On this episode I’m joined by Aindrías Ó Grúama aka “Grimmo” and Nick Allum, respectively the guitarist and drummer of The Fatima Mansions, for a deep dive into Against Nature, the band’s debut album which was originally released on Kitchenware Records in 1989.

I’ve devoted a number of episodes of this podcast to the work of Cathal Coughlan and his bands Microdisney and The Fatima Mansions. Cathal joined me on Episode 3 for a deep dive into Viva Dead Ponies. On Episode 11 we discussed Black River Falls, his majestic second solo album. After his passing in May 2022, I devoted Episode 20 to a broadcast of Iron Fist in Velvet Glove - the story of Microdisney, my audio documentary about the band and then I devoted Episode 50 to his 2021 album, Song of Co-Aklan by replaying an interview with Cathal that had originally broadcast on Dublin City FM around the time of the album’s release in 2021.

Recently it was announced that Against Nature, The Fatima Mansions’ debut album, originally released by Kitchenware Records in 1989, was getting a vinyl reissue. I thought what better time to present an episode on this remarkable album and I’m thrilled that both Aindrías Ó Grúama and Nick Allum, respectively the guitarist and drummer with The Fatima Mansions, agreed with me.

I’m particularly thrilled because this is the first time that both of them have talked about The Fatima Mansions so I’m very honoured and appreciative of the time that they afforded me. It’s a long episode that takes in the formation of the band by Cathal Coughlan, their earliest gigs, the different recording sessions for Against Nature and the singles ‘Only Losers Take the Bus’ and ‘Blues For Ceausescu’ and a whole lot more.

The episode also includes a few previously unheard interview clips that I recorded with Cathal.

Bob Stanley interviewed Cathal for his Honey Hunt fanzine and wrote about seeing one of the earliest Fatima Mansions gigs at the Falcon in Camden, in fact at the time the band was billed as Cathal Coughlan and the Freedom Association. Stanley wrote: “Four songs and 15 minutes later it was over. It had only been a warmup but I was stunned.” (Honey Hunt, Spring 1989)

Reviewing the Falcon gig in the NME, Stephen Dalton wrote, “These are anti-yuppie anthems for disaffected adults, and the belligerent Irishman continues to rage hard against the dying of the light.”

He continued: “Hatred and harmony make a potent cocktail, and the band mix their drinks well.” (NME, 07 January 1989)

At the end of his Honey Hunt interview Stanley asked Cathal, was he optimistic for the future?

“I feel good,” answered Cathal. “Because people have told me that I’ve discovered the balance between taking the piss and shouting my head off.”

That balance was The Fatima Mansions.

“I have no idea what the old Microdisney fans will think. To be honest there were certain sections of our audience who didn’t exactly enamour themselves to me. That disease of people in their late 20s, that whole Microdisney attitude of being “ironic” of burying your grievances under a thick veneer. And then there were those who just liked the glossy tunes. I’m sorry. Those days are gone.”
Cathal Coughlan (NME, 25 November, 1989).

“It just goes back to getting the hands dirty. It you want something enough, in my case if I want to make a particular record that actually does certain things, you just get the bloody kid gloves off. And just don’t be afraid to abandon what people see as you style in order to make the point you want to make.”
Cathal Coughlan (Sounds, 09 December, 1989)

“Scum condensed of Irish bogs: ruffian, traitor, demagogue. That’s him! Cathal Coughlan; poet laureate of the disaffected, Bertie Brecht of Airstrip One is back with a new band (The Fatima Mansions), a new label (Kitchenware) and a new sound.

Gone is the luxuriant transatlantic pop that got up the noses of so many ageing punk rockers: The Fatima Mansions, though still bristling with the kind of striking tune that pesters you for days afterwards, are about vertigo, claustrophobia, about life lived in the teeth of disaster. They are extraordinary and Against Nature has staked its late claim as one of the albums of the year.

They are also the sound of Cathal Coughlan, one of the most inspired and individual voices these islands have produced this decade, re-establishing himself after Microdisney’s lingering death.”
Stuart Maconie (NME, 25 November, 1989)

“Against Nature is a tenacious and tantalising LP. It speeds cleverly through a series of twists and turns in style, but never loses its capacity to suddenly stun you. To stop you dead with a refrain or the odd, deliciously cynical one-liner. One moment it’s as frighteningly (respectably) commercial as the Pet Shop Boys, the next it’s romantic and the next it’s as oddball and curious as Talking Heads. It’s staggering in its weight of ideas; Coughlan nursing a bloody chip on his shoulder ranting and raving, crooning and seducing. “Against Nature is a thoroughly fine LP. To those who’ve ever doubted him or stood in his way, this is Coughlan’s savoured two finger salute.”
Steve Lamacq (NME, 25 November, 1989)

Against Nature is being reissued by Inis Records in a limited edition of 500 LPs on blue vinyl in October 2026. Order here.

For further reading/listening…

Cathal joined me on Episode 3 of the podcast…