Carpets to roll back the years

Date published: 31/01/2008

One of the North West's most successful bands of the late 80s/early 90s are reuniting to hit the road on a whistlestop UK tour.

The Inspiral Carpets split in 1995 following a string of hit singles including "This Is How It Feels" and "She Comes In The Fall" and four top 20 albums.

The band - Clint Boon, Tom Hingley, Martyn Walsh, Graham Lambert and Craig Gill - reached their peak in 1990 when they played to 14,000 fans at Manchester’s G-Mex (now Manchester Central) and headlined the Reading Festival.

Following last year’s successful tour the band are putting their various solo projects to one side and giving their fans a taste of nostalgia.

Singer Tom Hingley said: "We are all really busy doing our own thing but it’s a really special treat to be playing with the boys again and I’m sure it’ll be a great laugh.

"We all feel like teenagers again when we get together.

"It was a really nice feeling to be selling out venues on last year’s tour and it’s more fun now because we don’t have to worry about a record contract or how successful our next single is going to be.

"We’re just a group of friends doing our thing."

As well as the forthcoming tour the band — who used to count Oasis star Noel Gallagher as one of their roadies — will join the likes of Happy Mondays, Fratellis and Fun Lovin Criminals at the Manchester Arena on 23 February for the Manchester Versus Cancer gig organised by former Smiths bassist Andy Rourke.

Hingley said: "The line up is amazing and it’s a really good cause so we’re all looking forward to that."

While the quintet are all busy with their various solo careers they say there is a possibility of new material.

Hingley, who is awaiting the release of his second album with his side project Tom Hingley and The Lovers, added: "It takes a long time to write and record an album and it has to be better than anything you’ve done before or else there’s no point bothering. There are lots of great bands appearing all the time and the music scene is really buzzing at the moment."

The Inspiral Carpets will play at the Manchester Academy, Oxford Road, on Friday 14 March, with support acts Lowline and The Hems.