B-Side the Leeside: Cypress Mine - Exit Trashtown

Cork's Greatest Records: In 1987, the ambitious indie outfit decided to take matters into their own hands and release an album, albeit with the help of a manager who'd go on to find fame himself in a totally different field 

Cypress Mine: Ian Olney, Mark Healy, Ciarán Ó Tuama, Denis O'Mullane (Skoda). Picture: Jim McCarthy

When a young band scrapes together the money to record a self-released debut album against the stultifying background of a small city in the throes of a recession, they might hope the album will be their one-way ticket out of town. When they call that album Exit Trashtown, it might seem like they’re raising two fingers to their beleaguered hometown on their way off to better things.

But that’s not the message indie rock four-piece Cypress Mine (styled Cypress, Mine!) were sending to Cork when they chose the title of their 1987 debut, explains former vocalist Ciarán Ó Tuama.