The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count

"The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count"
Single by the Divine Comedy
from the album Liberation
A-side"Lucy"
Released16 August 1993
GenreBritpop
Length4:20
LabelSetanta
Songwriter(s)Neil Hannon
Producer(s)
The Divine Comedy singles chronology
"The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count"
(1993) 		"Something for the Weekend"
(1996)

"The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count" is a song by the Divine Comedy. Written by Neil Hannon,[1] it was originally recorded for the Liberation album and was issued as the B-side of "Lucy".

The Best of the Divine Comedy version

"The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count"
Single release
Single by the Divine Comedy
from the album A Secret History... The Best of the Divine Comedy
B-side
  • "With Whom to Dance"
  • "Eric the Gardener (acoustic)"
  • "This Side of Paradise"
  • "Vapour Trail"
  • "Jackie"
Released9 August 1999 (1999-08-09)
GenreBritpop
Length3:53
LabelSetanta
Songwriter(s)Neil Hannon[1]
Producer(s)
The Divine Comedy singles chronology
"Something for the Weekend"
(1996) 		"The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count"
(1999) 		"Gin Soaked Boy"
(1999)

The song was re-recorded for the 1999 compilation album A Secret History... The Best of the Divine Comedy.[1] It was released as a single from that album and peaked at number 17 in the UK singles chart and number 24 on the Irish singles chart.[2][3]

Track listing

All tracks written by Neil Hannon; except where indicated.

CD single #1

Setanta Records / SETCDA070

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count" 3:53
2."With Whom to Dance"Stephin Merritt2:39
3."Eric the Gardener (acoustic)" 4:34

CD single #2

Setanta Records / SETCDB070

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count" 3:53
2."This Side of Paradise" 3:56
3."Vapour Trail"Ride3:23

Cassette single

Setanta Records / SETMC070

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count"  
2."Jackie"Jacques Brel, Gérard Jouannest, Mort Schuman 

Critical reception

In an AllMusic album review of Liberation, critic Ned Raggett said the song was influenced by the English rock band XTC. He also noted is "slipping in as much wry humor as he does gentle pathos and reflection – plenty of all three."[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c A Secret History – The Best of the Divine Comedy (CD booklet). Setanta. 1999. SETCD100.
  2. ^ "The Official Charts Company - The Divine Comedy - The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count". Retrieved 26 February 2009.
  3. ^ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". www.irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  4. ^ Raggett, Ned. "Liberation – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 September 2020.