Setanta Records was started in a Camberwell, London squat by former bicycle courier Keith Cullen.
Shortly thereafter, Cullen signed the Cork trio the Frank and Walters, who wore orange shirts and purple flared trousers.
The Frank and Walters achieved minor commercial success when their song "After All" peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart.
Commercial success followed Cullen's signing of the Divine Comedy whose first three albums Liberation, Promenade and Casanova were well received in the UK and Europe.
In the late 1990s, the label turned down the Magnetic Fields' album 69 Love Songs, which ended up being a critical and commercial success.