Microdisney

Microdisney formed in Cork in 1980, Cathal Coughlan and Sean O'Hagan developing a sound that was immediately distinctive for its extraordinary tension between opposites. O'Hagan's arrangements were lush and melodic — drawing on orchestral pop, country, and the melodic tradition of Irish music — while Coughlan's lyrics were bitter, politically engaged, and full of a dark wit that made them genuinely unlike anything else in Irish or British music.

They moved to London and were signed to Rough Trade, releasing a series of albums that earned devoted critical attention. 'Everybody Is Fantastic' (1984), 'The Clock Comes Down the Stairs' (1985), and 'Crooked Mile' (1987) were their strongest records — each developing the tension between Coughlan's bitter lyrics and O'Hagan's melodic arrangements in new directions.

Microdisney dissolved in 1988. Coughlan subsequently formed Fatima Mansions, while O'Hagan formed The High Llamas. They are remembered as one of the most distinctive and important acts of the 1980s Irish and British indie scene — a band whose extraordinary tension between beauty and rage produced music of genuine originality and lasting importance.