Inspiral Carpets drummer dead at 44: Liam Gallagher leads tributes to Craig Gill, the 'beating heart' of the iconic 1990s 'Madchester' band 

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Liam Gallagher has led the tributes to Craig Gill, the drummer with iconic 1990s rock band Inspiral Carpets, who has died aged 44.

Married father-of-three Mr Gill and his bandmates were best known for their hits Saturn 5, This Is How It Feels, She Comes In The Fall, Dragging Me Down and I Want You.

Gill was a founding member of the band - joining when he was just 14 - alongside guitarist Graham Lambert, who posted a picture of his bandmate on Instagram with the caption: 'Gone but will never be forgotten. Love you Craig Gill. Rest peacefully.'  

Father-of-three Craig Gill and his Inspiral Carpets bandmates were best known for their hits Saturn 5, This Is How It Feels, She Comes In The Fall, Dragging Me Down and I Want You

 

Liam Gallagher and Bonehead of Oasis fame both paid tribute to Gill on Twitter

Gill played with the band throughout their heyday in the 1990s, and returned when the band reformed 20 years later to tour and record their self-titled album in 2014.

Their 1989 debut Album, Life, reached number two in the charts and the following year they headlined at Reading Festival.

All of their follow-ups were released with decreasing commercial success and following the band's initial split, he briefly set up a record stall in Affleck's Palace, a Mancunian shrine of indie clothing and memorabilia.

Their comeback eponymous album reached number 63.  

The band were not currently on tour, and their last major performances were during a nationwide tour that ended in December last year. 

He was also a music historian and ran Manchester Music Tours, taking people on bus and walking tours around Manchester's famous music locations.

All tours have been suspended following the news of his death. 

 Gill played with the band throughout their heyday in the 1990s, and returned when the band reformed 20 years later to tour and record their self-titled album in 2014

He would take customers around some of the most iconic sites in the city's rich musical history, taking them through the stories of bands such as the Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses, New Order and even The Beatles - despite the latter hailing from Liverpool.

Former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, whose brother Noel was a roadie for Inspiral Carpets, tweeted: 'Stunned by the news of the death of Gilly my heart goes out to his family and band members LIVE FOREVER LG x.' 

Liam's older brother, Noel, was a roadie for the Inspiral Carpets before they found fame themselves with Oasis. 

Gill told the Manchester Evening News last year that Gallagher used to get paid in Pot Noodles and even auditioned to be the band's singer at one stage.

'We started off with a nice easy one, a B-side called Theme From Cow,' Gill said:

'It was literally an instrumental with one line of singing, maybe five words. So we did this track and Noel got all the words wrong – he made his own up which we found quite funny.' 

Oasis' guitarist Bonehead, aka Paul Arthurs, also paid his respects, saying 'Sending all my love to @inspiralsband you'll be missed Craig. RIP my friend. Xx' 

The band took to Twitter to pay tribute to their drummer. A statement posted on the site said: 'It's with heavy hearts that we announce the death of our drummer and close friend, Craig Gill,' said the band in their online statement.

The statement posted online by the drummer's devastated bandmates this morning

Former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, whose brother Noel was a roadie for Inspiral Carpets (Noel is pictured at the time)  tweeted: 'Stunned by the news of the death of Gilly'

'We are all absolutely devastated by the news. Craig was our brother.

'We were honoured to work alongside him for the last 30 years. To say we'll miss him is an understatement.'

'He was the beating heart of Inspirals in more ways that one. Our love and thoughts go out to all Craig's family and friends, and especially his wife, Rose and their beautiful children Georgia, Orla and Levon.' 

The lead singer of the band, Stephen Holt, paid  his respects on Twitter, saying: Father, Husband, Son, Brother, Friend x'

And tributes swiftly poured in from other corners of the music scene.

The lead singer of fellow Madchester band The Charlatans, Tim Burgess, said: 'Love going out to @inspiralsband. So sad to hear that Craig 'Gilly' Gill has passed away. Thoughts are will with his family today. Tim x x'

Joy Division's Peter Hook added: 'Craig Gill was 1 of the happiest smiliest people I'd ever met in this business. Saw him not long ago his usual happy self, can't believe it. RIP.' 

The Salford Lads Club, which is heavily linked to the Manchester music scene where Gill was a regular visitor, also tweeted: 'Very sad to hear of death of our friend Craig Gill @inspiralsband @McrMusicTours our thoughts are with his friends and family.'

In a statement on their website, they went into further detail, adding: 'He was equally in awe of the clubs history and volunteer team: last Saturday when we were short staffed he was pleased to help, making tea and coffee for his bus full of visitors from around the world.'

The time and cause of death have not yet been revealed.

 

Inspiral Carpets' lead singer, Stephen Holt, and musicians from other bands all paid tribute to the dummer