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The Story of Microdisney: The Clock Comes Down the Stairs

To their fans, Microdisney were one of the greatest bands of all time. But most people have never heard of them. This is the story of a huge talent that went largely unrecognised.

In 1980, two Cork outsiders, Cathal Coughlan and Sean O’Hagan, met at a New Year's Eve party. Bonding over music, a friendship and songwriting partnership was ignited; the band they formed, Microdisney, was one of the best bands of the 1980s that you’ve probably never heard. Mixing Sean’s stunning melodic arrangements with Cathal’s poetic, angry lyrics, they recorded three brilliant LPs, gained critical adulation and an obsessive cult following. But a hit single eluded them, as did radio play and LP sales. By 1988, frustrated by their lack of progress, the band crashed and burned, leaving a trail of acrimony and broken friendships.

This new film asks why the band failed to achieve the commercial success they deserved, but it also picks up the Microdisney story 30 years on, when, contrary to all expectations, they reformed for a sequence of sellout reunion gigs celebrating a new award for their seminal album, The Clock Comes Down the Stairs.

Charting the band's early days in Cork to the sellout reunion gigs, the film includes exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, vintage archive, heart-searching interviews and live performances.

The film has been a labour of love for producer/director Julie Perkins.
Says Julie: 'The reunion gigs were a dream come true for fans. And they came from far and wide to be there. For me as a film-maker, it was a story that deserved to be told. And it’s the story of two supremely talented individuals whose songwriting puts them up there with Lennon and McCartney, Rogers and Hammerstein… I felt privileged to be able to tell.'

2 months left to watch

1 hour, 21 minutes

Last on

Fri 15 Mar 2024 22:00

Credits

Role Contributor
Featured Artist Sean O’Hagan
Featured Artist Cathal Coughlan
Featured Artist Jon Fell
Featured Artist Tom Fenner
Producer Julie Perkins
Executive Producer Simon Heath
Editor John Chamberlain
Production Manager Toby Millward
Production Company World Productions Limited

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