Sean O'Hagan, the High Llamas, and looking to the future 

While the recent Microdisney documentary on BBC looked at Sean O'Hagan's early musical output, his latest album with the High Llamas ropes in a Skepta collaborator and his daughter Livvy for a thoroughly modern adventure

Sean O'Hagan of the High Llamas. Picture: Simon Russell

“It was a special moment watching the doc on TV.” says Sean O’Hagan about The Clock Comes Down the Stairs: The Story of Microdisney the music documentary about his first band, with his songwriting partner Cathal Coughlan, that recently aired on BBC Four.

The documentary framed Microdisney’s story by juxtaposing a lack of commercial success in the 1980s against the Cork band’s triumphant reunion in 2018. The film ends emotionally with footage of Coughlan filmed shortly before his untimely passing in May 2022.