Pigbag

Hamlin recruited multi-instrumentalist Roger Freeman, an old friend from his hometown of Birmingham, along with Chris Lee on trumpet and James Johnstone, a guitarist, record shop assistant and newcomer to the alto sax, for initial jam sessions which would eventually evolve into Pigbag.

They recruited Andrew "Chip" Carpenter on drums and Mark "Miff" Smith on bass, both old school friends of Johnstone's, and former members of their previous band Hardware.

It was at these jam sessions that "Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag" was developed from an idea Chris Hamlin and James Johnson had had before the band was formed.

Through a friend who knew Mark Stewart, The Pop Group's vocalist, Hamlin and Johnstone acquired Underwood's address and hitched down to Bristol to convince him, using tape recordings of their jam sessions.

The song, and the remix "Reach Up (Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag)" by Paul Oakenfold under the alias Perfecto Allstarz (which became a UK and Irish Top 10 hit in early 1995), has become a stadium anthem in English football (particularly in the Football League), originally adopted by Queens Park Rangers supporters in 1994 after some of their fans took it on as an anthem at a music venue in Westbourne Park, often played or chanted before a match or at half time, or after the scoring of a goal, and often incorporating the name of a player into the song.

During September and October 1981, the band toured the US, playing in New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Northampton, MA, San Francisco and Berkeley, California.

[1] They followed the success of "Papa..." with "Sunny Day", a similarly brash, bright and funky track for which Ed Steinberg shot a video in New York.

April 1982 saw the release of their first album Dr Heckle and Mr Jive, which was a huge success,[2] topping the UK Indie Chart for several weeks, despite including only one of their previous singles - "Getting Up".

Club play and the extensive tour had stimulated demand for "Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag", which was consequently re-released on Stiff Records, peaking at No.

[4] He went on to record the 1986 non-stop forty-minute prototype chill-out / house album Designer Beatnik with ex-Duran Duran member Stephen Duffy under the name Dr Calculus mdma (the cover photo showing the "Spirit of Ecstasy" car mascot).

Underwood and Jaeger were married at Hammersmith Registry Office in 1983, attended by many notables from the music scene, including Johnny Rotten.

During 1983, the band released a single, "Hit The 'O' Deck" (a reference to turntables), and the album recorded the previous year, Lend An Ear.

Following a poor critical reception to the new direction and differences in the band, Pigbag split in June 1983,[2] with Johnstone, Jaeger and Underwood forming Instinct.