE.