The Wonder Stuff & Inspiral Carpets @ Spa Theatre, Scarborough - 22nd October 2026
Forty years, 22 songs and barely a moment for Scarborough to catch its breath.
Words and Photos - John Hayhurst
Scarborough Spa is around three-quarters full. The Wonder Stuff play it like Birmingham’s NEC. Celebrating 40 years as a band, they deliver 22 songs with enough energy to make the gaps in the room irrelevant.
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First, Inspiral Carpets provide an opening set that more than earns its share of the evening. Clint Boon is a charismatic presence behind his Farfisa keyboards, their unmistakable sound threading through a superb run of songs. “Dragging Me Down” and “This Is How It Feels” deliver exactly the lift you want from these enduring favourites, before “Saturn 5” brings their set to a glorious close. Quite the warm-up.
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Making their first appearance in Scarborough, The Wonder Stuff have already found something to love. Hunt talks warmly about waking up on the tour bus overlooking South Bay, with the sea glistening in autumn sunshine. It is a welcome change from the usual glamorous view of a loading bay.
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Then “Mission Drive” sets the evening’s musical ambitions. Miles Hunt starts at the microphone with an egg shaker, before the song builds into a roaring collision of guitars and Erica Nockalls’ violin runs. It is a magnificent opening, giving this anniversary celebration an immediate sense of scale.
Hunt, looking infuriatingly youthful in his Milo bowling shirt, is rarely still. He conducts proceedings with easy authority, exchanging energy with Nockalls and becoming even more animated when the guitar comes off and the loudhailer comes out.
Nockalls’ flowing red dress has enough tassels to give a passing car a decent wash and polish. Her remarkable violin runs are every bit as eye-catching, cutting through the guitars and helping give these songs their distinctive character. The interaction between her and Hunt is a constant pleasure.
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Malc Treece spends much of the night beneath a baseball cap that keeps his face elusive. Mark Gemini Thwaite, meanwhile, looks ready for a residency at Whitby Goth Weekend, despite Hunt admitting that he has never even been to Whitby. Tim Sewell and Pete Howard provide the assured bass-and-drums foundation beneath it all.
“Don’t Let Me Down, Gently” is the first real accelerator on the dancefloor. Hunt subsequently observes that, having inspected the building, he has found insufficient defibrillators to sustain this pace. A temporary easing of the throttle seems sensible.
The set reaches across the band’s history, with newer “In Clover” and “The Guy With the Gift” sitting neatly among the much earlier material. Songs from Never Loved Elvis remain central, while “Golden Green” delivers yet another welcome helping of Hup and that Nockalls violin.
“The Size of a Cow” carries its familiar baggage: for some original followers, the moment of supposed surrender to the mainstream; for others, their first invitation into this band’s world. There is plenty of dancing to support the latter argument. Hunt recalls heading from Birmingham to London to write hits and make money, enduring accusations of 'selling out' along the way. Those songs still get played on the radio. He seems comfortable with the outcome.
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The closing stretch is a gift to anyone craving the early stuff. “Give, Give, Give Me More, More, More” and “It’s Yer Money I’m After, Baby” arrive with their bite intact, before “Who Wants to Be the Disco King?” and “No, for the 13th Time” keep the momentum surging.
“Ten Trenches Deep” finally brings the night home, reaching back to the band’s earliest era. Forty years on, The Wonder Stuff still know how to leave a room buzzing. It took four decades to get them here. Scarborough deserves a return visit considerably sooner.
