The Longpigs
Encyclopedia
Longpigs were a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

 who rose to fame on the fringe of Britpop
Britpop
Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. Britpop emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s...

 in the 1990s; comprising Crispin Hunt (vocals), Richard Hawley
Richard Hawley
Richard Hawley is a guitarist, singer-songwriter and producer. After his first band Treebound Story broke up, Hawley found success as a member of Britpop band Longpigs in the 1990s. He later joined the band Pulp, led by his friend Jarvis Cocker...

 (guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

), Simon Stafford (bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

) and former Cabaret Voltaire
Cabaret Voltaire (band)
Cabaret Voltaire were a British music group from Sheffield, England.Initially composed of Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk and Chris Watson, the group was named after the Cabaret Voltaire, a nightclub in Zürich, Switzerland that was a centre for the early Dada movement.Their earliest performances...

 member Dee Boyle (drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...

s) who was replaced by Andy Cook ([drums]) on their second album. Hailing from Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

, UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, the group had success with singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 such as "She Said", "On and On", and their well-received debut album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 The Sun Is Often Out
The Sun Is Often Out
The Sun Is Often Out is the debut album by Longpigs, released in 1996 on U2's record label, Mother Records.-Track listing:#"Lost Myself" – 5:04#"She Said" – 4:24#"Far" – 3:46#"On And On" – 4:10#"Happy Again" – 4:17#"All Hype" – 3:23...

(1996).

Early career (1993)

The group initially signed with Elektra Records
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....

. Just before they released their first single, two major crises 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
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

 closed leaving the Longpigs' future in doubt. Elektra set a price of £500,000 to release them from their recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...

.

The first success (1994-1996)

The Longpigs' contract was purchased by U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...

's new record label, Mother Records. The band toured extensively, opening for Echobelly
Echobelly
Echobelly were a Britpop band, debuting in 1994 with their album Everyone's Got One. They were often compared to Blondie and were influenced by Morrissey, who himself was a fan of the group....

, Supergrass
Supergrass
Supergrass was an English alternative rock band from Oxford. The band consisted of brothers Gaz and Rob Coombes , Mick Quinn and Danny Goffey ....

 and finally Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...

 in early 1995. Their first singles on Mother Records, "Happy Again", "She Said" and "Jesus Christ" did little in the charts
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....

. The band played the 1995 Reading Festival
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend, sharing the same bill. The Reading Festival is held at Little John's Farm...

. The new track "All Hype" was featured on the compilation
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

 CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

 Volume 14: Reading '95 Special although was never released as a single.

Their fourth single, "Far", managed to hit the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Top 40. In March 1996 this was followed by the ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...

 "On and On", which received considerable radio
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...

 airplay and hit the Top 20 of the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

. In April 1996 the band released their debut album The Sun Is Often Out
The Sun Is Often Out
The Sun Is Often Out is the debut album by Longpigs, released in 1996 on U2's record label, Mother Records.-Track listing:#"Lost Myself" – 5:04#"She Said" – 4:24#"Far" – 3:46#"On And On" – 4:10#"Happy Again" – 4:17#"All Hype" – 3:23...

, which was declared one of 1996's 50 best albums by both Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...

and Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...

. On the heels of their newfound success, the band then repackaged and re-released "She Said" which also reached the UK Top 20 in June 1996, which was followed by "Lost Myself" (#22).

Trying to crack America (1997)

Initially things seemed promising in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. In 1997, their single "On and On" was added to the playlist of the influential Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 alternative radio station KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM — branded 106.7 KROQ — is a commercial modern rock radio station licensed to Pasadena, California serving the Greater Los Angeles. The call sign is pronounced "kay rock." It is the flagship station of Loveline hosted by Dr...

 briefly reaching the Alternative U.S. Top 10. The song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

 was also featured on the Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible (film)
Mission: Impossible is a 1996 action thriller directed by Brian De Palma and starring Tom Cruise. Following on from the television series of the same name, the plot follows a new agent, Ethan Hunt and his mission to uncover the mole within the CIA who has framed him for the murders of his entire...

soundtrack
Mission: Impossible (soundtrack)
Mission Impossible: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture is the official soundtrack for 1996 film, Mission: Impossible. The soundtrack was a success, peaking at No...

 (although it was not used in the film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

). They toured America with Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen are an English post-punk band, formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson, supplemented by a drum machine. By 1980, Pete de Freitas had joined as the band's drummer, and their debut...

 and the Dandy Warhols, and even opened for U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...

 on several dates of their PopMart world tour
Popmart Tour
The PopMart Tour was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Launched in support of the group's 1997 album, Pop, the tour's concerts were performed in stadiums and parks from 1997 through 1998...

. This tour featured a new track "Beyond Good and Evil" which was never officially released. The band also played the 1997 Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...

, with the live track "Travel" (formerly known as "Far" B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...

 "Amateur Dramatics") being featured on the official BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 live Glastonbury compilation Mud for It.
The song "On and On" can be found on the soundtrack to the 1997 film "Face" staring Robert Carlyle.

Decline and split (1999-2000)

Their second album, Mobile Home
Mobile Home (album)
Mobile Home is the second and final album by Longpigs, released in 1999 on U2's record label Mother.-Track listing:All songs written by Crispin Hunt unless otherwise stated.#"The Frank Sonata" – 3:53#"Blue Skies" – 4:01#"Gangsters" – 4:56...

, was released in October 1999, along with the two singles "Blue Skies" and "The Frank Sonata". After briefly reaching the Top 40 in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

, sales of the album faded away. Dee Boyle left the band, Mother Records folded in 2000, and the rest of the band split up shortly afterwards. Guitarist Richard Hawley
Richard Hawley
Richard Hawley is a guitarist, singer-songwriter and producer. After his first band Treebound Story broke up, Hawley found success as a member of Britpop band Longpigs in the 1990s. He later joined the band Pulp, led by his friend Jarvis Cocker...

 went on to tour with Pulp
Pulp (band)
Pulp are an English alternative rock band formed in Sheffield in 1978. Their lineup consists of Jarvis Cocker , Russell Senior , Candida Doyle , Mark Webber , Steve Mackey and Nick Banks ....

, before embarking upon a successful solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...

 career.

Recent projects (2004 onwards)

Hawley currently enjoys a successful solo career. His fourth solo album Coles Corner
Coles Corner (album)
Coles Corner is the fourth studio album from musician Richard Hawley, released in September 2005 in the UK. The title track immortalizes the legendary Sheffield landmark Coles Corner, a popular meeting place of old and new lovers...

was nominated for the 2006 Nationwide Mercury Prize
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize and currently known as the Barclaycard Mercury Prize for sponsorship reasons, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established by the British Phonographic Industry and British...

, eventually losing out to fellow Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

 band Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band. Formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield, the band currently consists of Alex Turner , Jamie Cook , Nick O'Malley and Matt Helders...

. Hawley has also worked with Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis Branson Cocker is an English musician and frontman for the band Pulp. Through his work with the band, Cocker became a figurehead of the Britpop movement of the mid-1990s. Following Pulp's hiatus Cocker has led a successful solo career...

 in the electro group Relaxed Muscle. Simon Stafford has also played as part of Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis Branson Cocker is an English musician and frontman for the band Pulp. Through his work with the band, Cocker became a figurehead of the Britpop movement of the mid-1990s. Following Pulp's hiatus Cocker has led a successful solo career...

's backing band on his solo endeavours.

Stafford played in Hawley's band for a year and went on to join Joe Strummer
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor , best remembered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash. His musical experience included his membership in The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in...

's band The Mescaleros
The Mescaleros
The Mescaleros were the backing band for Joe Strummer, formed in 1999, which went on to make three albums prior to Strummer's death in 2002. Many of the band members were gifted multi-instrumentalists...

, playing with them until Strummer's death in 2002. He now plays with Jarvis Cocker.

In 2004, Hunt lent his voice to the self-titled album
Mayonnaise (album)
Mayonnaise is the debut album of the Filipino pop-rock band, Mayonnaise. The album was released in November, 2004, under VAMP records, an independent music label. It was manufactured and distributed nationwide in the Philippines by Sony Music....

 by electronic supergroup Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise (band)
Mayonnaise is a 4-piece Filipino alternative rock band. The band is fronted by Monty Macalino who due to his unarguably hefty body figure, makes him the most visible member of the group. The band is famous for winning the prestigious Red Horse Muziklaban in 2004.-History:The band was launched in...

 on the Lunaticworks/BMG label. The band also featured Howie B. The following year, Hunt joined a band called Gramercy, with Nigel Hoyle (ex Gay Dad
Gay Dad
In 2001 the leading single from Transmission - "Now Always and Forever" - was released. It fell just short of the Top 40 in the UK Singles Chart. An extensive UK tour was followed by a limited edition single "Harder, Faster". The third single "Transmission" was released just before the album came...

) and Dylan Rippon. The band recorded a single in August 2005 entitled "Hold On" (Redemption Records), which had begun to pick up airplay on BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...

 when the band split before ever releasing any material.

Hunt has worked as a songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

 and/or record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 for Ellie Goulding, Penguin Prison, Midnight Lion, Florence and The Machine
Florence and the Machine
Florence and the Machine is the recording name of English musician Florence Welch and a collaboration of other artists who provide music for her voice. Florence and the Machine's sound has been described as a combination of various genres, including rock and soul...

, Newton Faulkner
Newton Faulkner
Sam Newton Battenberg Faulkner is an English singer-songwriter and musician from Reigate, Surrey. Known for his guitar playing, which involves rhythmically tapping and hitting his guitar's body, Faulkner came to prominence in 2007, with the release of his debut studio album, Hand Built by Robots...

, Cee-Lo Green, Natalie Imbruglia
Natalie Imbruglia
Natalie Jane Imbruglia is an Australian singer-songwriter, model and actress. In the early 1990s, Imbruglia was known to audiences as Beth Brennan in the popular Australian soap Neighbours. Three years after leaving the programme, Imbruglia launched a singing career with the international hit,...

, Gabriella Cilmi
Gabriella Cilmi
Gabriella Lucia Cilmi is an Australian singer-songwriter. In 2008, Cilmi was awarded six ARIA awards including Single of the Year and Best Female Artist....

, Lisa Mitchell
Lisa Mitchell
Lisa Helen Mitchell is an Australian singer-songwriter who grew up in Albury, New South Wales. Her debut EP, Said One To The Other topped iTunes in Australia and this success brought her to the attention of boutique London-based publisher, Little Victories , a subsidiary of Sony/ATV, with whom she...

, Lissie, Fighting With Wire
Fighting with Wire
Fighting with Wire are an alternative heavy rock and punk band hailing from Derry, Northern Ireland. They have toured with Biffy Clyro, Million Dead, Reuben, Twin Atlantic, yourcodenameis:milo, Kerbdog, Helmet, You Me At Six, Nomeansno, InMe, Brigade, Against Me! and Seafood...

, Richard Walters, Josephine Oniyama, Clare Maguire
Clare Maguire
Clare Rita Mary Maguire is a British singer-songwriter. She was signed to Universal Music Group Polydor Records in 2008. She was rated in fifth place in the BBC Sound of 2011 list of the top 15 most promising new artists. Maguire was also singled out as one of MTV's Brand New: For 2011 Acts...

, Liam Frost, Ron Sexsmith
Ron Sexsmith
Ronald Eldon "Ron" Sexsmith is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario, currently based in Toronto. He started his own band when he was fourteen years old, and released the first recordings of his own material seven years later, in 1985...

, Ej, Mark Owen
Mark Owen
Mark Anthony Patrick Owen , is an English singer-songwriter. He is a member of pop band Take That. The band were hugely successful during the 1990s and have enjoyed even more success since their reunion in 2005...

, Kate Walsh
Kate Walsh (singer)
Kate Walsh is an English singer from Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex.A graduate of the Brighton Institute of Modern Music, her first album was Clocktower Park , released in 2003 by Kitchenware Records. The album was named for a meeting place in her home town. In 2007, she released her second album, Tim's...

, and Max Tuohy.

Studio albums

  • The Sun Is Often Out
    The Sun Is Often Out
    The Sun Is Often Out is the debut album by Longpigs, released in 1996 on U2's record label, Mother Records.-Track listing:#"Lost Myself" – 5:04#"She Said" – 4:24#"Far" – 3:46#"On And On" – 4:10#"Happy Again" – 4:17#"All Hype" – 3:23...

    (1996) UK
    UK Albums Chart
    The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

     #26
  • Mobile Home
    Mobile Home (album)
    Mobile Home is the second and final album by Longpigs, released in 1999 on U2's record label Mother.-Track listing:All songs written by Crispin Hunt unless otherwise stated.#"The Frank Sonata" – 3:53#"Blue Skies" – 4:01#"Gangsters" – 4:56...

    (1999) UK #33

Singles

  • "She Said" - Mother Records (1995) UK
    UK Singles Chart
    The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

    #67
  • "Jesus Christ" - Mother Records (1995) UK #67
  • "Far" - Mother Records (1996) UK #37
  • "On and On" - Mother Records (1996) UK #16, U.S. Modern Rock Tracks #17
  • "She Said" - Mother Records (1996) UK #16
  • "Lost Myself" - Mother Records (1996) UK #22
  • "Blue Skies" - Mother Records (1999) UK #21
  • "The Frank Sonata" - Mother Records (1999) UK #57
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