The Manchester-based Inspiral Carpets was formed in 1986, and emerged alongside bands like The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays, from the indie scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Their sound is based around harmonic (and often psychedelic) keyboards and jangly guitars. The band were propelled to fame after being 'discovered' by the Radio 1 DJ John Peel and had their greatest chart success in the UK with a single entitled This Is How It Feels, which is a song about loneliness and unemployment.

At the time of their initial success, the band earned some notoriety for their squiggly-eyed cow 'Cool as Fuck' T-shirts; a student at Oxford Polytechnic was prosecuted on obscenity charges for wearing one. One of their roadies, Noel Gallagher, went on to great success with the band Oasis. The band is named after a clothing store in the Oldham neighbourhood.

They reworked their single Find Out Why as the theme tune to early 90's kids TV show 'The 8:15 From Manchester'. Another release I Want You was used by Sony to advertise their in-car entertainment systems http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcYRKYl2EB4; an early example of advertising agencies co-opting and promoting non-mainstream music to add kudos to mainstream brands(a trend that has increased significantly).

After an amicable split in the 1995 they re-formed with their original line-up in 2001. This was backed with the release of a new single, a couple of sold-out tours and a number of new compilation records.

Keyboardist Clint Boon continues to spread the musical word as a popular DJ around the clubs of Manchester and beyond.