Inspiral Carpets

"'What a joy it was, during the week, to see Mark E Smith on Top Of Pops with the Inspiral Carpets.' (John Peel, 04 March 1994)"



Inspiral Carpets are an alternative rock band from Oldham in Greater Manchester, England formed by Graham Lambert and Stephen Holt in 1983. Their sound is based around psychedelic keyboards and guitars. They came to prominence, alongside bands like the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays, in the 'Madchester' scene of the late 1980s. After a flexi-disc featuring Garage Full Of Flowers given free with Manchester's Debris magazine in 1987, followed by the Cow cassette, their first release proper, the 1988 Planecrash EP on the Playtime label received much airplay from Radio 1 DJ John Peel … (read more at Wikipedia)

Links to Peel
Peel was an early supporter of the Inspiral Carpets, who went on to record four sessions and have eight Festive Fifty entries, including the 1994 Festive Fifty #1, 'I Want You', which also featured the Fall's Mark E Smith.

In Jon Robb's "The North Will Rise Again" (pg 324), Graham Lambert recalled Peel starting his 06 July 1988 show with 'Keep The Circle Around' as a landmark for the band:

"'We got the Planecrash EP to John Peel in July 1988 and he started his show with it. I was in Scotland with Karen when he played it. I tried to find a phone box in the pitch black and phone the band but couldn't get hold of them. From then on it changed. We had a session and he played every track several times. It felt like we were on our way.'"

Perhaps predictably, Peel was highly enthusiastic about the hook-up with Mark E Smith for 'I Want You' and appears to have played the recording on as many as three of his weekly half-hour BBC World Service shows, which were limited to just seven or eight tracks. The song was later selected for the 1994 Peelenium.

In the 1993-4 football season, Oldham Athletic supporter Graham Lambert twice phoned in reports of his team's matches to Peel's show. (See 27 November 1993, 05 February 1994.)

Festive Fifty Entries
1988 Festive Fifty
 * Keep The Circle Around #11

1989 Festive Fifty
 * Joe #9
 * Find Out Why #21
 * So This Is How It Feels (session) #35
 * Directing Traffic (session) #49
 * She Comes In The Fall (session) #50

1990 Festive Fifty
 * Beast Inside (session) #50

1994 Festive Fifty
 * I Want You (featuring Mark E Smith) #1

Sessions
Four sessions. Official releases:

- Radio 1 Sessions (Strange Fruit, CD, 1999)

- The Peel Sessions (Strange Fruit, 12" EP/CD, 1989)

- 'Out Of Time' on Various Artists: The Peel Sessions 83-91: New Season (Strange Fruit, CD/2xLP, 1991)

- 'Gimme Shelter' on Various Artists: Best Of Peel Sessions (Par Bernard Lenoir) (Fnac Music, LP/CD, 1990)

- 'The Beast Inside' on Various Artists: Radio Daze: John Peel Sessions (VOX magazine, cassette, 1992)

- 'Directing Traffic' on Various Artists: Manchester - So Much To Answer For (The Peel Sessions) (Strange Fruit, CD/2xLP, 1990)

1. Recorded 1988-07-17. First broadcast: 01 August 1988. Repeated: 28 December 1988
 * So Far / Monkey On My Back / Greek Wedding Song / Whiskey

2. Recorded: 1989-03-26. First broadcast: 05 April 1989. Repeated
 * Out Of Time / Directing Traffic / Keep The Circle Around / Gimme Shelter

3. Recorded 1989-08-17. First broadcast 09 October 1989. Repeated: 06 November 1989, 27 December 1989.
 * Sun Don't Shine / She Comes In The Fall / Song For A Family / So This Is How It Feels

4. Recorded 1990-05-20. First broadcast 05 June 1990. Repeated 07 October 1990.
 * Beast Inside / Grip / Weakness / Keep It In Mind

Live

 * 16 July 1994. Recorded: NME Stage, Glastonbury, 1994-06-26. Repeated: 18 December 1997 (BFBS).


 * 1) Party In The Sky
 * 2) Generations
 * 3) Move
 * 4) Saturn 5
 * 5) She Comes In The Fall
 * 6) This Is How It Feels
 * Joe
 * 1) Cobra

Other Shows Played
(The list below was compiled only from the database of this site and Lorcan's Tracklistings Archive. Please add more information if known.)


 * 1988
 * 06 July 1988: Keep The Circle Around (12" EP - Plane Crash) Playtime (JP: "I think we shall hear these great sex lords again. In fact I think I will ask Radio One's Great Satan to book them in for a session.")
 * 27 July 1988: Seeds Of Doubt (12"-Plane Crash) Playtime
 * 19 September 1988: Keep the Circle Around (single) Playtime
 * 12 October 1988: Keep The Circle Around (7” – Plane Crash) Playtime
 * 26 October 1988: Butterfly (7”) Playtime
 * 31 October 1988: You Can't Take The Truth (7” – Butterfly) Playtime
 * November (No. 2) 1988 (BBC World Service): Butterfly (12" - Trainsurfing) Cow
 * November (No. 3) 1988 (BBC World Service): You Can't Take The Truth (12" - Trainsurfing) Cow
 * 27 December 1988 (BFBS): Butterfly (12" - Trainsurfing) Cow
 * 27 December 1988: Keep The Circle Around (7 inch) Playtime FF#11 (JP: "That seems to me to be a teen-terrific way to end the programme.")


 * 1989
 * 03 April 1989: Butterfly (12" - Trainsurfing) Cow
 * 26 April 1989: ‎Two Cows (v/a album - Edward Not Edward) Wooden
 * 27 April 1989: Joe (12") Cow MOO 3
 * 08 November 1989: Move (7") Cow (JP: "As heard on the Steve Wright programme only yesterday afternoon, and somebody reminded me yesterday that I'd said if I ever heard Inspiral Carpets on Steve Wright's programme, I'd play the Pet Shop Boys on this programme. Well I'm not going to, at least not tonight anyway.")
 * 20 December 1989: She Comes In The Fall (session) FF#50
 * 20 December 1989: Directing Traffic (session) FF#49
 * 21 December 1989: So This Is How It Feels (session) FF#35
 * 26 December 1989: Find Out Why (7 inch) Cow FF#21
 * 28 December 1989: Joe (12 inch) Cow FF#9


 * 1990
 * 08 March 1990 (Rockradio): So This Is How It Feels (7") Mute
 * 19 March 1990: Joe (single) Cow
 * 28 August 1990: Many Happy Returns
 * 14 October 1990: Biggest Mountain (EP - Island Head) Mute
 * 15 November 1990 (Radio Mafia): Weakness (12" EP - Island Head) Mute
 * 22 December 1990: Beast Inside (session) FF#50 (JP: "Actually sounded quite seasonal, that, what with the bells and everything.")


 * 1991
 * 02 March 1991: Caravan (7") (JP - "sounds a little busy to me..")
 * 20 April 1991: Sleep Well Tonight (album - The Beast Inside)
 * 20 April 1991: Grip (album - The Beast Inside)
 * 21 April 1991: Please Be Cruel (album - the Beast Inside)
 * 25 May 1991: The Greek Wedding Song (EP - Trainsurfing)
 * 02 June 1991: Please Be Cruel (single)
 * 15 June 1991: St Kilda ('Please Be Cruel' b-side) Mute


 * 1992
 * September 1992 (BBC World Service): Generations (Denmark 2 Germany 0 Mix) (12" Generations) Mute
 * 04 October 1992 (BFBS): Fire (LP - Revenge of the Goldfish) Mute
 * 02 October 1992: Fire (album - Revenge Of The Goldfish) Mute
 * 09 October 1992: Fire (LP-Revenge Of The Goldfish) Mute


 * 1993
 * 06 April 1993 (John Peel Is Jakki Brambles): Gimme Shelter (EP – The Peel Sessions) Strange Fruit
 * 12 June 1993: How It Should Be (7 inch) Mute (JP before track: "Here’s a band we’ve not heard on the programme for far too long.")
 * 11 December 1993: Party In The Sky (Dub Federation Dub)
 * 17 December 1993: Saturn 5 (Gravity Surge Mix) (CDS) Mute


 * 1994
 * 21 January 1994: I Want You (CD single) Mute
 * 21 January 1994 (featuring Mark E Smith): I Want You (CD single) Mute
 * 22 January 1994 (BFBS) (featuring Mark E Smith): I Want You (tape preview) (JP before track: "Now this next one, well, it's for all of you, dear listeners. And what it is, I was given a tape, of this unexpected collaboration between two Manchester area bands. Or one band and one other artiste. And I was given it on condition I didn't play it on British radio for several weeks. And I said, yes I'm quite happy to do that. But I didn't say anything about not playing it on BFBS. So this is a kind of preview I suppose.. It won't take you to long I suspect, to identify the protagonists...")
 * 22 January 1994 (featuring Mark E Smith): I Want You (CD single) Mute
 * January 1994 (5) (BBC World Service): I Want You (single) Mute
 * January 1994 (5) (BBC World Service) (featuring Mark E Smith): I Want You (CD single) Mute
 * 29 January 1994 (featuring Mark E Smith): I Want You (CD single) Mute
 * 04 February 1994: I Want You (single) Mute
 * 05 February 1994 (BFBS) (featuring Mark E Smith): I Want You (CD single) Mute
 * February 1994 (1) (BBC World Service) (featuring Mark E Smith): I Want You (CD single) Mute
 * 12 February 1994 (featuring Mark E Smith): I Want You (CD single) Mute
 * February 1994 (2) (BBC World Service) (featuring Mark E Smith): I Want You (CD single) Mute
 * 04 March 1994: Party In The Sky (CD - Devil Hopping) Mute (JP before track: "What a joy it was, during the week, to see Mark E Smith on Top Of Pops with the Inspiral Carpets.")
 * 05 March 1994: Lovegrove (CD - Devil Hopping) Mute
 * 12 March 1994: Saturn 5 (CD - Devil Hopping) Mute
 * 18 March 1994: All Of This And More (CD - Devil Hopping) Mute
 * 25 March 1994: Uniform (CD - Devil Hopping) Mute
 * 23 December 1994: (featuring Mark E Smith): I Want You (CD single) Mute FF#1


 * 1996
 * 07 January 1996 (BFBS): Butterfly (CDS1-Generations) Mute


 * 1997
 * 06 January 1997: Gimme Shelter (session 26/3/89) (John Peel's Classic Sessions)


 * 1998
 * 16 September 1998: I Want You (CD single) Mute
 * 17 September 1998 (featuring Mark E Smith): I Want You (CD single) Mute


 * 1999
 * 15 June 1999: Keep the Circle Around (LP – Radio 1 Sessions) Strange Fruit
 * 31 August 1999 (featuring Mark E Smith): I Want You (60th birthday)
 * 14 September 1999: This Is How It Feels To Be (single) Mute (Supergrass get tour of Peel Acres, including Peel’s work room. Song was one of the first taped off the Peel show by an unnamed member of the band.)


 * 2000
 * 06 January 2000 (featuring Mark E Smith): I Want You (7 inch) Cow/Mute (Peelenium 1994)