You can tell a lot about people from the stories that those closest to them impart, and anything you would want to know about Irish band Inhaler - lead vocalist Eli Hewson, guitarist Josh Jenkinson, bassist Robert (Bobby) Keating, and drummer Ryan McMahon - can be found in an endearing anecdote that their long-time tour manager, Gary Murphy, shared with me during a recent Australian tour in support of their third album, 'Open Wide'.
In the early days of the band, Murphy was driving the four-piece past his hometown arena in Liverpool when he playfully announced that if Inhaler were to ever headline the venue one day, he would want to reform his old band The Bandits to open. Fast-forward to 2025, and after receiving an official call-up, The Bandits are indeed getting back together to open for Inhaler at Liverpool M&S Bank Arena on October 11th. Poet Maya Angelou once said that "when someone shows you who they are believe them the first time," and it's my belief, that Inhaler have shown that they are the kind of people who know how to keep a promise.
Inhaler may have proven that actions speak louder than words, but it doesn't discount their genuine sincerity and considerate thoughtfulness in conversation. "We're grateful for anyone who comes to an Inhaler gig," emphasises McMahon, "It doesn't matter who you are." And I believe him.
This past June, Coup De Main met Inhaler in Melbourne to discuss the importance of ensuring that concerts are a safe space for all, utilising their platform to support Palestine, and why it would be impossible to be in a band without friendship...
COUP DE MAIN: Last time you were in Australia, someone accidentally locked themselves out on a balcony. The people are demanding to know... which of you was it?
INHALER - BOBBY KEATING: That wasn't in Australia.
INHALER - ELI HEWSON: It was a few places. <laughs>
BOBBY: Yeah it happened again the other day, but I don't want people to know who it was. I actually saw someone's post about it today and I'm really enjoying the fact that people think they know. Loads of people think it's me because in the text to the person who it was, the photo was a pin of a certain man with an orange hat on... it's hard to explain. And they think because I've worn the pin of this band, that it's me, but in reality, it's the person in the band who was then out on the balcony.
INHALER - RYAN MCMAHON: Good luck transcribing that.
BOBBY: I don't want to tell people because they think they have it sussed, and it's just funny, but it did happen again the other day to me this time. Ryan rescued me.
RYAN: I did, yeah.
ELI: Where was that?
RYAN: Brisbane.
CDM: You're all cursed.
RYAN: There's a thread. To be fair to you, that was a dodgy door. We even did tests on it afterwards, being like, 'Oh okay, yeah there was no way you were saving yourself.' Thank god it wasn't at night.
CDM: You would not be the final girl in a horror movie.
RYAN: Geez, we wouldn't even make it past the first trial in 'I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!'
BOBBY: I feel like I'd be the villain, maybe. That's my dream.
CDM: I'm also here today to ask another serious and important question: Eli, how long did it take for you to get out of the 'Your House' briefcase?
ELI: A good couple hours. I was in there for a long time.
RYAN: Took you nearly a day.
ELI: I actually cracked a rib in there. True story.
CDM: It's tough being in Inhaler.
ELI: It's tough being in this tiny suitcase, even when you're tiny like me.
CDM: Back on 'It Won’t Always Be Like This' you said: "I wanna be the best at what I do / Oh, what about you?" How does it feel looking back on that lyric now?
ELI: It feels good. Feels like we meant it. I think some lyrics, you can look back and be like, 'I can't relate to that anymore,' but I definitely relate to that more so now than I did then.
CDM: It aged well.
ELI: Yeah, I think it did.
CDM: Having been friends since you were 13, what are the best and worst things you've learnt about each other?
ELI: Oohhh we're going deep.
BOBBY: That's a divisive question.
ELI: Us as a whole: I think one of our best qualities is that if our backs are up against the wall, we're very good at getting stuff done, but I think we can tend to sort of let things come to us, rather than us go to them. But you gotta excuse us because we have been touring a lot.
CDM: Do you think you could be in this band if you weren't friends?
RYAN: No.
ELI: No.
INHALER - JOSH JENKINSON: No.
BOBBY: Maybe if we were unreal like Daft Punk - imagine if we were making ridiculous music together and we were like, 'Nice to see you, see you in a couple of weeks!'
ELI: We can't compute that.
RYAN: If we were incredible musicians, there'd probably be a sense of camaraderie, 'Okay, you're class, you're class, I'm class,' but I don't think we are the most incredible musicians.
ELI: How you know you're mates is when you're like, 'You're shit, you're shit!' <laughs> I think that's part of the beauty of a band, that you're meant to be mates, right? That's part of the whole fun thing.
RYAN: You watch documentaries about the Eagles or The Stone Roses and bands that have been on the verge of breaking up their entire career, and it just doesn't look worth it.
CDM: It's fun that you're on this special journey together that no one else could understand because it's singular to just the four of you.
ELI: Yeah, you're right.
BOBBY: It's kind of a currency having a good relationship because you can't buy it.
ELI: What's the documentary on Metallica?
RYAN: 'Some Kind Of Monster'.
ELI: We watched that early days, so we know how to avoid getting into conflict. <laughs>
RYAN: I've got a great memory of us showing you <points to Josh> that for the first time and there's a certain point that happens very early on, and Josh was just like, 'This isn't real.' It's like Monty Python or something. It's so outrageous, but yeah, that is a good lesson in what to avoid.
ELI: At least we know where the iceberg is.
CDM: What are the hardest and easiest things about being in this band together?
RYAN: You know when you feel you know the answer to a question until you're asked? The hardest thing, I think, could maybe be the fact that we work well as a unit, but individually, we're all very, very different people, so sometimes it can be kind of complicated and difficult to find ourselves all agreeing on one thing because we're all very opinionated and that can be sometimes a bit stressful, but we get there in the end, I think.
BOBBY: I disagree...
RYAN: There you go.
BOBBY: I'm just joking. I think Ryan's dead right... just not this time.
RYAN: See! <laughs>
BOBBY: I'm joking.
RYAN: I know.
BOBBY: I'm just messing with you... no I'm not. <laughs>
CDM: Bobby, is 'Billy (Yeah Yeah Yeah)' named after your brother?
BOBBY: Yes, as of right now - he hasn't changed his name yet.
CDM: How did he react when you told him that an Inhaler song had been named after him?
BOBBY: Good question. He was pretty excited.
CDM: That's better than being embarrassed.
BOBBY: <laughs> Well, he hadn't heard the song yet. I haven't asked him since he heard the song.
ELI: I bet he was embarrassed.
BOBBY: Within the last maybe two or three years, he has become quite obsessive with music, so I think it kind of happened at the right time for him. I think it was actually quite a special thing for him, which is cool, but it was never meant to be anything other than just a name... maybe we're building towards it a little bit, but the names of songs usually come at the end, it just felt quite nice.
ELI: Yeah, serendipitous.
CDM: Are there any other Inhaler songs that are named after people? Or references to people that you know?
RYAN: Not by name, but there's lines that have been inspired by a few of our friends in certain songs.
ELI: One of our mates, Oisín - this isn't to do with the meaning - he's actually singing on one of our new songs, 'Eddie In The Darkness'.
BOBBY: He's gonna get a lawsuit together in a few years because we never gave him any credits.
JOSH: And your brother John.
ELI: And John, yeah.
CDM: You're gonna have to start making some TikTok money to pay for these lawsuits.
ELI: Honestly, if you've any tips, let us know.
BOBBY: Or Only Fans.
RYAN: First song I ever laid vocals down on as well, and I got booted at the last minute. It was so sad.
CDM: It's not going well for you.
ELI: You're a great drummer.
BOBBY: You played the drums well.
RYAN: I did play the drums well.
BOBBY: Very well.
ELI: Yeah, there's a few - Ryan's right - kind of shout-outs to mates in songs and stuff. Like, on the second album, there's the silver machine line in 'These Are The Days' ("Bandit's in charge of the silver machine") - it's about Gary, our tour manager's van, that he used to drive us around in. Stuff like that. It's nice.
CDM: You also say in 'Billy (Yeah Yeah Yeah)' that "I long to know your mother and sister and brother" which is a really romantic sentiment - wanting to get to know someone else better through their loved ones. In any kind of relationship, romantic or platonic, what are the best ways to get to know someone else better?
BOBBY: Seeing them around their family is a good one, to be fair. If you're with a partner or a friend, I think you can judge a person by how they react around their family. I grew out of it pretty quick, but I remember when I was younger, being around the lads and my family, I'd get really insecure for some reason, and I'd sometimes be mean to my mum. I was really young, and I remember Eli telling me, and then me having to really check myself. It was just because I was insecure, like nervous about having them over, but I think it can be quite reflective - how you react with the people who are closest to you. Some people, you meet them and they are the nicest people ever, and then you find out they're in the most tumultuous, toxic family situation.
CDM: I always judge people by how they treat customer service workers.
RYAN: Big time. So do I.
BOBBY: That's a great suggestion.
CDM: I don't like anyone that's mean to hospitality and retail staff.
ELI: Same for us.
RYAN: Another one is: have a conversation with someone about something you might both disagree on. I think it's very important that you can have conversations with people where you're both on different sides of the topic and try to see the other person's perspective, but you don't have to agree with them at the end of the day.
CDM: Being able to fight with someone in a healthy way is important, but most people can't do that.
ELI: That's true. Yeah, we often talk about how the end of arguments in marriages is usually the end of a marriage because you stop caring. You stop caring enough to fight, but you also can't be comfortable when it's not resolved.
CDM: I'd never thought about that until you just said it, but in their own way, arguments are kind of a love language.
ELI: Totally because you care enough to kick up a storm with somebody.
CDM: In contrast, on 'Your House' you chronicle a toxic relationship. What are your relationship red flags?
BOBBY: These are great questions.
CDM: Thank you. I'll write nice things only about you.
ELI: Yeah, really good.
RYAN: Well, you mentioned one: being disrespectful to staff workers. That's a big one.
ELI: Big red flags...
RYAN: Crocs! There's no place for them in this world.
ELI: Wanting to know your phone password. It's never happened to me, but if someone ever did that, it'd be really weird. That'd be a massive red flag.
BOBBY: Asking about social media before you've met them, like 'are you on Instagram?' - but it feeling kind of like a transactional thing, a 'what do you have to offer me?' kind of energy, which is always just-- <makes a pained face>
CDM: Also, why does it matter? Social media is not real.
BOBBY: Exactly. It's not a real place.
RYAN: If someone were to say to us today, "What's your Snapchat?" <shakes head in grave judgement> Get away from me!
ELI: Listening to Inhaler is another red flag.
BOBBY: Yeah, too close to home.
RYAN: I respectfully disagree. Please listen to 'Open Wide'.
BOBBY: That's a great point, actually.
CDM: You guys need streaming money for the lawsuits!
ELI: That's true!
CDM: 'All I Got Is You' and 'The Charms' both impart a very important lesson: that co-dependency is bad. That's my red flag.
ELI: There you go! Co-dependency is bad. I agree.
CDM: I like that 'A Question Of You' at first sounds like an anthemic love song, but then you realise it's really a love song to one's own self and figuring yourself out. Was it empowering to write that song?
ELI: Didn't feel like it at the time. <laughs> Until now!
BOBBY: That's actually quite a good reply in a sense, that it didn't feel like it, that it felt hard to say.
ELI: Yeah, it felt really hard to say it. But I think that was more just in the kind of figuring out how that song was going to be dressed. That song was a big puzzle piece for a long time - one of the last ones to be finished.
CDM: 'Again' is a bit of a heavier song. When you're feeling world-weary, what do you seek comfort from?
RYAN: Cinema for me.
ELI: <pretends to be concerned> You wanted to go last night. <pats Ryan's shoulder> Are you okay?
RYAN: I had a great night with Eli last night instead. <laughs>
BOBBY: Isolation. Go out for a walk by myself for a couple hours without any phone, or music or stimulation, listening to the sea and stuff. It's a bit corny, but it's nice.
RYAN: That's true. Yeah, the classic one being family and friends.
ELI: Death metal.
BOBBY: Sad music, actually as well, ironically. Sad music makes me feel better.
RYAN: Sometimes you just need to feel your sadness to the max.
CDM: Sad music is like an emotional safety blanket.
BOBBY: Yeah, you can actually feel it and not feel scared.
CDM: In 2019, Eli you told me that true happiness meant playing a gig at The Button Factory in Dublin. Do you still feel that way? Have you felt happiness that has surpassed that since then?
ELI: Yeah, that was class.
BOBBY: That's mental that you said that.
ELI: That's so funny.
RYAN: Do you remember when you had this conversation? I'm sure we had done it at Christmas.
BOBBY: It must have been after.
RYAN: And so that was the pinnacle for us at that point.
ELI: It's still just as scary, if not more, but it definitely is the most freeing sort of... you can just not be yourself for a minute. You're engaged in everybody else and the crowd. When you go up on stage, you're meant to be full of ego, and you probably look that way, but you really aren't - you're not yourself at all, it's a very out-of-body experience, if it goes well.
CDM: Eli, you also promised me back in 2019 that Inhaler would come to New Zealand so I could see 'Another Like You' live. Are you a liar?
ELI: Yes, I'm a big liar.
RYAN: Oh no, he might be lying about that one.
BOBBY: There's a few things wrong with what you just said. We're definitely going to come to New Zealand, I just don't know if we'll play 'Another Like You'. Maybe one day.
ELI: The riff might make it somewhere else. That song--
BOBBY: We're gonna sell it to Disney.
ELI: There's a lot of songs that have fallen by the wayside.
BOBBY: That got ditched.
ELI: You gotta be okay with recycling stuff / scrapping stuff sometimes - that being said, let's bring it back for the next album.
RYAN: Just for you in New Zealand.
BOBBY: Well, it's funny. 'Dublin In Ecstasy', we had fully not even paused, that was kind of scrapped, and it was on the second album. So it's never, never--
ELI: Never, never!
CDM: What was it like writing 'Even Though'?
RYAN: Good. Not too long ago, I listened to one of the very early demos of it and it's a very different song now - structurally, it's different. The intro of the demo has a very different tone, from the get-go, of what it is on the record. But you probably have to ask these guys, because my memory of--
BOBBY: I was gonna say something that is the opposite of what you're saying. When I first heard the demo that Eli did, it felt like the song was all there, but it felt like it was blurry and you weren't able to focus - it was almost like you were squinting. And then as we worked on it and recorded it properly, and fleshed it out, the chorus/melody Eli was doing was pretty much the same as what's on the record, but I had no idea what he was saying.
ELI: It was like mumble rap.
BOBBY: It was like <sings in imitation> - quite shrill, but kind of in a good/cool way. It felt almost like a stoner song or something, and then it felt like a big focus pull when we finished it, and I remember working on the lyrics in London out on a balcony and it feeling quite satisfying. Felt like a bit of a jigsaw kind of lyric - things were fitting into place. It's a good song though.
CDM: Lyrically, I really like the story-telling aspect of 'Still Young'. I love the nostalgia of it. If 'Still Young' were a movie, which actors would you cast in it?
RYAN: That's a great question.
BOBBY: That's my favourite song lyrically, I think.
ELI: Oh man! <raises hand>
CDM: I love that you already know.
ELI: I know! Daniel Day-Lewis!
CDM: Okay, so we're going for Awards Season here. We're getting an Oscar.
RYAN: Liam Cunningham?
ELI: No, we need someone young in there. Daniel Day-Lewis is the older guy.
BOBBY: He's our heavy hitter.
CDM: Paul Mescal?
BOBBY: No, he's over-budget! We've only got 100 mill and he's gonna be like half of that. He's too over-budget, man. He's too hot.
ELI: He's too young. We're spending all the money on Daniel Day-Lewis.
BOBBY: Ant & Dec? They'll do it free, I reckon. 'I'm A Celebrity...' viewership's gone down.
RYAN: Scotty T?
JOSH: Uma Thurman.
ELI: I like that! Daniel Day-Lewis and Uma Thurman. That's good. Yeah, let's settle on that. We'll blow the budget on it.
RYAN: Bring back Uma Thurman.
BOBBY: And Dick Van Dyke. I just like 'Mary Poppins'.
CDM: Who has the superior 'Little Things' song... One Direction or Inhaler?
JOSH: One Direction.
ELI: Inhaler. I mean, no offence.
RYAN: Us. Their tune is a good song, but--
ELI: I haven't even heard the One Direction one.
RYAN: <looks at Eli> There is NO way you haven't heard that song.
BOBBY: It's written by Ed Sheeran and it's a bit of a classic, to be honest.
JOSH: Yeah, it's one of their best songs.
RYAN: <still looking at Eli> There is no chance you have not heard it.
BOBBY & JOSH: <sing One Direction's 'Little Things'> "I won't let these little things slip..."
RYAN: I never knew Ed Sheeran wrote it, but now that I hear it, I can't un-hear Ed Sheeran.
BOBBY: Ed Sheeran is one talented motherfucker.
CDM: Ryan, you've visited the 'Before Sunrise' vinyl store and 'The Holdovers' book store - what filming locations are next on your list?
RYAN: New Zealand - 'Lord Of The Rings'. All of them. I want to go see The Shire. Absolutely. I'll fit in those houses.
ELI: <impersonating Gandalf> "Fly, you fools!"
CDM: You can book a banquet to eat at the pub in Hobbiton.
RYAN: No way!
BOBBY: That's unreal.
ELI: We have to do that! It'll be the perfect-sized house for me. I'll finally feel like a normal-sized human.
RYAN: I want to go to Gondor and see the mines of Minas Tirith.
BOBBY: Can you see that?!
CDM: That's in the South Island, so you might have to take a week off for this Middle Earth tour.
RYAN: You can go to the locations, but obviously all the cities and whatnot are CGI'd.
ELI: There's a great film that was made in New Zealand, and you probably know the name of it - it's about a family that live out in the wild?
CDM: 'Hunt For The Wilderpeople'?
ELI: That's it, yeah! I've seen that film.
CDM: Directed by Taika Waititi.
BOBBY: He's from New Zealand?
CDM: Yeah, he's one of our exports.
BOBBY: He's good.
ELI: He's a really good export. Well, I like that film.
BOBBY: Him and Dan Carter, the rugby player. And Jonah Lomu as well.
CDM: You know a lot about New Zealand. Maybe you should be our Prime Minister.
RYAN: <scoffs>
BOBBY: I just know a small bit about rugby.
CDM: I was speaking to Grian from Fontaines D.C. recently about how important it is to use your voice to help others. He said specifically about Palestine that: "If you create art that deals with pain or conflict or struggle or anything like that, then you have a responsibility to address it." Do you feel any responsibility with how you use your platform?
ELI: Certainly. Recently, we've sort of come to terms with that. I think we kind of stayed away from being political because we don't want to comment on things that we don't know much about, and we're a group and we all represent each other. But with Palestine in particular, when you see images like that, you can't help but feel your sense of humanity. It wasn't a case of going out there to be political or to make a statement; it's more about our sense of empathy and being human and being real and honest about how we feel about it. There's so much weight about being political, and especially with my dad's band [U2] as well, who are very political - I think that was always sort of a hard hump to get over, but we said something about it recently in Dublin, and yeah, it felt like the right thing to do. And obviously, of course, it is.
CDM: I saw that some of you posted photos of a march in support of Palestine in Melbourne, yesterday?
ELI: Yeah, we bumped into that and then just kind of walked along with it for a while yesterday. It was amazing.
CDM: There was some controversy recently with audiences at Wunderhorse shows - where men were behaving aggressively towards young women at these shows because they resent having to share a band/space that they think they should solely own. Where do you stand in terms of people feeling like they own a band? And do you think musicians have a duty to ensure their shows are safe environments for all?
BOBBY: Definitely need to at least consider shows being a safe place for your fans. Hopefully, every artist would tell you that, and I'm sure they do. Obviously, we can't speak for them, but we're predominantly female-heavy, so we've definitely dealt with security and safety stuff pretty seriously when it's happened - like sexual assault or just girls feeling uncomfortable in certain situations. But also in terms of mosh-pitting and stuff, it's weird because in the UK, mosh-pitting is so prevalent. The gigs we do in the UK are always so physical, but then you come to America and it's quite reserved, and if something happens in the crowd, it's always very different - it's never really that physical. But it's just one of those things that you do - you need to have a situation where people can come on a Friday night and feel safe watching a band. We definitely take it pretty seriously.
RYAN: Our tour manager has security meetings with the venue staff before every gig that we do. That's definitely a precaution that we take, for sure.
ELI: The unfortunate thing when you're on-stage is you can't see below head and shoulders, so you don't really know what's going on, you kind of have to rely on people waving or saying there's something wrong, and then you can address it. But yeah, in the past, it's definitely been something that's really shocked us. It's just really disheartening because we're coming into a place to celebrate with our fans, and they might have been queuing up all day. It's just disgusting behaviour. You also can't own a band as well, on that point.
RYAN: Gatekeeping and all that bullshit goes against what we believe music is: which is something that should be for everyone, as well as all art forms.
CDM: It's nice to hear how sincerely you care. I've interviewed bands who are embarrassed that they have mostly female fans, and do not care at all about their safety.
ELI: We're grateful for ANYONE!
RYAN: We're grateful for anyone who comes to an Inhaler gig. It doesn't matter who you are.
CDM: And now... some fan-inspired questions. How much would it cost to hire Inhaler to play a birthday party?
BOBBY: Four million quid.
RYAN: MILLIONS!
BOBBY: One million each - and a million for Lambo.
RYAN: Depends whose birthday it is. That's the deciding factor.
CDM: Why don't you like playing 'The Charms' live?
RYAN: We do actually.
BOBBY: That's actually a bad take because we've actually done it quite a lot out of the new songs, I'd say.
RYAN: Do you have the names of who said that?
BOBBY: Well, it depends because they may have been to like six shows and we didn't play it once - which is because we do so many shows, so that's very much a possibility, but we love that song.
CDM: Josh, what waist trainer do you use?
ELI & RYAN: <laugh>
BOBBY: That's a great question.
JOSH: Not eating much.
CDM: And how are you so cool? / What is it like being the coolest person in the band?
RYAN: That's true, yeah. <nods>
JOSH: You might have to ask the coolest person in the band.
CDM: Who do you think is the coolest person in the band?
JOSH: I'd say, Eli.
ELI: <laughs> YEAH!!!
CDM: What's your Tesco Meal Deal?
JOSH: Chicken and stuffing sandwich with potato crisps, if you're lucky, if you're in Ireland, and a water.
CDM: Have you seen the photo of Paul Mescal with the Bobby Skeetz badge?
ELI: Yes! Love it.
RYAN: I have.
BOBBY: I always thought that was photoshopped.
RYAN: It's real, bud.
CDM: I think it was actually taken in Australia.
BOBBY: Really?!
ELI: He knows who you are tehe.
BOBBY: That's crazy. Well, he's just signed a photo of some fella in blue. <laughs> Maybe he doesn't know who I am, I don't know.
CDM: Ryan, what's your skincare routine? And have you started using shampoo yet?
RYAN: This shampoo thing is bollocks - of course I use shampoo.
ELI: You said it on-air that you didn't, so you can't really blame people.
RYAN: I know, but it's amazing what people will believe. What's my skincare routine? Face wash and SPF. That's about it. Two-step. There you go.
BOBBY: Sun Protection Factor, what does that stand for? SPF?
RYAN: Yeah, that's Sun Protection Factor.
BOBBY: Really?! I made it.
RYAN: Good job.
CDM: Josh, what is the strangest gift you've been given from a fan?
JOSH: I haven't been given too many strange ones. I got a really good one the other day, which was two-part. It was a signed 'Demon Days' CD with MGMT's first album as well on the other side, just put in a little package with a little bow on it - that made my day.
CDM: Can you share the names of some unreleased songs you have in storage currently?
ELI: I've got one, but I'm not sure I can say it though.
BOBBY: Probably don't say it then because we've got a lot of songs where you shouldn't say it. <laughs>
ELI: It's a working title.
BOBBY: If it's silly, it's fine, but there's some bad names as well.
ELI: 'Suction'?
RYAN: Oh yeah, that's a banger to be fair.
ELI: That's actually a good song.
BOBBY: That's not what I was thinking you were gonna say.
ELI: And 'Below' is a good one
JOSH: 'Looking My Best'.
RYAN: 'Last Christmas'. That was a working title for a song. What else? We still have the board, don't we?
ELI: I'm trying to think what was on that.
RYAN: We had a board with working titles of 30-something songs that we were tinkering with for this album.
ELI: 'The End'.
RYAN: 'Air Punch'.
ELI: Loads.
RYAN: Some of these might never see the light of day.
ELI: Or they'll probably be called something else.
BOBBY: 'Chile 85'.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Portrait photos by: Lewis Evans
All other Instax photos by: Shahlin Graves
Design by: Lola Jacob
Inhalers's latest album 'Open Wide' is out now.
Watch the 'Your House' music video below...
Inhaler