IF ANYONE deserves to be a fabulously wealthy rock star, it's Cathal Coughlan. For the past 15 years, he's churned out classic after classic, with nary a hint of a high-maintenance blonde, a spell in tax exile or a week in the Priory.
CATHAL COUGHLAN has long been among the most articulate and angry of Irish songwriters. Here, he talks to JONATHAN O BRIEN about his new album, money problems and adapting to middle-age
Formed in Cork in 1980, Microdisney brought the wildly different talents of two of the city by the Lee’s most legendary musical sons, Cathal Coughlan and Sean O’Hagan, together in the one band.
I was living fast, planning to die young and I was probably gonna take a few people with me, says Fatima Mansions firebrand Cathal Coughlan of his descent into a personal and creative nightmare. Now back stronger, healthier and with an acclaimed new album, Lost In The Former West, under his belt, he retraces the highs, lows and kicks in the teeth of the last few years with Liam Fay.
“I was living fast, planning to die young and I was probably gonna take a few people with me,” says Fatima Mansions firebrand Cathal Coughlan of his descent into a personal and creative nightmare. Now back stronger, healthier and with an acclaimed new album, Lost In The Former West, under his belt, he retraces the highs, lows and kicks in the teeth of the last few years with Liam Fay.
The rise and rise of the female singer/songwriter is fast achieving phenomenon status in Ireland - here,
Peter Murphy profiles an eclectic mix of new and distinctive talent
Malahide’s DIRECTOR may not be any kind of tabloid headline generators, but with an accomplished second album produced by Pumpkins and Placebo veteran Brad Wood in the bag, they’re confident enough to let the music make the fuss.
Like Dinsdale Piranha in the old Monty Python sketch, Cathal Coughlan uses sarcasm. Sometimes with a sledgehammer, elsewhere with a stiletto - but he never stoops to the tender, poisoned compliments of polished English irony. Cathal Coughlan is no member of the loyal opposition.
CATHAL COUGHLAN, the man who gave the world "Only Losers Take The Bus" and much more besides, once had a song which lambasted the robber-barons of late 20th-century global media.
Headgear’s debut album proves that the ‘have portastudio, will travel’ theory can yield ace results, especially when mainman Daragh Dukes gets a little help from his friends.
Viva Dead Ponies was angry, bitter and impeccably tuneful; It was as if, dissonant and ruthless as the songs got, Cathal Coughlan’s resonant, rich voice and gift for melody stopped the beauty being squeezed from ‘Chemical Cosh’, ‘Pack of Lies’, ‘You’re A Rose’; even ‘Viva Dead Ponies’ itself.
Sean Hughes, stand-up comedian, television star, playwright and master of the 'startled bunny' impersonation, is now a published poet and author. SEAN'S BOOK is a wry and poignant collection of short stories, poetry, prose, journalism, travelogues and breakfast recipes... is there no stopping him? Sean's interviewer: LORRAINE FREENEY.
dEUS are winning over more and more fans with their idiosyncratic, guitar-based songs. NICK KELLY met lynchpin TOM BARMAN to talk about love, loss and famous Belgians. Pics: CATHAL DAWSON.
In many ways Microdisney exemplify the difficulties facing any band who feel that they have something valid and non-conformist to say but are also driven by a desire to bring that vision to as wide and diverse an audience as possible. Within those terms of reference, 39 Minutes may be a definitive offering.
As he prepares for the release of his band s third album, Cold And Bouncy, high llamas mainman
sean o hagan tells an awestruck
nick kelly exactly why there s always been a Beach Boys element to his music.
The Flowers remain as positively charged as ever, and songs like 'Hallelujah Jordan' and 'Don't Go' remain among the best to come from an Irish band, but there is a uniform harmlessness to their work that begins to pall before too long
Not content with being one of the most successful stand-up comics of his generation, sean hughes has once again turned his hand to the world of prose with the publication of his first novel, The Detainees. barry glendenning, for his part, gives it a ringing endorsement of Eh, quite good. The Booker Prize awaits.
Not so long ago mavericks and experimentalism were thin on the ground in Ireland. But with the growth of an independent scene, all of that has changed. for confirmation, look no further than the rise to eminence of The Jimmy Cake.
From “Outspan” to Glen Hansard, from Grafton Street to Hollywood – and onwards to Lisdoonvarna 2003. A portrait of The Frames as a most unusual band. Part one of a two-part special feature by Peter Murphy. [Main Photos: Mick Quinn]
After being a magnet for A&R men during the 80s, Dublin has recently developed into something of an underachiever. The city may have the second biggest growth-rate in Europe but there are a hell of a lot of gigs and records that simply aren t selling. peter murphy casts a critical ear over the capital s music scene and decides that what s required is a full-scale artistic enema.
Mark Cullen’s second album, the follow up to the respectfully received Home Truths, further establishes him and his band as one of the sharpest tools in the indie shed.
Each Man Kills The Thing He Loves can't but arrive as a Big Statement. The Virgin Prunes were always elitist, dissembling, treacherous spies in the house of Irish rock.
THERE WAS a time when the magical words "for charity" were the guarantee of any old tat selling a million but nowadays, cynicism being what it is, there has to be musical substance to the good intentions.
It was a year when all manner of ecological malaise seemed to come home to roost. In particular the Sudan was in turmoil, putting our own nasty little problems of smog, toxic waste and criminal fish kills into sharp relief –
