Biography
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Years Active
1980 – 1983 (3 years)
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Members
- Chip Carpenter
- Chris Hamlyn
- Chris Lee
- James Johnstone
- Ollie Moore
Pigbag were a post-punk band formed in Cheltenham, England. They were an adventurous band of music makers, fusing funk, jazz, dance music, and anything else they could get their hands on. The line up originally consisted of Chris Hamlyn on clarinet and percussion, Roger Freeman on percussion and trombone, James Johnstone on sax and guitar, and Chris Lee on trumpet. A few months later the group recruited Chip Carpenter, a drummer, and Mark Smith, a bassist. After the Pop Group disbanded, Simon Underwood and a tenor sax play he was working with named Ollie Moore were convinced to join the band.
Through a gig with the Slits, the group got a single deal with Y Records. It was at this time they actually were named Pigbag after Christ Hamlyn’s… well, pig bag. This resulted in the ridiculously successful 1981 7" single "Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag." This caused their next wildly danceable single, "Sunny Day," to go to number one on the U.K. Indie Charts. After "Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag" was released later, it peaked at number three on the national U.K. charts. These two singles did not quite represent Pigbag's full range of musical tastes like their first album, Dr Heckle and Mr Jive, did. The album was much less accessible than the band's singles because of its often experimental songs such as "Dozo Don" and "Brian the Snail."
By 1982 the Pigbag personnel had changed quite a bit. The two key founding members, Chris Hamlyn and Roger Freeman had both left to pursue other interests. Brian Nevill and Oscar Verden were recruited to fill their spots and a singer, Angela Jaeger, was also added to the lineup. They released a second album, Hit the Deck, and a new single, "Hit the 'O' Deck," in February of 1983, but disbanded after that due to differences among the members.
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