Pink Floyd pigs
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Pigs are heavily featured in the artwork and stage shows of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd.
Inflatable Pink Floyd pigs are one of the staple props of their live shows. The first was a sow but a very obviously male pig appeared in the 1980s. Pigs appeared numerous times in concerts by the band, promoting concerts and record releases, and on the cover of their 1977 album Animals.
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[edit] Animals
The original Pink Floyd pig was designed by Roger Waters and built in December 1976 in preparation for shooting the cover of the Animals album. The forty-foot, helium-filled balloon planned to be flown over Battersea Power Station on the first day's photo-shoot, with a marksman prepared to shoot the pig down if it broke free. However, the pig was not launched.
On the second day, the marksman wasn't present because no one had told him to return, and the pig broke free due to a strong gust of wind (gaining a lot of press coverage). It disappeared from sight within five minutes, and was spotted by airline pilots at forty thousand feet in the air. Flights at Heathrow Airport were cancelled as the huge inflatable pig flew through the path of aircraft, eastwards from Britain, over the English Channel, finally landing on a rural farm in Kent that night.
The pig was recovered and repaired for the resumption of photography for the album cover, but unfortunately the sky was cloudless and blue, thus "boring". However, the pictures of the sky from the first day were suitable; eventually, the album cover was created using a composite of photos from the first and third days. [1]
The pig that was originally floated above Battersea Power Station was called "Algie".[citation needed]
[edit] In the Flesh
After the album Animals was released in 1977, Pink Floyd began their "In the Flesh" tour. During concerts, the pig appeared around the PA stacks in a cloud of black smoke; appropriately during the performance of "Pigs (Three Different Ones)".
The pig also went astray whilst suspended from the ceiling of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge Louisiana in 1977. It ran back and forth over the audience during the performance on some sort of track, and at the end of its travels across the arena struck a fan in the head as it turned to go back towards the stage. The fan was not injured.
[edit] The Wall
The pig also appeared during each of Pink Floyd's The Wall concerts, black instead of pink, with a crossed hammers logo on its side. Waters would occasionally refer to it directly before "Run Like Hell" (the pig appeared during the end of the previous song, "In the Flesh"). A short speech in reference to either the pig or the song was given in every show, with each speech being different; this oddity is used by bootleggers to identify which date a recording of the Wall tour was made on.
[edit] The post-Waters pig
After Roger Waters left the band in 1984, following the release of The Final Cut, he retained the copyright of the original design of the pig. He demanded US$800 for every time the remaining members of Pink Floyd appeared with the pig. Not wanting to pay that, they changed the pig's gender, adding testicles.[citation needed]
In the two post-Waters tours, the pig was used many times; but two of the pigs were lost, both during the A Momentary Lapse of Reason tours:
- One 12-meter pig being used at a record company function on January 28, 1988 broke free before a concert.
- On May 6, 1988 one of the band's larger pigs descended towards the crowd and was ripped apart by fans during a concert in Foxboro, Massachusetts.
During the 1994 tour, two warthog-like pigs with protruding tongues were shown at the top of the stage side's speaker towers, sometimes just deflated, sometimes dropped on the ground after "One of These Days". These two pigs were nicknamed "Syd" and "Roger" after the two former bandmates.
The pig made another appearance before the release of Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd, when Capitol Records flew a replica of the original pig from Animals over the Capitol Tower in Hollywood, California. It took a total of 350 hours to create.
One inflatable pig, badly damaged and believed to be from the 1988 Pink Floyd tour, was repaired and flown again over a concert by the band String Cheese Incident in Austin, Texas on September 20, 2003. Reportedly purchased by String Cheese Incident manager Mike Luba from a former Pink Floyd stagehand, the 40-foot pig flew again over the Austin City Limits Music Festival audience during a cover of Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)". The full story of the pig, its repair, and return to flight is detailed in this article at Austin360.com.
[edit] Reunion
During their Live 8 reunion with Waters, footage of the original pig, over Battersea Power Station, was shown on a giant video screen behind the band. Amusingly, it was the band's first performance with Roger Waters in twenty-four years, adding to the joke that pigs were flying now that the band had finally reunited.
[edit] Roger Waters solo tours
[edit] The Dark Side of the Moon Live tour 2006
- September 5, 2006, in Los Angeles, California, USA: as pictured to the right, a 30-foot pig was released into the sky during "Sheep". Afterwards, authorities informed Waters that he would face charges if this stunt was attempted again.[1] On the remaining two dates, the pig was kept on a line.
- September 6, 2006, at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey, USA: Waters lost yet another pig. The pig was led around by a small group (four handlers and security); from what was witnessed it looked as if one of the cables used to guide the helium filled pig around the arena had broken when they reached the garden seating section. What looked like a planned launching of the pig actually was unintended; this was confirmed by Waters' exclamation, "I lost my fucking pig!" at the end of the show.
- September 9, 2006, in Mansfield, Massachusetts, USA: a helium filled pig was again brought out by handlers and walked around the Tweeter Center, but was then released intentionally during the last minute or two of the song "Sheep", from the album Animals. The timing was impeccable and the pig could be seen for some time as it floated in the sky towards the moon. According to newspaper reports, the pig was used in the same manner on September 8 in Mansfield, as well as at the Nikon at Jones Beach Theater on September 15, where another pig was adorned with graffiti and reports said it could be seen from the expressway nearby.
- September 16, 2006, at the Tweeter Center in Camden, New Jersey, USA: a pig was again walked around during "Sheep", and again was released at the end of the song. This pig had several lyrics to the song written on it, as well as "Don't be led to slaughter, Vote Nov. 2nd." "Impeach Bush Now" was written on the rear end.
- September 20, 2006, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada: the pig's right rear hoof was decorated with the Mercedes-Benz symbol, which bears a close relation to the likely intended candidate, a peace sign. This may have been the case at multiple shows.
- September 23, 2006, near Washington, D.C., USA, and September 24 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA: the pig was decorated once more with "Don't be led to slaughter, vote Nov. 2nd," along with several other slogans, including "Habeas Corpus matters, a lot!" and "Kafka Rules OK!". The pig was set free during "Sheep" and was tracked by a searchlight.
- September 29 at First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Tinley Park, Illinois, USA: use of the pig was repeated from the previous September 23 show.
- September 30, 2006, at Verizon Wireless Music Center in Noblesville, Indiana, USA: the pig was decorated with many of the slogans from the September 29 show, with the addition of "Impeach Bush Now" on the pig's backside.
- October 5, 2006, at the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood, California, USA: a pig was walked around and released. Some of the slogans decorating the pig were "Kafka Rules OK!" on the pig's side, "Impeach Bush Now", on the pig's backside, and "Free at Last", written on the pig's underbelly and visible only when it rose high in the air. As viewed from the Bowl, the pig seemed to head straight for the moon, which was a few nights away from being a perigee full moon.
- October 10, 2006, at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, USA: a pig was released into the crowd during a performance of "Sheep". The slogans on the pig read, "Kafka Rules OK!," "Impeach Bush Now," "Don't Be Led To Slaughter," "Free At Last," "Vote Nov. 2nd," and "Habeas Corpus Matters A Lot!" There was also a scrawl of an American flag with a hammer and sickle in place of the stars, as well as a peace symbol. The pig soon ascended into the atmosphere. Waters jokingly exclaimed after the song, "Has anybody seen my pig?"
- October 12, 2006, at KeyArena in Seattle, Washington, USA: a remote-controlled version of the same pig was piloted around the arena during "Sheep".
- January 25, 2007, at Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia: the same remote-controlled version of the pig was piloted during "Sheep". A new slogan decorating the pig read "Bring David Hicks home".
- January 29, 2007, at the North Harbour Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand: a pig was walked through the crowd and released during "Sheep". Slogans on the pig included "Kafka Rules OK!", "Impeach Bush Now" written onto the posterior, "Free At Last" under the belly of the pig, and "Habeas Corpus Matters A Lot". In addition to these almost-standard slogans, there were a number of others, including "Tino Rangatiratanga," "Cut Along The Dotted Line" with an arrow pointing to the pig's neck, and a Maori ta moko on the left front leg. The pig ascended into the night sky perfectly timed to the end of the song.
- February 5, 2007, at Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Brisbane, Australia: a remote-controlled pig was piloted during "Sheep". Slogans on the pig included "Bring David Hicks Home", "Kafka Rules OK!", "Impeach Bush Now", "Habeas Corpus Matters A Lot," and the same "Cut Along The Dotted Line" with a dotted line and arrow. The pig was tracked by spotlights while it flew.
- February 9, 2007, at Members Equity Stadium in Perth, Australia: the pig was again walked through the audience, then released, apparently deliberately. It was decorated with many slogans, including "Bring David Hicks home". It was followed by spotlight as it rose through the night sky and eventually landed in a swimming pool about 15 kilometres away. [2]
- February 18, 2007, at MMRDA Grounds in Mumbai, India: the inflated pig hovered amidst the crowd before being released into the sky during "Sheep". In addition to slogans like "Free At Last", "Impeach Bush Now", "Habeas Corpus Matters", "Kafka Rules OK!" and the "Cut Along the Dotted Lines" mark, it had a slogan in Hindi: "Sarv Jaati Ek Hai" (meaning all castes/races are equal). It also had "Abolish the Caste System" written on one of its sides.
- March 6, 2007, in Mexico City: the show featured a pig with the messages "Bush Cerdo, derriba el muro fronterizo" (Bush pig, tear down the border wall) and "Kafka Rules OK!" "Habeas Corpus Matters", and "Libres al Fin". Also featured on the belly was a graphic of the Aztec Piedra del Sol. The pig was released at the end of "Sheep".
- March 9, 2007, at Parque Simón Bolívar in Bogotá, Colombia: the pig featured the following slogans, all in Spanish: "El patrón Bush visita el rancho Colombia" (The landlord Bush visits the Ranch Colombia), a clear reference to Bush's visit to the country only two days later, "Libres al fin" (Free at last) on the pig's belly, "El Miedo construye Paredes" (Fear Builds Walls), and "Kafka Manda" (Kafka rules) on one leg. Also featured were peace symbols, the word "amor" (love) on his right hind foot, and the words "lechona Bush" (roasted pig Bush) on the pig's buttocks. The pig vanished into the night during the middle solo of "Sheep". The sides of the pig read "Devuélvanle la tierra a la gente" (Give the people back their land), and "Legalizen las DROGAS" (Legalize drugs), making reference to the problem of refugees, the traffic of illegal substances and poor distribution of land in Colombia.
- March 12, 2007, in Lima, Perú: the featured pig carried the messages "Todos los peruanos somos iguales, no a la discriminación" (All Peruvians are equal, say no to discrimination), "Kafka Rules", "El miedo construye murallas" (Fear builds walls), "Cortar aquí" (Cut here), "Stop Bush" on the pig's back, and "Libre al fin" (Free at last) on the pig's belly. A traditional Peruvian cap, the chuyo, was drawn on its left front leg. The pig was released at the end of "Sheep".
- March 14, 2007, in Santiago, Chile: the pig had the following messages "Socialismo al servicio de las S.A.", "Libre al fin" (Free at last), "Sin TAG" (Without TAG), "Va a nevar en el espacio, la NASA no lo sabe" (It's going to snow in space, NASA doesn't know), "Sorpresas de la democracia, la basura sale a flote" (Surprises of democracy, trash floats), "Push Bush contra la muralla" (Push Bush up against the wall [perhaps a reference to the lyrics of In the Flesh]), "¿Fey? (él) ¿Iñ chiñ? (nosotros) Tristes metáforas" "Victor Jara no calla", "E=MCool" (in reference to the famous equation E=mc²). Some of the messages were authored by Chilean poets Nicanor Parra, Elicura Chihuailaf and Diego Maquieira. The pig was released at the end of "Sheep".
- March 17, 2007, in Buenos Aires, Argentina: the messages were "Kafka rules OK!", "Encierren a Bush antes de que nos mate a todos" (Imprison Bush before he kills us all), "Libres al fin!" (Free at last), "Galtieri, Videla, Bush y Thatcher, todos dan asco!!!" (Galtieri, Videla (argentine dictators in the 1970s), Bush and Thatcher, you are disgusting), "Nunca mas" (Never again, a phrase popularized during the Argentinian "Dirty War"), "Donde esta Julio Lopez" (Where is Julio Lopez, in reference to a witness who disappeared during testimony against Miguel Etchecolatz, a former Argentinian police officer), "No mas desaparecidos" (No more missing people, in referece to the thousands who disappeared during the Dirty War), "El miedo construye paredes" (Fear builds walls), and "cut here" with a dotted line on the pig's throat.
- March 18, 2007, in Buenos Aires, Argentina: the pig for this show was identical in appearance and use to the pig from the day before.
- March 23, 2007, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: the messages were "O medo constrói muralhas" (Fear builds walls), "Bush, não estamos à venda" (Bush, we are not for sale), "Liberdade" (Freedom), "Hey, killers... leave our kids alone", "Ordem e Progresso?" (Brazilian flag's motto with an interrogation mark) and "Corte aqui" (cut here) with a dotted line on the pig's throat.
[edit] Trivia
- The Pig can be seen in many episodes of Nickelodeon's animated series Invader Zim. In the episode "Attack of the Saucer Morons", Zim disguises his Voot cruiser as a floating Pig. Zim gets caught by UFO watchers but escapes in the flying pig. After a bee hits his pig, it crashes into an extraterrestrial science convention. Zim's flight on this pig is based on the time the pig escaped the grasp of Pink Floyd.[citation needed]
- The Pig has also appeared on The Simpsons. It was featured in the episode "Homerpalooza" where it was used by Peter Frampton. Frampton mentions that he bought the pig at "Pink Floyd's yard sale". Another instance of a flying pig appeared in "Lisa the Vegetarian", where a roasted pig is jettisoned by a clogged dam and flies past the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant.
- The song "The Air Is Getting Slippery" by Primus (from their Pork Soda album, whose cover features a pig's head), includes the lyrics "If you've studied your Floyd properly / You'd know that pigs could fly". Primus are known to be big Pink Floyd fans, and have covered several Pink Floyd songs, both on stage and on disc (including "Have a Cigar" on the Miscellaneous Debris album).
- In the film Children of Men, homage is paid to the cover of Animals in the scene where Theodore Faron (played by Clive Owen) first meets the character Nigel (Danny Huston). This scene clearly shows a large scale replica of the pig, apparently overlooking Battersea Power Station.
- The B-side of the Leyton Buzzards' single "I'm Hanging Around" featured a track titled "No Dry Ice or Flying Pigs".
- In The Sims 2: Open For Business, eventually a flying pig that strongly resembles the one seen in Water's concerts zooms through any neighbourhood using a water tower. To avoid copyright issues, Maxis added wings to the pig.
[edit] References
"The Work of Hipgnosis: Walk Away Rene" by Storm Thorgerson, (New York: A & W Visual Library, 1978), ISBN 0-89104-105-2.
