Microdisney

Microdisney was an Irish rock band formed in Cork in 1980.[2] It was founded and led by the songwriting team of Cathal Coughlan (keyboards, vocals) and Sean O'Hagan (guitar).[3] 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.[4]

Microdisney
Coughlan and O'Hagan in the late 1980s
Background information
Origin	Cork, Ireland
Genres	Pop[1]
Years active	1980–1988 2018–2019
Labels	Reekus Kabuki Rough Trade Virgin
Associated acts	The Fatima Mansions, The High Llamas, Stump
Past members	Cathal Coughlan Sean O'Hagan Mick Lynch Giordaí Ua Laoghaire Nick Montgomery Jon Fell Dave Galvin Chris McCarthy Aisling Hayden Rob McKahey Tom Fenner James Compton

Between 1983 and 1986 the band recorded six Peel Sessions[5] 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 UK Indie charts,[6][7] and they reached the Irish top 40 with the 1987 single "Town to Town".[8] They were one of the few Irish bands of the 1980s to achieve international success[9] with "Town to Town" reaching number 55 in the UK singles chart. This single, released by Virgin Records, was followed into the UK singles Top 100 by "Gale Force Wind" in March 1988. However, four months later, days after supporting David Bowie at London's Dominion Theatre (1 July 1988), the band split up.[10]

After their 1988 breakup, O'Hagan and Coughlan formed separate bands, the High Llamas and the Fatima Mansions, respectively, with Coughlan also going on to work with Sean Hughes in Bubonique[11] and Luke Haines as part of the The North Sea Scrolls project.[12][13][14][15][2] 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.[16]

In 2018, Microdisney reunited for the first time in thirty years, performing live in Dublin and London.[1] In February 2019, they played their last shows in Dublin and Cork.[17] 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.[17] Both members remain musically active.