Pigbros

Pigbros: formed 1984 by Nick Beales (guitar & vocals) fresh from a stint in The Nightingales and Jonathan Cooke (bass). Recruiting a teenage Fuzz Townshend (later with Pop Will Eat Itself, Bentley Rhythm Ace, Ranking Roger, The Beat, The Wonder Stuff, etc - as well as projects under his own name) the band played a few gigs before augmenting the line up a few months later to include Svor Naan (saxophone & guitar) not long departed from The Cravats. The initial sound was a rumbling, bass-heavy groove, driven by Fuzz’s drumming and Jonathan’s unique echo bass with Nick's fierce choppy guitar playing. Added to this concoction was Svor’s mixture of sax riffing and swirling echo effects and a rather curious guitar style which could be mistaken for a balalaika. Although along the way there was a tendency to deviate from this template, Pigbros did on the whole manage to maintain this sonic approach. As a live experience Pigbros offered a bit of showbiz/glamour both in the look and sound. Nick Beales relished the role of front man and sported a silver glitter shirt. Another visual and sound feature was Fuzz’s tin bath normally attached to his drum kit but, for the song ‘Excessive’ held up centre stage by Svor whilst Fuzz clattered out the rhythm. Pigbros recorded two radio sessions for the John Peel show (in 1985 & 1986) and released four 12” 45rpm EPs and one LP.