A Secret History... The Best of the Divine Comedy

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A Secret History - The Best of The Divine Comedy
Compilation album by The Divine Comedy
Released	August 30, 1999
Genre	Baroque pop
Length	70:53
Label	Setanta
Producer	Various
The Divine Comedy chronology
Fin de Siècle (1998) A Secret History... The Best of the Divine Comedy (1999) Regeneration (2001)

A Secret History... The Best of The Divine Comedy is a greatest hits compilation album by The Divine Comedy, released in 1999.

The album was the last to be released by the band on the Setanta Records label, and featured a collection of singles and best-known songs from the previous five studio albums. Re-recordings of "The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count" and "Your Daddy's Car" were included, along with two new tracks, "Gin Soaked Boy" and "Too Young to Die". The Noel Coward tribute recording of "I've Been To A Marvellous Party" was also included.

A limited release edition was available with an accompanying hard-back book and extra CD. The book featured Kevin Westenburg photographs taken from previous album photo shoots interspersed with the recollections of people who had worked closely with the band. Graham Linehan and Sean Hughes were among the contributors.

The additional CD, Rarities, featured a whole album's worth of rare, live and demo recordings, including cover versions of tracks by David Bowie, Talk Talk and Kraftwerk. Of special interest was the inclusion of the demo of a track from the band's debut album, Fanfare for the Comic Muse, an album which had previously been all-but ignored from the back catalogue.

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by Neil Hannon, except for "I've Been to a Marvellous Party", written by Noel Coward, and "The Certainty of Chance", written by Neil Hannon and Joby Talbot.

1. "National Express" – 5:06
2. "Something for the Weekend" – 4:20
3. "Everybody Knows (Except You)" – 3:50
4. "Generation Sex" – 3:30
5. "Becoming More Like Alfie" – 3:00
6. "The Summerhouse" – 4:14
7. "Your Daddy's Car" – 4:03
8. "The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count" – 3:54
9. "The Frog Princess" – 5:13
10. "Gin Soaked Boy" – 5:03
11. "Lucy" – 4:39
12. "Songs of Love" – 3:23
13. "In Pursuit of Happiness" – 3:29
14. "I've Been to a Marvellous Party" – 3:42
15. "The Certainty of Chance" – 6:12
16. "Too Young to Die" – 4:20
17. "Tonight We Fly" – 2:57

'Limited Edition Rarities CD'

1. "Bernice Bobs Her Hair"
2. "Bleak Landscape"
3. "The Booklovers"
4. "The Certainty of Chance"
5. "Commuter Love"
6. "Dear Lord and Father of Mankind"
7. "A Drinking Song"
8. "The Frog Princess"
9. "Generation Sex"
10. "Life on Mars?"
11. "Life's What You Make It"
12. "The Model"
13. "National Express"
14. "Painting the Forth Bridge"
15. "Queen of the South"
16. "The Summerhouse"
17. "Soul Destroyer"
18. "Your Daddy's Car"

v • d • e The Divine Comedy Neil Hannon Bryan Mills · Chris Worsey · Grant Gordon · Ivor Talbot · Joby Talbot · John Allen · John McCullagh · Kevin Traynor · Miggy Barradas · Natalie Box · Rob Farrer · Simon Little · Stuart 'Pinkie' Bates · Lucy Wilkins · John Evans Studio albums Fanfare for the Comic Muse · Liberation · Promenade · Casanova · A Short Album About Love · Fin de Siècle · Regeneration · Absent Friends · Victory for the Comic Muse Compilations A Secret History... The Best of the Divine Comedy EPs Timewatch · Europop · Indulgence No.1 · Indulgence No.2 · Bavarian EP Singles Lucy · Something for the Weekend · Becoming More Like Alfie · The Frog Princess · Everybody Knows (Except You) · I've Been To A Marvellous Party · Generation Sex · The Certainty of Chance · National Express · The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count · Gin Soaked Boy · Love What You Do · Bad Ambassador · Perfect Lovesong · Come Home Billy Bird · Absent Friends · Diva Lady · To Die A Virgin Videos Live At The Palladium