Biography

Introduction

Longpigs were a British band who rose to fame on the fringe of Britpop in the 1990s; comprising Crispin Hunt (vocals), Richard Hawley (guitar), Simon Stafford (bass guitar) and former Cabaret Voltaire member Dee Boyle (drums). Hailing from Sheffield, UK, the group had success with singles such as "She Said", "On and On", and their well-received debut album The Sun Is Often Out (1996).

History

Early career (1993)

The group initially signed with Elektra Records. Just before they released their first single, two major crises struck the band. Lead singer Hunt was seriously injured in a car accident resulting in his being in a coma for three days. Shortly after, the UK arm of the record label closed leaving the Longpigs' future in doubt. Elektra set a price of £500,000 to release them from their recording contract.^{[citation needed]}

The first success (1994-1996)

The Longpigs' contract was purchased by U2's new record label, Mother Records. The band toured extensively, opening for Echobelly, Supergrass and finally Radiohead in early 1995. Their first singles on Mother Records, "Happy Again", "She Said" and "Jesus Christ" did little in the charts. The band played the 1995 Reading Festival. The new track "All Hype" was featured on the compilation CD Volume 14: Reading '95 Special although was never released as a single.

Their fourth single, "Far", managed to hit the UK Top 40. In March 1996 this was followed by the ballad "On and On",which Hunt had co-written with an uncredited music graduate from Sheffield University, and received considerable radio airplay and hit the Top 20 of the UK Singles Chart. At this point, Kate Stafford joined the band on keyboards. In April 1996 the band released their debut album The Sun Is Often Out, which was declared one of 1996's 50 best albums by both Q Magazine and Melody Maker. On the heels of their newfound success, the band then repackaged and re-released "She Said" which also reached the UK Top 20 in June 1996.

Trying to crack America (1997)

Initially things seemed promising in America. In 1997, their single "On and On" was added to the playlist of the influential Los Angeles, California alternative radio station KROQ briefly reaching the Alternative U.S. Top 10. The song was also featured on the Mission: Impossible soundtrack (although it was not used in the film). They toured America with Echo & the Bunnymen and the Dandy Warhols, and even opened for U2 on several dates of their PopMart world tour. This tour featured a new track "Beyond Good And Evil" which was never officially released. The band also played the 1997 Glastonbury Festival, with the live track "Travel" (formerly known as "Far" b-side "Amateur Dramatics") being featured on the official BBC live Glastonbury compilation Mud for It.

Decline and Split (1999-2000)

Their second album, Mobile Home, was released in 1999 - a gap of nearly two years - along with the two singles "Blue Skies" and "The Frank Sonata". After briefly reaching the UK Top 40, sales of the album faded away. Dee Boyle left the band and Mother Records folded in 2000, the rest of the band split up shortly afterwards. Guitarist Richard Hawley went on to tour with Pulp before embarking upon a successful solo career.

Recent projects (2004 onwards)

Hawley currently enjoys a successful solo career. His fourth solo album Coles Corner was nominated for the 2006 Nationwide Mercury Prize, eventually losing out to fellow Sheffield band Arctic Monkeys. Hawley has also worked with Jarvis Cocker in the electro group Relaxed Muscle.

Simon Stafford played in Richard Hawley's band for a year and went on to join Joe Strummer's band The Mescaleros, playing with them until Strummer's death in 2002. He now plays with Jarvis Cocker of Sheffield Brit-pop band, Pulp .

In 2004 Crispin Hunt lent his voice to the self-titled album by electronic supergroup Mayonnaise on the Lunaticworks/BMG label. The band also featured Howie B.

In 2005 Hunt formed a band called Gramercy, with the help of Nigel Hoyle (ex of Britpop band Gay Dad) and Dylan Rippon. The band recorded a single in August 2005 entitled "Hold On" (Redemption Records), which had begun to pick up airplay on BBC Radio 2 when the band split before ever releasing any material.

In 2006 Hunt co-wrote and produced songs such as Natalie Imbruglia's single "Glorious", and four tracks on Newton Faulkner's album Hand Built By Robots. Faulkner's album spent four weeks at No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart and is certified platinum.