Inspiral Carpets Drummer Craig Gill Dead At 44

New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Craig Gill, drummer of the Inspiral Carpets, has died at the age of 44. A statement on the Manchester band's Facebook page said they were "absolutely devastated" by the loss of "our brother".

Gill was one of the founding members of the group, which he formed in Oldham in the 1980s alongside guitarist Graham Lambert.
The group's hits included Joe, This Is How It Feels, She Comes In The Fall, Dragging Me Down and Saturn 5.
Gill, who DJed at The Hacienda nightclub, was also a music historian and ran music-themed tours around Greater Manchester.

The band, which was pivotal in the so-called Madchester scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s, said it had been "honoured to work alongside him for the last 30 years".
In a statement, Gill's band mates said: "To say we'll miss him is an understatement.
"He was the beating heart of the Inspirals in more ways than one."
No details of his death have been released.

All four members of the band - guitarist Lambert, keyboard player Clint Boon, singer Stephen Holt and bass player Martyn Walsh - tweeted their thoughts. Former lead singer Tom Hingley wrote it was "terrible, sad news".

Former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, whose brother Noel was a roadie for Inspiral Carpets, tweeted he was "stunned", while The Charlatans' singer Tim Burgess wrote the news had left him "so sad".
Former New Order bass player Peter Hook tweeted: "Craig Gill was 1 of happiest smiliest people I'd ever met in this business. Saw him not long ago his usual happy self, can't believe it. RIP".