2016 has been a bad year, particularly on famous musicians. While Craig Gill and his band, Inspiral Carpets, weren't as well known as David Bowie or Leonard Cohen, the band deserves a bit of space on this blog.
Inspiral Carpets were one of the core bands of the Madchester scene from the late 80s and early 90s. The Madchester scene was a mix of alt-rock, electronic dance and psychedelic rock. The bands that came from the scene were diverse, from trippy alt-rock with Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses, pure electronica with 808 State and Northside, to more earnest indy rock with James. Inspiral Carpets were known for their use of organ in their music.
They formed in 1983, but only got significant airplay 1988, when the legendary John Peel picked up the Planecrash EP and played it on his show, then invited the band for a live session. in 1989, Inspiral Carpets formed their own label, Cow Records, then released an EP called Trainsurfing. Around this time, two founding members left to form the Rainkings. They picked up two new members and championed on.
Their big break came in 1990, after signing to Mute Records, with their debut album Life shooting up to number 2 on the British album charts, and their single "This is How it Feels" hitting number 14 on the singles charts. The band remained successful to 1994, when Mute Records dropped the band after their Devil Hopping album. The band split up soon afterwards.
The band members played in other bands through til 2003, including The Lotus Eaters, The Lovers and the Clint Boon Experience. They reformed in 2003, releasing a single, touring sporadically and releasing a singles compilation called Cool As. The band has stayed together since then, releasing a handful of singles and EPs, plus a full length self-titled album in 2014.
Craig Gill was the drummer for the band and joined at the age of 14. He remained with the band through their entire career. He was just 44 when he died November 22nd.
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