What’s In A Cover? Painting In Carlisle by The Maitlands with Ingy

Amazingly, the painting that forms the album artwork to ‘Painting In Carlisle’ by The Maitlands is in fact a real painting the band discovered. Even more surprisingly, the painting now hangs in Ingy’s house. Who’s Ingy? You’ve probably met him to be fair, he’s the singer and ringmaster of The Maitlands and the kind of guy who writes songs about odd looking blokes in paintings. I caught up with him to talk about the painting in Carlisle.

Listen and if you like treat yourself!

https://themaitlands1.bandcamp.com/track/painting-in-carlisle

How did you acquire the painting?

I saw the painting on the staircase going up to play at a shop called the Warwick Bazaar. Artist wasnt known so we dont know anything about the man really. It just stuck me how awkward he looked, and on the way back from Carlisle, I made up his story…how I imagined him to be. It now hangs in my spare room as Ste Ackley [Maitlands guitarist] bought it for me once we recorded the song.

Wait, so after the song was recorded he went back to Carlisle to buy it?

Yeah, well I think he got it posted out.

I bet p n p was high. And how do the lyrics in the song relate to this mysterious man?

“You dont know what to do with yourself”, is about the awkwardness in with he looks to be experiencing while being painted.
“High blood pressure”, you can see it on his face.
So I assume hes a drinker.

“Cram packed attic full of ex wives porcelain”
“Bad luck Tonka Truck”
“Even this old plastic starship, looks like its ran out of stream”

I’ve painted him as a hoarder in my imagination, hench the above references.

There is another line in it “it’s time to tell the truth about what the workforce are doing building building’s that weren’t made to last”

That actually doesnt have anything to do with that painting, that’s my commentary on Grenfell towers and the like. But we could pretend he’s a retired, divorced, alcoholic, engineer.

The last line in the song is “sick of hanging round the stairs at the Warwick Bazaar” which is self explanatory.

Here’s photo evidence of The Maitlands with the actual painting!