3 August 2023 – The Triffid, Brisbane – words and pictures by Bec Lee
Donning a green bucket hat and insisting that my sister wear a similar one with a flower pattern, we get into the mood pre-gig by playing Inspiral Carpets: The Complete Singles on repeat. It’s been a long time between drinks, 30 years to be exact! The band last played Brisbane in 1993 at a club called Transformers that no longer exists. I was there that night, and I am about to see them again.
Prior to this gig I had to come to terms with the fact that I wasn’t going to see Inspiral Carpets with the 1993 line-up. A few months ago, I learned that original singer Steve Holt was touring with them and has been since 2011. I had no idea! And, to add to that, Craig Gill, the drummer who joined the band in 1986 as a 14-year-old, passed away in 2016. Long-time bassist Martyn Walsh is also not joining them on this tour, he’s been replaced by Oscar Boon, the son of legendary keyboardist/backing vocalist Clint Boon.
I knew I was going to miss the voice of Tom Hingley, the vocalist who joined in 1989 and enjoyed a successful 6 years with the band until they split in 1995. In my opinion, he was one of the best voices to come out of that late 80s, early 90s Manchester scene.
But did all that matter? Perhaps a little to some, but what we got was a joyful ride back to the early 90s, a wonderfully familiar keyboard sound that can only be created by Clint Boon, and a bunch of classic singles that sounded pretty good live, played by a tight band of fab musicians. I also got to meet Steve Holt, so I am chuffed with that. He’s lovely too.
Britpop cover band Cool Britannia provided an apt support for those of us who want to get right into the vibe and revisit the early 90s. They covered everything from Happy Mondays, The Verve, to Blur. And they did a great version of Stone Roses ‘She Bangs The Drums’ which brought massive smiles to our faces as we dance like it’s 1990.
Inspirals kick off with ‘Joe’ from their 1990 Cool as Fuck EP – a good one to start with as Steve Holt actually sang on the original recording of this track. I’m in the photo pit shooting, and I’m so excited to hear the opening notes of ‘Generations’ blast out of the speakers, which reminds me that I should be wearing ear plugs! The song is from my favourite Inspirals album, 1992’s Revenge of the Goldfish.
‘She Comes in the Fall’ sounds amazing live, with drummer Kev Clark nailing the drum solo as he gets his moment in the spotlight, literally. A warm yellow light shines down on him as he bashes the skins and the rest of the stage goes dark.
‘This is How it Feels’ is one of the most successful singles chart-wise, and is form the debut album, 1990’s Life. Penned by Clint Boon, this is a such a great song and the crowd react by waving their arms up high and they sing along to it’s sombre lyrics.
In between songs, Clint and Steve chat to us about being in Brisbane and how lovely it is, and we love them for it. Some of us went to that gig in 1993, and we make ourselves known by cheering.
‘Dragging me Down’ is also met with excitement, it’s one of the best tracks from Revenge of the Goldfish and it sounds fabulous live.
Included in the encore is the awesome 60s Hammond organ-inspired ‘Saturn 5′ the big single from 1994’s Devil Hopping. EVERYONE is dancing now.
A few notes about what I was reminded of by seeing Inspiral Carpets in 2023:
- No other band sounds like Inspiral Carpets
- They are perhaps the most underrated band to come out of the “Madchester” baggy era – I know they had success, but they deserved more
- And therefore, they run rings around Oasis – big time
- Revenge of the Goldfish is one of the best albums to come out of that period and its shame it wasn’t as big as it should have been
- I used to have a “Cool as Fuck” T-shirt (and where is it now?)
- I had forgotten how much I love this band.
Dear Inspiral Carpets, can you please come back and do Revenge of the Goldfish live?
