A couple of equally unsuccessful EPs – Timewatch (1991) and Europop (1992) – followed, with newly recruited member John Allen handling lead vocals on some tracks.

[4] The record is characterised by a plethora of literary references: "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" recalls a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald; "Three Sisters" draws upon the play by Anton Chekhov; and "Lucy" is essentially three William Wordsworth poems abridged to music.

[6] Essentially a concept album about a day spent by two lovers,[4] it also received similar positive feedback to Liberation; however, it was not a major commercial success.

[12] The album Casanova (1996), and in particular the single "Something for the Weekend", championed by Chris Evans, then BBC Radio 1 breakfast show DJ and presenter of TFI Friday, led to the band's first major success.

The foppish image, but not the suit, was ditched for the more sombre album Fin De Siècle in 1998, although its biggest hit, the jaunty "National Express", belied its more intimate, soul-searching tone.

[13] Maintaining the balance between these poles, 1999's Secret History – the Best of The Divine Comedy included re-recordings of Liberation tracks ("The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count" and "Your Daddy's Car") and two new songs ("Gin-Soaked Boy" and "Too Young to Die") alongside the band's main hits.

2004 saw two performances featuring The Millennia Ensemble orchestra, one at the London Palladium (which was later released as a live DVD) and one at the Royal Albert Hall.

The album featured Simon Little on bass, Andrew Skeet on keys, Tim Weller on drums and Ian Watson on accordion from the current band.

This sci-fi connection continued in late 2006, when he contributed vocals to two tracks – "Song For Ten" and "Love Don't Roam" – on the Doctor Who: Original Television Soundtrack album.

[21] Meanwhile, Hannon took part in various projects: he recorded "Perfection As a Hipster", included in the God Help the Girl soundtrack, a soon-to-be-released musical film by Belle and Sebastian frontman Stuart Murdoch as well as the LP The Duckworth Lewis Method, together with Thomas Walsh of Pugwash.

As with Victory for the Comic Muse it was recorded in RAK studios in St John's Wood by Guy Massey and the orchestra was conducted by Andrew Skeet who was the arranger on this album.

The Divine Comedy celebrated its 30th anniversary by reissuing remastered versions of the band's first nine albums (from Liberation to Bang Goes the Knighthood) on LP and CD.

All eleven albums were included in the box set Venus, Cupid, Folly, and Time: 30 Years of the Divine Comedy, released in October 2020.

[25] Hannon and an eleven-piece ensemble will also be celebrating the band's 30th anniversary with residencies at The Barbican in London and the Cité de la Musique in Paris.