‘Oh yes, I was a pop star once’ — The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon

Neil Hannon is the sole founding member of the Divine Comedy, who for more than 30 years have combined Noel Coward-esque lyrical wit with indie pop and a childlike, if melancholic, view of the world. Willy Wonka is the genius inventor, unworldly and sinister, of the world’s most wondrous chocolate, who was created by Roald Dahl in 1964 and has been a staple of children’s literature. Now Hannon has written the songs for Wonka, a musical prequel movie from Paul King — the director of the Paddington films — starring Timothée Chalamet, heart-throb of the moment, as Wonka in his younger years. It’s a match made in candy-coloured heaven.

“It is thrilling,” Hannon, 51, says via Zoom from his home in Co Kildare,