Cathal Coughlan (musician)
Cathal Coughlan is an Irish singer songwriter, formerly of Microdisney and The Fatima Mansions. His work with both bands has received much critical acclaim, as has his solo material. Professional career. Coughlan began singing in the late 1970s. After Coughlan met Sean O'Hagan, they formed Microdisney in 1980. His lyrics focus on politics, the seamy side of relationships and the interplay between the two, utilising surreal imagery and literary and historical references. He also uses a variety of musical styles, including neo-classical, folk and industrial rock. His voice has prompted comparisons with Scott Walker, whom Coughlan  considers a major influence. As a solo musician, he has completed six albums (as of 2021's "Song Of Co-Aklan"). Most of these have featured a line-up known as Grand Necropolitan, featuring Nick Allum, Danny Manners, Audrey Riley and James Woodrow. Coughlan is based in London. For a time, he became involved in musical theatre, mainly in France. In 2006 he was described in "The Irish Times" as the 'genius of Irish rock'. He was the subject of the documentary 'The Adventures of Flannery' which had screenings in Cork, Belfast, Dublin and further afield. In August 2010, Coughlan  released the album "Rancho Tetrahedron", credited to "Cathal Coughlan and the Grand Necropolitan Quartet". The "Irish Times" noted that "Coughlan's mixture of acerbity and dark lyricism is sustained on his fifth solo album, that there is a subtle Latin influence on the music, and Coughlan's Scott Walker inflected voice has never sounded better." Earlier that year, Coughlan also duetted with Dave Couse on the song "Good Friday" from Couse's "Alonewalk". He recorded with comedian Sean Hughes, High Llamas drummer Rob Allum (under the name of his alter-ego "Cod"), and Paul Jarvis of SLAB! as "Bubonique", releasing  a number of CDs parodying current musical trends, including the albums "20 Golden Showers" and "Trance Arse Volume 3". In 2011, Coughlan began a collaboration with the British singer-songwriter Luke Haines and writer Andrew Mueller, resulting in the live song/speech show "The North Sea Scrolls", premiering at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2011. The studio recording of "The North Sea Scrolls" was released November 2012. On 27 November 2017, it was announced that O'Hagan and Coughlan would reform Microdisney for a one-off concert in the National Concert Hall, Dublin on 2 June 2018. Coughlan subsequently stated  on his website that due to the sellout of the Dublin show, they would be performing a one-off in London as well. They performed the album "The Clock Comes Down The Stairs" in full, and performed a wider selection of the former group's repertoire at their final shows in Dublin and Cork in 2019. In 2020, Coughlan completed work on the album "Song Of Co-Aklan", featuring collaborators old and new - including Nick Allum, Aindrias O'Gruama, Jon Fell, Luke Haines, Audrey Riley, James Woodrow and Rhodri Marsden. The album was preceded by the single "Song of Co-Aklan