*In no particular order some of my favourite musical moments. No47 She Said by Longpigs
Named after a Pacific Island phrase for human flesh fit for consumption – Longpigs were themselves swallowed up by the brouhaha of the Britpop explosion of the mid-1990s.
A sister band to fellow Sheffielders Pulp, their fortunes failed to reach the dizzy heights of Jarvis Cocker‘s outfit, due to a combination of ill-luck and record company failures.
Like Pulp and Suede, they were definitely from the more literate and less laddish wing of Britpop and would perhaps have enjoyed more success if they’d not been lumped in with that movement.
Longpigs’ sound in fact shared more in common with the edgy rhythms of post-punk and drummer Dee Boyle was previously tub thumper for Cabaret Voltaire.
They also boasted a classy rockabilly-influenced guitarist – a certain Richard Hawley – who after a stint in Pulp would go on to make very fine records in his own right.
But Longpigs’ undisputed leader was the very posh-sounding but slightly unhinged Crispin Hunt.
The singer almost derailed his career before it began when a serious car crash around the time of the release of their first single left him in a coma for three days
It’s his whelps and screams that add a level of weirdness and desperation to She Said that’s missing from much of the singalong swagger of the Britpop era.
With lyrics about models or girlfriends assuming identities because they lack the force to project their own – it could perhaps be accused of misogyny – but there’s more weariness than malice in Hunt’s delivery.
With the pop scene overcrowded with floppy haired yoofs in baggy jeans, She Said failed to dent the charts on its initial release.
But its reissue on U2‘s Mother Records label saw it crash into the Top 20.
A debut album The Sun Is Often Out would go on to crack the top 30, but Boyle quit amid acrimony before the release of its follow up Mobile Home.
The record tanked, Mother Records wound up and the end of the band was nigh.
Hunt though cleaned up his act and is now a succesful writer/producer for the likes of Jake Bugg, Florence and the Machine, Ron Sexsmith and many more.
And so while Longpigs may be forever doomed to remain a footnote in the annals of Britpop – She Said shines on as a Great Moment in Music nonetheless.
*Got a Great Musical Moment you’d like to share? Send me your suggestion via the contact form and if I like it, I’ll feature it and give you a mention. Looking forward to hearing from you.
