Preview Tom Hingley
The former Inspiral Carpets frontman and connoisseur of indie puts on a one-off acoustic show, treating fans to material old and new
Preview: Tom Hingley
Other Recent Preview Articles
At the helm of jaunty psychedelic indie band the Inspiral Carpets, Tom Hingley embodied what was great about the British music scene at the turn of the 1990s. This was of course before anyone had even thought of slapping the Britpop label on every male act that released a record. Along with other originals such as the Smiths, Stone Roses, Charlatans, Happy Mondays and The Fall, the Inspirals helped to define Manchester as the home of credible music in an era when Thatcherism made everyone become dissident in a coolly nonchalant, celebrate-your-regionalism kind of way.
Best-known tracks from the group included ‘This is How it Feels’, ‘She Comes in the Fall’, ‘Saturn 5’ and ‘Find Out Why’, all injected with their signature organ-driven 60s garage-rock-influenced sound. An experience of an Inspirals gig was truly an uplifting one; no-one could help but leap about randomly together to the music (as is the Madchester veteran’s wont), and this was still true years later when the band re-formed for a UK tour in the late 2000s.
The Inspiral Carpets also famously started Noel of Gallagher fame off on the long road to stardom; he was their roadie in the early nineties before finding a certain amount of success himself with a band of his own. It was at this time, when Britpop really took off, that those still hanging onto Madchester’s coattails began to dissipate and the Inspirals disbanded in 1995.
For a few years, Tom performed and released solo material, and collaborated with contacts he maintained from the music scene he was still devoted to. Then in 2001, he followed in the footsteps of Inspirals organist Clint Boon and formed a new band, The Lovers. For nearly a decade now, The Lovers have rehearsed and toured intensively under their self-made record label New Memorabilia, after spurning several big money offers from existing music industry bigwigs in favour of artistic freedom. Two unhurried, carefully crafted albums later, the worldly-wise quintet are still going strong. Tracks like ‘Boyband’, ‘Big Mistake’ and ‘I Was Wrong’ reveal a perspective of pop culture scepticism and lessons learned the hard way, without sacrificing on humour and optimism.
Remind yourself of Tom’s soaring vocals and stunning songwriting, when he hits Leeds to perform solo in a unique acoustic gig with tracks from throughout his career.
Tom Hingley, Northern Monkey 8pm, 28th March. £3.50 adv, £5 otd.
Posted on Wednesday 10th March 2010
Rebecca Ryder
Northern Monkey
115 The Headrow, Leeds, LS1 5JW
Sending you to Twitter, hold on... 
