Microdisney were an Irish

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band formed in Cork in 1980. They were founded and led by songwriters Cathal Coughlan (keyboards, vocals) and

Sean O'Hagan Sean O'Hagan (born 1959) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and arranger who leads the avant-pop band the High Llamas, which he founded in 1992. He is also known for being one half of the songwriting duo (with Cathal Coughlan) in Microdisney and f ...

(guitar). Originally typeset as Micro Disney, the band had become Microdisney by the time they (Coughlan and O'Hagan) had relocated to London in 1983 and signed to

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pu ...

. Between 1983 and 1986 the band recorded six Peel Sessions for BBC Radio and released their debut album for Rough Trade called ''Everybody Is Fantastic''. In 1985, their album ''The Clock Comes Down The Stairs'' reached number one in the

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, and they reached the Irish top 40 with the 1987 single "Town to Town". They were one of the few Irish bands of the 1980s to achieve international success with "Town to Town" reaching number 55 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top ...

. This single, released by Virgin Records, was followed into the UK chart by "Gale Force Wind" in March 1988. That 1 July, days after supporting

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

at London's Dominion Theatre, the band split up. O'Hagan and Coughlan formed separate bands,

the High Llamas The High Llamas are an Anglo-Irish avant-pop band formed in London circa 1991. They were founded by singer-songwriter Sean O'Hagan, formerly of Microdisney, with drummer Rob Allum and ex-Microdisney bassist Jon Fell. O'Hagan has led the group ...

and the Fatima Mansions, respectively, with Coughlan also going on to work with Sean Hughes in Bubonique and Luke Haines as part of The North Sea Scrolls project. In 2017, a radio documentary was made about the band called ''Iron Fist in Velvet Glove - The Story of Microdisney'' by producer Paul McDermott, which was re-broadcast by Newstalk 106-108fm as part of their Documentary on Newstalk season. In 2018, Microdisney reunited for the first time in 30 years, performing live in Dublin and London. In February 2019, they played their last shows in Dublin and Cork. The members of Microdisney were awarded an IMRO/NCH Trailblazer Award, given to "culturally important" Irish albums (in this instance, for ''The Clock Comes Down The Stairs'') in 2018.

Discography

Albums

Studio albums *''Everybody Is Fantastic'' (1984) *'' We Hate You South African Bastards!'' (1984) *''The Clock Comes Down the Stairs'' (1985) *''Crooked Mile'' (1987) *''39 Minutes'' (1988) Other albums *'' Kaught at the Kampus'' (1980) *''The Peel Sessions Album'' (1989) *''Big Sleeping House'' (1995) *''Daunt Square to Elsewhere: 1982–1988'' (2007)

Singles

*"Hello Rascals" (1982) *"Pink Skinned Man" (1983) *"Dolly" (1984) *''In the World'' EP (1985) *"Birthday Girl" (1985) *"Town to Town" (1987, UK #55) *"Singer's Hampstead Home" (1987) *"Gale Force Wind" (1988, UK #98)

References

Sources

* McDermott, Paul.
Iron Fist in Velvet Glove — the story of Microdisney
. Audio documentary,

Newstalk Newstalk (formerly NewsTalk 106) is a national independent radio station in Ireland. It is operated by News 106 Limited, a subsidiary of Bauer Media Audio Ireland, and broadcasts under a sound broadcasting contract with the Broadcasting Autho ...

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one o ...

, 2018

External links