E: You are renowned for your influence and impact to the Manchester music scene in the 90s - did you realise back then that you were part of something culturally significant, or did it just feel like “normal life”?
M: Not at all. I think we were so busy just doing things that we didn’t really see the bigger picture. At the time, we were just playing gigs and making music - doing what bands do.
It’s only when you look back and hear people say things like, "I formed my own band after seeing you," that you realise the impact we had, not just on Manchester or the UK, but globally. That’s something I’m really proud of.
It feels like it was the last real musical and cultural movement that had such a massive impact. But at the time, it wasn’t about strategy or hype; it was just people getting on with things and creating. Funny enough, that’s exactly what we’ve refound now. It feels very similar to those early 90s days - just doing stuff and watching what happens.
E: Which track do you think best represents what Inspiral Carpets are all about?
M: That’s a tough one, especially as we’re writing new material now and everyone in the band contributes. It keeps things fresh because we all bring different perspectives.
If I had to choose, I’d say 'Saturn 5', It’s got huge choruses but still feels gritty, and it tells a story. One of the things I love about our music is that it’s quite timeless—we never really tried to follow trends.
Even in the early 90s, when indie-dance was huge, we didn’t try to copy it. There are dance influences in our sound, but they’re subtle. I think that’s why the music has always been timeless, and that gives us even more credibility to come back. At the heart of it, we’re all drawn to classic pop songwriting - songs like Motown hits that still sound great decades later. That timeless quality is what holds us together as a band.
E: This is a bit of an obscure one, I was talking to a friend about you guys and he mentioned his dad has one of the original milk bottles released one of your albums. Apparently they’re super rare to get a hold of now - what was the thinking behind it as a marketing stunt, whose idea was it? Did it work?
M: That was for our biggest Manchester gig at a place called G-Mex. The idea came from the old tradition of milk being delivered to your doorstep in glass bottles - something that’s vanished now.
We thought it would be fun as we have got the cow refernce. I think it was even tied in with the Lancashire or the milk marketing board. Sometimes that sort of thing happens, where we're just brainstorming ideas and just go, 'why don't we try that?'.
It worked brilliantly because people would wake up, find a milk bottle with our logo on their doorstep, and have no idea what it was. Some probably just sent them back to the milkman! That’s why they’re so rare now. In a way, it was early guerrilla viral marketing - though we didn’t realise it at the time.
E: If you could go back to one gig or tour and relive it, which would it be?
M: Definitely Reading Festival 1990, when we headlined. That was peak decadence for us - we’d taken over a whole floor of a nearby hotel, paying for everybody's bar tabs, drinking champagne. It was a weird time, we were heading straight to Japan afterwards.
But I have no recollection of the concert whatsoever! We had about £30-40,000 worth of fireworks go off during the first song. I don't remember seeing that the time, but it was being videoed by our manager because nobody had phones then. The next day when we were on the way to the airport, we put the video camera on. He played the video and realised he had left it on pause, so we didn't see any of the gig.
So, 30,000 pounds worth of fireworks going up with no recollection. I wouldn't mind seeing that again, to be there in the moment;
E: Are there any artists in the scene currently that you feel a connection with musically or just enjoy listening to?
M: I really like Soulwax - their new album is out and from what I've heard I really like it. I love the way they just do stuff their own way. They rework artists like Kylie Minogue that wouldn't traditionally work, I just like the way they sound and the way they do stuff. I like the fact they don't mind using traditional instruments like guitars, drums and basses but in a dance sort of way. I find when I'm writing, I'm almost taking some soulax influences of using how they produce guitars and drums and bass in a more traditional indie rock sort of way.
There’s also a band called Punchbag on our old label, Mute Records. It's just a boy and a girl, and they're really quite in your face. I love seeing younger bands doing their own thing, and not trying to emulate what’s gone on in the past - it’s exciting.
I’ve got mixed feelings about Spotify, though. It’s great for discovering new music, but the way it pays artists isn’t right. Still, it’s often how I stumble across new stuff, so it's a bit of a double-edged sword.
E: As I'm sure you're aware, Your song ‘This is how it feels’ is used often as a chant by Man City fans , how do you feel about that?
M: Absolutely distraught. One of the proudest moments I've ever had as a United fan (because there's only one United, not a Newcastle United), was walking down United Road after a match, hearing everyone singing 'This is how it feels to be City, this is how it feels to be small'. It's sort of bittersweet hearing it after they win another champions league, it sort of irks me that they're singing that song. I'm hoping for the day United can start singing it again in the old way.
E: You’re coming to Newcastle’s Boiler Shop on 20 November — how does playing in the North East compare to other parts of the UK for you, and what are you most looking forward to about this show in Newcastle?”
M: The North East crowds are always brilliant -really friendly, but always quite alcohol-fueled!
It’ll be different this time because I don’t drink anymore, so it’s a new kind of experience for me. But I’m really looking forward to it. The north-east crowds are always quite passionate. I know at times the north-east as a whole gets overlooked, which I think is so criminal. I think when bands do come, it always feels so appreciated. The audiences there always make it special, and I think it’s the first date of the tour too, so the energy will be high.
Make sure you come and say hello! Buy a T-Shirt, spread the word. There's a lot more to come from Inspirals next year, we're writing a new album, we've got new management. It's all very exciting and I hope that excitement transmits itself onstage.