Pigbag will be forever linked with their debut single, and only hit, "Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag" (a play on words on the mid-60s James Brown classic, "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag"). A quirky but nevertheless catchy funk/soul instrumental, the single was first released in May 1981, but took almost a year to reach the charts, peaking at number 3. Word had it that their label, Y, had deleted the single and then reactivated it when the demand was sufficient. The band had formed around the Gloucestershire and Avon region from the ashes of hardline militant funk act the Pop Group; Simon Underwood (bass) joined up with James Johnstone (guitar, keyboards), Ollie Moore (saxophone), Chip Carpenter (drums) and Roger Freeman (percussion). By the time of their hit, Pigbag had already issued two further singles, "Sunny Day" and "Getting Up". The debut album, Dr Heckle And Mr Jive, subsequently reached the UK Top 20. Despite shrewd promotion, Pigbag's heyday was short-lived. "Big Bean" peaked at number 40 and "Hit The 'O' Deck" failed to make any impact. After a live album, the band broke up, although "Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag" was later re-recorded in 1987, to coincide with The Best Of Pigbag. Johnstone later surfaced in ambient dance duo Infinite Wheel.

Listen to Pigbag at Finetune.

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