The Longpigs were one of the many bands that rode the Britpop wave in the mid-90’s. They released a couple fo singles in 1995 but it wasn’t until the follolwing year, when Britpop was at full steam, that they managed to get majort chart success with four Top 40 singles, with two of those reaching #16.

The band had a rather traumatic beginning, with their lead singer, Crispin Hunt, being seriously injured in a car crash leaving him in a coma for three days just before their first single release and then their record label closing their UK branch down which led to the band eventually being picked up by Mother Records (founded by U2 back in 1983).

Longpigs had a certain amount of success in the mid-late 90’s and toured extensively supporting the likes of Radiohead and Supergrass, as well as playing a number of festivals like Glastonbury and Reading. They were also the launchpad for their guitarist, Richard Hawley, who went on to be a very sucessful solo artist as well as working alongist a number of other bands and artists such as Pulp, Gwen Stefani, Elbow, Lisa Marie Presley and loads more as a writer, producer, guitarist and singer. Four of his solo albums made the Top 10 in the UK and he also penned a number of film scores.

I wasn’t really into Longpigs – nor a lot of the Britpop scene – and they were alright live but didn’t blow me away. Certainly better than the opening band, Lick, who I have no recollection of at all.