MAKING a welcome return to York this weekend is former Inspiral Carpets frontman Tom Hingley, who performs a solo acoustic set at The Fulford Arms.

Attempting what some would say is the near impossible task of stepping from the shadow of his former band, Hingley will be bringing a very different sound with him on Saturday evening.

While the voice is unmistakable, the post-Inspirals Tom will showcase his more mellow direction, as heard on his 2009 album Thames Valley Delta Blues, accompanied only by himself on guitar.

Hingley parted company with Clint Boon and the rest of the Inspiral Carpets in somewhat acrimonious circumstances involving Twitter and a row over a planned comeback.

The Carpets would eventually go on to reform with original frontman Stephen Holt, who left the band shortly before they exploded as part of the Manchester scene of the early Nineties.

While Inspiral fans, of whom there are likely to be many at Saturday’s show, shouldn’t expect too many of the old Carpets hits, those who need a fix would do well to check out Tom’s excellent account of his life with the band in his new book Carpet Burns.

The autobiography chronicles Hingley’s middle-class Oxfordshire childhood, from being the seventh and youngest child of an academically gifted though emotionally distant Oxford Don, through his rise to the heights of Manchester pop royalty and on to the inflated egos, arguments and inevitable split. Hingley is refreshingly articulate and honest, not shying away from recollecting incidents which make him look the spoilt rock star or where he came out second best, such as when he blubbed after being punched, mid-strop, by a riled band mate. A short but fascinating chapter is devoted to the rise of Noel Gallagher, the dedicated Inspiral Carpets roadie, who went on to dominate the world with brother Liam in Oasis.

Hingley is man enough to admit he found it hard to stomach when he recognised the time had arrived where Noel, with whom he had had an uneasy relationship, had eclipsed the waning Carpets.

Eventually however, forced to listen to Definitely Maybe while trapped on a tour bus, Hingley conceded he was hearing something very special in the Oasis debut LP.

The jacket of Carpet Burns bares a quote from New Order bassist Peter Hook, who declares “every band is the same” and in indeed the story of the Inspiral Carpets is the classic rock story; the working-class lads who not only make it big, but along with The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays, create a whole chapter of UK pop history.

Being part of the zeitgeist must be fantastic, but the demands of profit-driven record labels, squabbling and back-biting eventually, like so many before and after them, brought The Inspiral Carpets’ classic line-up to an end.

The fact that Tom is able to talk about it so frankly, would suggest he is now a man at peace with his past and his present.

• Tom Hingley appears at The Fulford Arms on Saturday at 9pm. Entry is free. Carpet Burns (£12.99, Route) is available now.