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. Their audience at gigs are often heard to 'moo'.
One of their roadies, Noel Gallagher, went on to great success with the band Oasis.

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.

In 2011, original member and vocalist Stephen Holt returned to the band and they released two singles before releasing their eponymous titled album in 2014.

Sadly, in 2016, drummer Craig Gill died and subsequently the band were inactive until their return to the stage in 2023. They have since played numerous sold out gigs to their loyal and expanding fan base.