Crowd-funded doc – The Clock Comes Down the Stairs at 10pm about a
Criminally under-rated Irish band whose mix of Cathal (Fatima Mansions)
acerbic lyrics and Sean ((High Llamas) gorgeous Melodie’s should have made
them massive.
Am sure I won’t be the only AWer watching…
paulwright says
I’ll be watching (on iplayer if not at the time).
Guiri says
If I’d discovered them at the time I think they’d be one of my favourite bands. As it is I just like them a very great deal. With the subsequent Fatimas and Llamas as well us music fans haven’t done too badly out of those two at all…
myoldman says
I saw the Fatimas in about 1991 at the old Barrel Organ in Brum. It was one of the loudest gigs I’ve ever been to
Leedsboy says
Never has the phrase “criminally underrated” been used more accurately.
Vulpes Vulpes says
It’s also criminal that the two albums of theirs that I own on vinyl* can only be had on CD for stupid amounts of money via Discogs. I feel a Microdisney needle-dropping session must be approaching soon.
Thanks for the heads-up @Jaygee – I’d have missed this otherwise. I’ll be cueing up iPlayer on broadcast day next Friday.
* Crooked Mile and 39 Minutes – I didn’t rate the earlier ones, but have a soft spot for these two.
Jaygee says
Crooked mile is my fave although I do love clock and 39 mins.
If I’d made the film, I’d have called it “Barbed Wire Rainbows”
Not just a wonderful Image but also a perfect summation of
who they were and what they did.
Very, very lucky to see their second last show in Feb 2018
Max the Dog says
I found them at Crooked Mile but I never got to see them or Fatima Mansions live. Loved Cathal and also petrified of him at some level. A fierce intelligence.
Vulpes Vulpes says
I’ve also got the Fatima’s second album on Kitchenware, though I believe I only ever played it once. The overall weird and disturbing ambience of the record has meant that it’s remained on my LP shelves, unbothered, for over 30 years. I mean, who calls their album ‘Viva Dead Ponies’?
Leedsboy says
It may well be the most subverted pop album of all time. Just when you think you’re listening to pop music, it emphatically does the opposite thing. And the lyrics!!!
It was orginally going to be called Bugs Fucking Bunny. Viva Dead Ponies was considered a more marketable option. I miss the 90’s….
Rigid Digit says
Missed them completely apart from the name on John Peel compilation(s). YouTube and Spotify confirm I should do a spot of investigating.
Freddy Steady says
Singer’s Hampstead Home is one of my all time favourite songs of all time. Its about Boy George you know.
Jaygee says
If Cathal and Sean’s mighty MicroD don’t deserve a pre-St Paddy’s Day weekend bump then we should probably abolish St Paddy’s Day
Vulpes Vulpes says
I came in here this morning to do the very same thing. BUMP
Jaygee says
Thought the film was terrific – a touching love letter to a much-
missed friend
saddest thing was seeing C’s slow decline on screen
While I found a lot of his late period stuff hard to listen to,
I always bought C’s albums because he was so uncompromising
and deserved my support.
Max the Dog says
I only caught ten or fifteen minutes of it but it looked very good and a fitting tribute. Did you get the Telefís albums, @Jaygee ?
I agree that Cathal solo could be sometimes a little unfocused and difficult, but as part of a band (in this case, a duo) he was remarkable. I think these last albums are up there with Microdisney and Farima Mansions.
Jaygee says
Hi, Jay, I did indeed. While I struggle with CC sometimes, his work was never less than startlingly original. As mentioned above, he was one of the few artists I would buy pretty much every release by because my life would be a lot poorer were he and his music not in it. So think I’ll follow your advise and give them another go.
Apart from seeing Cathal in failing health, the saddest thing about the doc was that while Steve and Tom were incredibly effusive about Cathal and Sean, little of the love seemed to be flowing the other way. A shame as the pair’s bass and drums were a huge part of the band’s soundscape.
Whole thing got me thinking about the nature of cult bands and our relationship to them as fans.
While unlucky that they never got the kudos (or sales) their work merited, MD were very fortunate in that they got to realize their vision on the two terrific albums Virgin shelled out for.
Being a fan – borderline obsessive more like – of bands like Microdisney (Big Star and the Only Ones were other examples) is a bit of a cleft stick in many ways. While we may kvetch that our heroes aren’t better known, there’s a tiny part of us that is secretly glad our heroes’ singularity didn’t get watered down and washed away by big labels.
Best of all there’s the huge satisfaction of being able to tell friends*, now here’s a band that you really ought to listen to.
So glad I got to see them in Dublin five years ago on what proved to be their second to last show
* soon to be former friends in many cases
eddie g says
I kind of liked them at the time but, not having listened to them since the 80s, I watched this doc and realised that some things are better left as memories.
Colin H says
I found it a fascinating doc – very well made and Sean and Cathal were quietly compelling. I’m not sure that I heard any music, though, that said ‘Wow, these fellows are geniuses’. Obviously, the music was only excerpted and the excerpts suggested songs that needed time spent listening full (rather than catchy riffs that give it all away in 20 seconds). Perhaps I’ll listen to an album at some point.
Jaygee says
Give Crooked Mile a go