Inspiral Carpets return with ‘Drag The Bag’ and announce extensive 2026 UK tour

Inspiral Carpets have released ‘Drag The Bag’, their first single in twelve years, out now via Scruff of the Neck Records.

The track was recorded at Blueprint Studios in Manchester and arrives forty-three years into the band’s story. It is not a nostalgia exercise. Built around a direct, melodic framework designed for live crowds, it addresses the universal grind of carrying something and finding a way through it regardless. The sound is classic Inspiral Carpets in its immediacy, but entirely present in its execution.

The partnership with Scruff of the Neck was announced at the band’s sold-out Manchester Albert Hall show in December 2025. The Manchester-based independent has built a reputation for working with artists on their own terms, and the fit with one of the city’s defining bands is deliberate. Built in Manchester, recorded in Manchester and released on a Manchester label, ‘Drag The Bag’ reflects the city’s enduring culture of independence and reinvention.

A packed live schedule follows, beginning with headline dates across the UK this summer before a co-headline tour with The Wonder Stuff in October takes in major venues including Barrowland Ballroom and O2 Academy Brixton on 8th December.

Headline shows:

26 Jun – The Live Rooms, Chester

27 Jun – The Buttermarket, Shrewsbury

28 Jun – The Sugarmill, Stoke-on-Trent

2 Jul – Kidderminster Town Hall, Kidderminster

5 Jul – Tunbridge Wells Forum, Tunbridge Wells

23 Jul – The Piper, Saint Leonards

21 Aug – PJ Molloys, Dunfermline

23 Aug – Tunnels, Aberdeen

28 Aug – Picturedrome, Holmfirth

4 Sep – Kanteena, Lancaster

25 Sep – Neuadd Ogwen, Bethesda

Co-headline tour with The Wonder Stuff:

1 Oct – O2 City Hall, Newcastle

2 Oct – O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester

3 Oct – Octagon Centre, Sheffield

8 Oct – Brighton Dome, Brighton

9 Oct – O2 Academy, Bournemouth

10 Oct – Dreamland, Margate

14 Oct – Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow

15 Oct – Great Hall, Cardiff University Students Union, Cardiff

16 Oct – O2 Academy, Leeds

17 Oct – O2 Academy, Leicester

22 Oct – Scarborough Spa, Scarborough

23 Oct – O2 Academy, Bristol

24 Oct – University of East Anglia LCR, Norwich

29 Oct – The Engine Shed, Lincoln

30 Oct – Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Wolverhampton

31 Oct – Liverpool Olympia, Liverpool

8 Dec – O2 Academy Brixton, London

Support show:

14 Nov – Winter Gardens Olympia, Blackpool (supporting Happy Mondays)

Festival appearances:

4 Jul – Guilfest, Guildford

24-26 Jul – Blue Reef Festival, Linton

25 Jul – Tramlines Festival, Sheffield

22 Aug – Rockore Festival, Fife

29 Aug – Camper Calling Festival, Alcester

5 Sep – Musicfest Mainstage, Uddingston

13-15 Nov – Shiiine On Weekender, Minehead

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