Inspiral Carpets made their first ever visit to Margate in December 2025, several decades into their career. The gig took place on a cold Sunday night in the Dreamland Ballroom, a venue notorious for bad sound quality. In terms of a long overdue seaside jaunt, it wasn’t exactly the most auspicious of gigs. Tonight, they’ve returned to Dreamland, but they’re playing upstairs in the Hall By The Sea, a far superior, steampunk-ish gig space where everyone sounds (mostly) brilliant.
When Bowling For Soup played in Brighton on their ‘Together Again! You’re Welcome’ tour, the show became notable for three reasons: the tour marked the last time guitarist Chris Burney would visit the UK as a touring musician; the band managed to hit the Sussex coast just as Storm Dennis hit and it was interesting to see fans of all ages and sizes struggling to navigate the seafront and actually get into the venue (at one point, it wasn’t even a guarantee it would be safe to leave once the gig was over), but most importantly – although nobody knew this at the time – this would be the last big night “out out” for many, since everything went into a lengthy pandemic lockdown just a few weeks later.
It’s a few days away from the Summer Solstice, and thankfully, after days of torrential rain, the sun appears high in the sky over Dreamland, despite it being rather late in the day. Du Blonde has not long finished a rather sprited but ragged set, and Skunk Anansie have arrived on stage at the huge outdoor venue.
Margate’s debdepan shared a superb sound on their previous single ‘Habit’. By blending dance beats, light goth pop and a world of synth-based ingredients, the track sounded like the ultimate alternative club banger. It had the potential to make the listener want to hear more, almost immediately, and to be given the opportunity to lose themselves even further into the duo’s dark and electronica infused world.
When Sleeper reunited in 2017 to appear as special guests on the brief Star Shaped Festival tour, it was billed as being for four shows only. Eight years, two new albums and several dozen live shows later, they’re still with us, and tonight, Louise Wener and her band kick off their thirtieth anniversary tour in Margate.