The Longpigs
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The Longpigs were a British band who rose to fame on the fringe of Britpop in the 1990s; comprising Crispin Hunt (vocals), Richard Hawley (guitar), Simon Stafford (bass) and former Cabaret Voltaire member Dee Boyle (drums). Hailing from Sheffield, UK, the group had success with singles such as "She Said", "On and On", and their well-received debut album The Sun Is Often Out (1996).
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[edit] Early Career (1993)
The group initially signed with Elektra Records. Just before they released their first single, two tragedies struck the band. Lead singer Hunt was seriously injured in a car accident resulting in his being in a coma for three days. Shortly after, the UK arm of the record label closed its doors leaving the Longpigs' future in doubt. Elektra set a price of £500,000 to release them from their contract.
[edit] The first success (1994-1996)
The Longpigs contract was purchased by U2's new record label, Mother Records. The band toured extensively, opening for Echobelly, Supergrass and finally Radiohead in early 1995. Their first singles on Mother Records, "Happy Again", "She Said" and "Jesus Christ" did little in the charts. The band played the 1995 Reading Festival. The new track "All Hype" was featured on the compilation CD Volume 14: Reading '95 Special although was never released as a single.
Their fourth single, the poppy "Far", managed to hit the UK top 40. In March 1996 this was followed by the ballad "On and On" which received considerable radio play and hit the UK top 20. The song had a guitar riff remarkably similar to Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here". In April 1996 the band released their debut album The Sun Is Often Out, which was declared one of 1996's 50 best albums by both Q Magazine and Melody Maker. On the heels of their newfound success, the band then repackaged and re-released "She Said" which hit the UK top 30 in June 1996.
[edit] Trying to crack America (1997)
Initially things seemed promising in America as well. In 1997, their single "On and On" was added to the playlist of the influential Los Angeles alternative radio station KROQ. The song was also featured on the Mission: Impossible soundtrack (although it was not used in the film). They toured America with Echo and the Bunnymen and the Dandy Warhols, and even opened for U2 on several dates of their Popmart world tour. This tour featured a new track "Beyond Good And Evil" which was never officially released. The band also played the 1997 Glastonbury Festival, with the live track "Travel" (formerly known as "Far" b-side "Amateur Dramatics") being featured on the official BBC live Glastonbury compilation Mud for It.
[edit] Britpop is dead (1999-2000)
Their second album, Mobile Home, was released in 1999 - a gap of nearly two years - along with the two singles "Blue Skies" and "Frank Sonata". Despite briefly reaching the UK top 20, the album failed to achieve any notable success. Dee Boyle left the band and Mother Records folded in 2000, the rest of the band split up shortly afterwards. Guitarist Richard Hawley went on to tour with Pulp before embarking upon his own solo outing. Simon Stafford played in Richard Hawley's band for a year and went on to join Joe Strummer's band The Mescaleros, playing with him until his death in 2002.
[edit] Recent projects (2004 onwards)
In late 2004, Hunt lent his voice to the self-titled album by pop/electronic supergroup Mayonnaise on the Lunaticworks/BMG label. The band also featured Howie B (who has acted as producer for Björk, Tricky, Goldie, U2 and Brian Eno) and Will O'Donovan (engineer for bands including Plant and Page, Goldie and Jamiroquai). In recent years, aside from his musical work, he has mainly been occupied working as Parliamentary aide for his father, Labour MP Mark Fisher. Richard Hawley has a flourishing solo career, being nominated for the 2006 Nationwide Mercury Music prize, eventually losing out to fellow steel-city band Arctic Monkeys, and has also worked with Jarvis Cocker in the electro group Relaxed Muscle. Hunt has since been seen recording with a new band, Gramercy, with the help of Dylan Rippon (producer of albums by Emma Townsend) and Nigel Hoyle, once of Britpop-rockers Gay Dad. They released a single in August 2005 entitled "Hold On", but their website hasn't been updated since. He is now writing songs for different artists, he is currently writing for Natalie Imbruglia's new album due to be released in 2007.
