The Wonder Stuff + Inspiral Carpets

A double bill at O2 Academy Brixton pairing The Wonder Stuff with Inspiral Carpets, two British bands from the late 1980s and early 1990s indie and alternative scene. The night is a concert on this visit to London.

The Wonder Stuff formed in Stourbridge in the West Midlands in 1986, and are led by Miles Hunt, who sings and writes most of their material. The band rose to prominence in the early 1990s with a run of singles and albums that combined jangling guitar pop with a sharp, often humorous lyrical edge, and their best-known songs include "Welcome to the Cheap Seats" and "Circles". Their sound draws on the British guitar pop tradition and on the 1960s and 1970s punk and new wave bands that shaped it.

Inspiral Carpets were formed in Oldham in 1988 and became one of the leading names of the Madchester scene, combining psychedelic organ and guitar textures with a dance-influenced rhythm section. Their singles "This Is How It Feels" and "Commercial Rain" brought them into the British charts, and their album "Life" reached the top ten in 1990. The band is associated with the Manchester label Factory Records and with the wider Madchester movement.

O2 Academy Brixton is a concert and show venue in London, and this bill suits listeners who know the guitar-driven music of both bands and want to hear their best-known songs in one evening.