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Class acts go back to school

Susannah Wright
12/ 6/2008

AS LEAD singer of the Inspiral Carpets Tom Hingley has entertained fans throughout the world.

And as a member of The Fall for 20 years bassist Steve Hanley is used to a cult following.

But the pair have just played one of their most intimate gigs - to a group of schoolchildren in West Didsbury.

And to cap off the celebrity feel to the occasion, in the audience was former Housemartins and Beautiful South lead singer, Paul Heaton, whose children are pupils at the school.

The youngsters of Cavendish Road Primary School might be a little unsure of the musical heritage in front of them, but plenty of mums and dads were seen dancing around, recalling youthful memories.

The gig for around 150 parents and children was organised by Steve Hanley - whose day job as a site manager at the school is to raise money for the school’s PTA funds.

Steve said: "I was a bit nervous in a way, playing in front of the children, but I think it went down really well.

"We did several Inspiral Carpets’ songs as well as our new stuff, so a lot of the parents had a good singalong, which I think they enjoyed."

The Lovers, fronted by Tom Hingley, played for 90 minutes and included Inspiral Carpets’ classics such as This Is How It Feels and Joe.

Janet Marland, headteacher at the school, said she was thrilled that the band played for them. She said: "It was fantastic - they played what I would call ‘proper’ music with guitars and singing!

"It was a great atmosphere, and brilliant for parents and children to be able to share something like this. Of course, most of the time when adults go to concerts they don’t take their kids, but this had a really good community feel about it."

The gig, on Friday, June 6, raised around £600 for the school’s PTA, and the money will be spent on doing up the sensory garden. It will include a new picnic bench and games for the children to play during lunch and breaks.