The Wonder Stuff & Inspiral Carpets

The Wonder Stuff and Inspiral Carpets are playing The Engine Shed on Thursday 29 October, a double bill of British indie from two bands that came up in the late eighties. It's a standing-room night at the University of Lincoln's venue in Brayford Pool, with doors opening at 19:00.

Inspiral Carpets formed in Manchester in 1986, emerging alongside The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays from the city's indie scene. Their sound is built around harmonic, often psychedelic keyboards and jangly guitars, and they first got noticed after being championed by Radio 1 DJ John Peel. Their biggest UK chart success came with the single 'This Is How It Feels', a song about loneliness and unemployment. Back then they were also known for their 'Cool as Fuck' cow T-shirts, which landed an Oxford Polytechnic student an obscenity prosecution and meant their gigs were often heard to 'moo'. One of their roadies, Noel Gallagher, went on to find success with Oasis.

They've had a few different lives since those early days. They reworked 'Find Out Why' as the theme tune to the early-nineties kids' show The 8:15 From Manchester, and 'I Want You' was used by Sony to advertise their in-car entertainment systems. After an amicable split in 1995, they reformed with their original line-up in 2001, and in 2011 original vocalist Stephen Holt returned to the fold. They share the bill here with The Wonder Stuff, so it's two bands from that same era on one stage.

General admission standing is £45.00, and doors open at 19:00 at The Engine Shed, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln LN67TS.