WHEN PIGS FLY AT THE TOWER
The 40' x 17' inflatable hog is a replica of the band's 1976 original. It required 350 total hours to construct the patterns, with eight sewing machine technicians working simultaneously to create the pig, using 250 yards of material and 138 individual patterns. The pink fabric took three days for a supplier to color. An estimated 24 hours was dedicated to painting the details, including eyes, ears, mouth, teeth, snout, body and hooves.
Pink Floyd introduced the first of what would prove to be many inflatable pigs during their career on Dec. 3, 1976 on the second day of the Animals cover shoot at Battersea Power Station outside London. During the shoot, a gust of wind caused the mooring cables to snap, and the pig floated some 40 miles away, landing on a farm in rural Kent. The escape disrupted air traffic to Heathrow, and was reported on the cover of the next morning's dailies.
Beginning in 1977, the band began using pigs in its live concerts. During the song "Pigs (Three Different Ones)," a porker emerged from the stage, suspended on a cable that ran from the stage to the back of the stadium, flying out over the audience before returning to the stage. A second pig filled with propane and helium then emerged, flew high up into the air and exploded.
For The Wall concerts in 1981, an inflatable pig was used during the song "Run Like Hell." It was revived for the "Momentary Lapse of Reason" tour in 1987-'89, emerging out of the stage during the song, "One of These Days." At a concert in Tampa in Oct. '87, one of the large pigs was sent up above the stadium and disappeared in a flash of flames. For the 1994 Division Bell tour, the heads of two inflatable pigs emerged from the top of the lighting towers situated on each side of the stage, gyrating to the music during "One of These Days." After the show, the band's David Gilmour would stick an apple in the porcine one's mouth and make pork chops.
