Tom Hingley was to the forefront of the commercial and critical success of the Inspiral Carpets-and, that legendary line up once entertained Pop Factory folk in Porth. However, as we stand Hingley severed links with his former band in 2011 and the Rhondda venue that once welcomed the Inspirals now runs as The Factory.
In 2014 Tom leads his own combo but he also tours with solo acoustic sets and in this format he took to the stage at the third annual Rhondda Rocks festival.
A booming voice and trusty guitar echoed around a tightly packed room and a selection of stellar songs ensued from Saturn 5 onwards through a catalogue of Carpets classics. To add to which Hingley also demonstrated his songwriting skills outside of the halcyon hits that led to major Top 40 album and single residencies between 1989 and 1995.
The great man also had no problems liaising with fans. There is not the slightest hint of pomp about this affable, honest, hard grafting musician who within the next day was set to do two gigs at the geographically disparate locations of Stoke and Norwich!
After that sort of tour itinerary the man whose vocals led anthems such as: Joe, Move, This is how it Feels, She comes in the Fall, Dragging me Down and Please be Crueldeserves a drink. On the beverage front why not satisfy a thirst with a bottle or two of Tom Hingley’s Bitter-a traditional malty amber ale that is proudly brewed for Tom in Wales by montysbrewery.co.uk.
An array of projects keeps Tom fresh and this multi-tricked pony still has The beast Inside. The Factory looks forward to a return and perhaps next time the Tom Hingley Band can entertain the masses.
by Rob Jones
