Tuesday, February 08, 2011

My '80s Remastered - Pigbag

Born from jam sessions in the aftermath of punk, Pigbag gathered steam after convincing Simon Underwood to join the fun following his departure from The Pop Group. The band signed to Dick O’Dell’s Y Records. Their first single was 1981's instrumental classic called “Papa’s Got A Brand New Pigbag”, a stonking tight groove with skronky horns and a title that gave a "wink, wink" to James Brown. It stormed the charts, getting to #3 in the UK. I lived in the UK at the time, and became an instant fan - that's my copy of the 45 in the picture above. They continued to record but were never quite able to match the success of their debut single. Now Fire Records has compiled a two-disc set called "Pigbag Volume One and Pigbag Volume Two" that combines their debut album Dr. Heckle & Mr. Jive with a second disc or 12" versions, b-sides and live takes. It has been remastered and the result is fab, mixing punk, funk, jazz, ska, reggae and afrobeat into a heady, edgy brew. It is amazing to hear how well this stuff holds up today!

Pigbag - Papas Got A Brand New Pigbag (7" version)

1 comment:

MW said...

Sunny Day is a JAMMMMMM!! don't forget that gem!