Formed in Oldham in 1983, the band's most successful lineup featured frontman Tom Hingley, drummer Craig Gill, guitarist Graham Lambert, bassist Martyn Walsh and keyboardist Clint Boon.

Going by "The Furs", Lambert formed line-ups loosely with other various past band members from 1980 to 1983 until he and singer Stephen Holt met at The Moor End indie disco in Oldham in 1983.

Holt departed the band before they signed with Mute Records,[2] Inspiral Carpets are known for using organs and distorted guitars with influences from psychedelic rock.

Inactive since Gill's death in 2016, on 17 October 2022 the band announced they would be reforming and going on a tour of the UK in March and April 2023.

Graham Lambert experimented with line ups from 1980 to 1983, going by "The Furs", until he and Stephen Holt, a friend from their school days, formed Inspiral Carpets in 1983, originally as a garage rock- and punk-inspired band.

Manchester drummer Chris Goodwin and bassist Tony Welsh helped record a demo and play live in and around the Oldham area.

The 1988 Planecrash EP on the Playtime label received much airplay from Radio 1 DJ John Peel, who asked the band to record a session for his show.

[2] With half of the first album, Life, written, Holt and Swift departed and formed the Rainkings, so the band recruited Too Much Texas singer Tom Hingley and Martyn "Bungle" Walsh of The Next Step to replace them.

[2] Gill also formed a new band, Hustler, who eventually changed their name to Proud Mary after a song by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

[citation needed] Proud Mary signed to Noel Gallagher's Big Brother label some years later, while Walsh moved into production, largely working on techno and dance music.

[citation needed] In February 2011, it was revealed that Tom Hingley was no longer part of the band, with the circumstances of his departure unclear.

[11] In the summer of 2012, the band played at several festivals, culminating with a live performance at the Old Trafford cricket ground on 10 September during England's T20I match with South Africa.

[15] Soon after his death, Gill's friends began a social-media campaign to make the band's 1994 hit "Saturn 5" the Christmas number-one song for 2016.

[citation needed] On 15 February 2023, the group also announced their return to Australia for the first time in 30 years that August, as well as their first shows in New Zealand.