Inspiral Carpets are an English rock band, part of the late-1980s/early-1990s

Madchester Madchester was a musical and cultural scene that developed in the English city of Manchester in the late 1980s, closely associated with the indie dance scene. Indie-dance (sometimes referred to as indie-rave) saw artists merging indie music ...

movement. Formed in

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham ...

in 1980, the band's most successful lineup featured frontman Tom Hingley, drummer Craig Gill, guitarist Graham Lambert, bassist Martyn Walsh and keyboardist Clint Boon. Several line-ups were loosely used from 1980 until Lambert and singer Stephen Holt met at The Moor End indie disco in Oldham 1983. Holt sang on the first two independent singles. Holt departed the band before they signed with Mute Records,Thompson, Dave (2000) ''Alternative Rock'', Miller Freeman, , p.425-427 Inspiral Carpets was known for using organs and distorted guitars with influences from psychedelic rock. In 2011, Hingley departed the band, though members disagree about the circumstances. The band continued on, reuniting with Holt. The group have been inactive since Gill's death in 2016. On 17 October 2022 the band announced they would be reforming and going on a tour of the UK in March and April 2023.

History

1983–1995

Graham Lambert and Stephen Holt, friends from their school days, formed Inspiral Carpets in 1983, originally as a garage rock- and

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

-inspired band. Manchester drummer Chris Goodwin and bassist Tony Welsh helped record a demo and play live in and around the Oldham area. Due to Goodwin's commitments the band recruited 14-year-old drummer Craig Gill in 1986. Tony Welsh also had other music commitments and departed in 1986. The band then had a succession of bass players (Rick Garage, Mark Hughes, Scott Carey) before Dave Swift, on bass and organist Clint Boon (at whose

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manche ...

studio the band had been rehearsing).Larkin, Colin: ''The Guinness Who's Who of Indie and New Wave Music'', 2002, Guinness Publishing, pp. 144/5, The band released two albums of demos in the 1980s, ''Waiting for Ours'' and ''Songs of Shallow Intensity'', including songs that would later be re-recorded. Inspiral Carpets came to prominence along with bands such as

the Stone Roses The Stone Roses were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. One of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the band's classic and most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist Ian Brown, ...

and

Happy Mondays Happy Mondays are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1980. The original line-up was Shaun Ryder (vocals), his brother Paul Ryder (bass), Gary Whelan (drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Mark Day (guitar). Mark "Bez" Berry later joine ...

in the

scene of the late 1980s. The band first appeared on a flexi-disc with "Garage Full of Flowers" that was given free with

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

's ''Debris'' magazine in 1987. Their first proper release, the ''Cow'' cassette, soon followed. The 1988 ''Planecrash'' EP on the Playtime label received much airplay from Radio 1 DJ John Peel, who asked the band to record a session for his show. The band reworked their single "Find Out Why" as the theme song for the show '' 8:15 from Manchester''. As the band's popularity grew, Playtime's distributor

Red Rhino Records Red Rhino Records, also known as Red Rhino, was a British independent record label which was developed by the independent record shop and wholesaler of the same name, all formed and run by "Tony K" (Tony Kostrzewa) and his wife Gerri. It was part ...

went bankrupt, leading Inspiral Carpets to form their own label, Cow Records, in March 1989. The label's first release was the ''Trainsurfing'' EP. With half of the first album, ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'', written, Holt and Swift departed and formed the Rainkings, so the band recruited Too Much Texas singer Tom Hingley and Martyn "Bungle" Walsh of The Next Step to replace them. Martyn Walsh became the band's 13th bass player. After a handful of singles on their own label, with "Move" nearly reaching the UK top 40, the band signed a deal with Mute Records and soon experienced their first top-40 chart success in the UK with "

This Is How It Feels "This Is How It Feels" is a song by the Inspiral Carpets. Written by Clint Boon, it was their first single to enter the UK Top 40, where it peaked at #14. It reached #149 on the Australian ARIA singles chart. The song was later covered by Carte ...

." The single reached No. 14 on the singles chart, and the debut album ''Life'' reached No. 2 on the albums chart in 1990. The following year's ''

The Beast Inside ''The Beast Inside'' is the second studio album from British indie rock band Inspiral Carpets. It was released on 22 April 1991 on Mute Records. The album made the Top 10 in the United Kingdom. Critical reception ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide ...

'' was less well received by critics, but still achieved a top-5 album chart ranking. The "Caravan" and "Please be Cruel" singles only reached No. 30 and No. 50 respectively, and an attempt to crack the American market largely failed. However, the band gained a strong following in Portugal, Germany and Argentina, where the 1992 album '' Revenge of the Goldfish'' became their most successful. The album peaked at number 17 in the UK and spawned four UK hit singles. The next album, ''Devil Hopping'' (1994), reached number 10 in the album chart, with "Saturn 5" and "I Want You" (featuring

Mark E. Smith Mark Edward Smith (5 March 1957 – 24 January 2018) was an English singer, who was the lead singer, lyricist and only constant member of the post-punk group the Fall. Smith formed the band after attending the June 1976 Sex Pistols gig at the ...

) as top-20 hits. The next single, "Uniform", stalled at No. 51 and in 1995, after the release of a ''Singles'' collection, the band were dropped by Mute and split up soon after.

Post-split activities (1995–2003)

Hingley formed a new band, the Lovers, along with Jerry Kelly of the Lotus Eaters (which later featured Steve and Paul Hanley of the Fall), while Boon formed the Clint Boon Experience, releasing a string of singles on the Artful label. Gill also formed a new band, Hustler, who eventually changed their name to Proud Mary after a

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Proud Mary signed to

Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the chief songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis until their split in 2009. After leaving Oasis, he formed ...

's Big Brother label some years later, while Walsh moved into production, largely working on techno and dance music. Two of the band's roadies enjoyed musical success themselves: van driver Mark Collins joined the Charlatans in 1991 and drum technician

joined Oasis. In 1999,

Strange Fruit Records Strange Fruit Records was an independent record label in the United Kingdom. The label, established by Clive Selwood and John Peel in 1986, was the primary distributor of BBC recordings, including Peel Sessions.Larkin, Colin (ed.) (1998) ''T ...

released a compilation of tracks recorded for

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

sessions.

Reformation (2003–2011)

Inspiral Carpets reunited in 2003, playing to sellout crowds on tour and releasing the single "Come Back Tomorrow" (recorded in 1995) and a number of new compilation records, most notably the ''Cool As'' box set. The band have toured sporadically since, reuniting again in 2007 to tour in support of an iTunes-exclusive compilation of their B-sides and rarities. They played a tour in 2008 under the banner "Return of the Cow", announcing that their own Cow Records label was to be revived.

Hingley departs, Holt returns and Gill's death (2011–2016)

In February 2011, it was revealed that Tom Hingley was no longer part of the band, with the circumstances of his departure unclear. Band members indicated that Hingley had left of his own accord, with Clint Boon contradicting Hingley's suggestion that the band had split up whilst Hingley later claimed that he had been fired by the band at a meeting. In August 2011, the band announced a reunion with original singer Stephen Holt. Their website indicated that "Inspirals will be recording their first material in 15 years coupled with concerts in South America & Greece." The band recorded "You're So Good For Me"/"Head for the Sun" for

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

, a

7" single In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separat ...

that was released, sold and deleted on 21 April 2012. The accompanying video for the main track was shot at a concert in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

in November 2011. In support of the single, the band toured the UK in March 2012 for the first time with Holt in 24 years. In May, the band were special guests on a Happy Mondays tour. In the summer of 2012, the band played at several festivals, culminating with a live performance at the Old Trafford cricket ground on 10 September during England's T20I match with South Africa. For Record Store Day in April 2014, Inspiral Carpets released '' Dung 4'', a previously cassette-only collection of demos from 1987, on vinyl and CD, with the earlier tape ''Cow Demo'' added as a free 7" with the vinyl version. ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'' said of the album: "... the whole package is a fine summation of the Inspirals' enduring appeal". In October 2014, the band released ''

Inspiral Carpets Inspiral Carpets are an English rock band, part of the late-1980s/early-1990s Madchester movement. Formed in Oldham in 1980, the band's most successful lineup featured frontman Tom Hingley, drummer Craig Gill, guitarist Graham Lambert, bassi ...

'' on Cherry Red Records. Their first album in 20 years, ''Inspiral Carpets'' contained two past singles, "You're So Good For Me" and "Spitfire", plus 10 new tracks. The album also included "Let You Down", co-written by and featuring punk poet

John Cooper Clarke John Cooper Clarke (born 25 January 1949) is an English performance poet, who first became famous as a " punk poet" in the late 1970s. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he released several albums. Around this time, he performed on stage with se ...

. Interviewed in ''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...

,'' Boon described the album as "Diverse. A couple (of the songs) have an

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...

flavour, one nod to the 50s, two to

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after atte ...

, several

the Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...

, one Northern soul, two

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

." After several dates in Europe over the summer, the band played 12 UK dates in December 2014 in support of the album's release. On 20 November 2016, drummer Craig Gill died at the age of 44.Inspiral Carpets Drummer Craig Gill Dies, Aged 44
, '' RadioX'', 22 November 2016 Memorial services were attended by music-industry friends including Inspiral Carpets members, Oasis singer

Liam Gallagher William John Paul Gallagher (born 21 September 1972) is an English singer and songwriter. He achieved fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis from 1991 to 2009, and later fronted the rock band Beady Eye from 2009 to 2014, before starti ...

Stone Roses In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

bassist Mani and

singer

Rowetta Rowetta Idah (born 5 January 1966, in Manchester), also known as Rowetta or Rowetta Satchell, is a British singer. She is best known for her work with the Happy Mondays, recording and touring with the band from 1990 and recently reforming with th ...

. Soon after his death, Gill's friends began a social-media campaign to make the band's 1994 hit "Saturn 5" the Christmas number-one song for 2016.

Reunion 2023

In October 2022 the band announced they would be reforming and performing a live UK tour in March and April 2023. The band also announced that longtime bassist Martyn Walsh would not be joining them on their forthcoming tour. It was announced that Jake Fletcher will be touring with Inspiral Carpets in 2023 & Kev Clark from Dub Sex will be on the drums for the tour.

Members

* Graham Lambert (born Graham Paul Lambert, on 10 July 1964, in Chadderton,

) – guitars (1980-1995, 2003–2016, 2022-present) * Glenn Chesworth (born 28 January 1963, in Chadderton,

) – bass & vocals (1980–1982) * Tony Feeley (born Mark Anthony Feeley on 27 December 1962, in

) – keyboards (1980–1982) * Tony Welsh - guitar (1980-1982) & bass (1983-1986) * Stephen Holt – lead vocals (1983–1989, 2011–2016, 2022-present) * Mark ‘Joe’ Jordan - guitars, bass & effects (1981) * Mark Hindley - bass (1982) * Kevin Foey - bass (1983) * Chris Goodwin - drums (1986) * Craig Gill (born Craig Douglas Gill on 5 December 1971, in

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

; died 20 November 2016) – drums (1986–1995, 2003–2016) * Clint Boon (born Clinton David Boon, on 28 June 1959, in

) – keyboards, backing vocals (1987–1995, 2003–2016, 2022-present) * Rick Garage - bass (1986) * Mark Hughes – bass (1987) * Scott Carey - bass (1987) * Dave Swift (born David Swift on 11 January 1964,

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...

) – bass (1988) * Tom Hingley (born Thomas William Hingley, on 9 July 1965, in Abingdon) – lead vocals (1989–1995, 2003–2011) * Martyn Walsh (born Martyn John Walsh, on 3 July 1968, in

Rusholme Rusholme () is an area of Manchester, England, two miles south of the city centre. The population of the ward at the 2011 census was 13,643. Rusholme is bounded by Chorlton-on-Medlock to the north, Victoria Park and Longsight to the east, F ...

, Manchester) – bass (1988–1995, 2003–2016 * Jake Fletcher - bass (touring) (2022-present) * Kev Clark - Drums (2022-present) Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:18 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:80 top:0 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/2023 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:lvocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals id:guitars value:green legend:Guitars id:keyboards value:purple legend:Keyboards id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:bvocals value:pink legend:Backing_vocals id:studio value:black legend:Studio_album Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:3 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:2 start:1983 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1983 BarData = bar:Holt text:Stephen Holt bar:Hingley text:Tom Hingley bar:Lambert text:Graham Lambert bar:Chesworth text:Glenn Chesworth bar:Boon text:Clint Boon bar:Feeley text:Tony Feeley bar:Hughes text:Mark Hughes bar:Swift text:David Swift bar:Walsh text:Martyn Walsh bar:Gill text:Craig Gill PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Holt from:start till:01/01/1989 color:lvocals bar:Holt from:01/01/2011 till:22/11/2016 color:lvocals bar:Holt from:17/10/2022 till:end color:lvocals bar:Hingley from:01/01/1989 till:01/01/1995 color:lvocals bar:Hingley from:01/01/2003 till:01/01/2011 color:lvocals bar:Lambert from:start till:01/01/1995 color:guitars bar:Lambert from:01/01/2003 till:22/11/2016 color:guitars bar:Lambert from:17/10/2022 till:end color:guitars bar:Chesworth from:start till:01/01/1987 color:keyboards bar:Boon from:01/01/1987 till:01/01/1995 color:keyboards bar:Boon from:01/01/1987 till:01/01/1995 color:bvocals width:3 bar:Boon from:01/01/2003 till:22/11/2016 color:keyboards bar:Boon from:01/01/2003 till:22/11/2016 color:bvocals width:3 bar:Boon from:17/10/2022 till:end color:keyboards bar:Boon from:17/10/2022 till:end color:bvocals width:3 bar:Feeley from:start till:01/01/1987 color:bass bar:Hughes from:01/01/1987 till:01/06/1987 color:bass bar:Swift from:01/06/1987 till:01/01/1989 color:bass bar:Walsh from:01/01/1989 till:01/01/1995 color:bass bar:Walsh from:01/01/2003 till:22/11/2016 color:bass bar:Gill from:01/01/1986 till:01/01/1995 color:drums bar:Gill from:01/01/2003 till:22/11/2016 color:drums LineData= layer:back color:studio at:23/04/1990 at:01/06/1991 at:05/10/1992 at:03/10/1994 at:20/10/2014

Discography

* ''

'' (1990) * ''

'' (1991) * '' Revenge of the Goldfish'' (1992) * '' Devil Hopping'' (1994) * ''

'' (2014)

References

External links

* *
BBC interview with Tom Hingley
*

'. Mute Records. (Accessed 4 December 2005). {{Authority control English alternative rock groups English indie rock groups Alternative dance musical groups Madchester groups Musical groups from the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham Musical groups established in 1983 Musical groups disestablished in 1995 Musical groups reestablished in 2003 Musical groups disestablished in 2016 Musical groups reestablished in 2022 Mute Records artists Cherry Red Records artists