inspiral carpets : biography

The proof-positive of a great record can come from the oddest of litmus tests.

Just tuning into the record a second ago, having missed the deadline for this piece by about three days, and there is was. Sounding just as melancholic and dramatic, and Play For Today as the first time you heard it, the Golden Hour - for once - stumping up the perfect moment of synchronisity - it was playing "This Is How It Feels". Not The Bangles, Not Bruce Springsteen. But the Inspiral Carpets ladies and gentlemen. They will outlive us all.

Compared to a great many bands of the last six years or so, for whom time has not been kind, the Inspirals can stand by a series of gorgeously enigmatic and resilient pop singles. They have writ their name large in the History Books of Pop. And if that seems an exaggeration, then you're not the sort of person who should be reading this in the first place. We're more of a loyal, discerning bunch, in the Inspiral Carpets appreciation society. We know what's what.

They give us love and doubt and all that stuff. Forming in 1988 they began their career with Manchester independent label Playtime Records, before moving to Mute in January 1990. The signing session itself was brilliant chaos, convened in the nearest thing Mute have to a boardroom with some beer and sandwiches and a huge fake local paper sized cheque which the band endorsed with their already infamous Cow logo. I think Tom and Clint made speeches into my tape recorder and everyone else took the rise out of each other. Little did we know that four LPs and copious hit singles were around the corner.

It was at the time of the flowering Madchester scene, fair enough, but then the Inspirals were neither flamboyantly druggy or baggy, or even in fact, from Manchester. They existed in a world of their own (Oldham?!) employing nothing more than a godlike unaffected confidence, 10 well-tuned ears and a slogan which got people in trouble. As they say in court, they were Cool As Fuck.

The five-piece were always - and still are - out their on the boundaries of British music, involved enough to make an impact, but distanced enough to get a broader view of the game. It's this sort of nicely withdrawn attitude, I think, Combined with their colourfully conceived records that has earnt them so much respect. It certainly isn't Clint's shirts, or Tom's old trousers for that matter.

As this album shows, they've progressed and subtly changed through the years, while still retaining that distinct, unique Inspirals sound. "Life", their debut LP which got to Number 2 in May 1990, was followed by "The Beast Inside", a darker brooding album which again made the Top 5 a year later. "Revenge of the Goldfish", which took its name from the picture on the sleeve, took a friskier direction, while their most recent collection "Devil Hopping" (a friendly jibe at producer Pascal Gabriel's pronounciation of the word "developing") had them stalking all manner of moods and images.

It is a testimony as well that the Inspirals have come so far, apparently oblivious to the minefield of changing trends exploding all around them, and have made so many evocative singles along the way. None other than the current producer of Top Of The Pops, on seeing the band last year, said "Imagine what their Greatest Hits LP will sound like. Fucking blinding!". He doesn't mince his words. I like to think that this is top-of-the-range intelligent, durable pop music. And that it'll still sound wonderful on the radio in years to come.

Oh, and by the way, Clint says it's a Farfisa, not a Hammond.

biography by Steve Lamacq from Inspiral Carpets - The Singles