Big Pig was an Australian funk, rock and pop band that existed from 1985 to 1991. An early line-up was

Sherine Abeyratne Sherine Yvonne Abeyratne is an Australian singer. She and her identical twin sister, Suzanne "Zan", were born in 1961 in London, and raised in Australia. They often sang together as backing singers of a number of groups including Models, INXS ...

on lead vocals and percussion (ex-Editions, Bang); Tony Antoniades on vocals and harmonica; Neil Baker on drums; Nick Disbray on vocals and percussion; Tim Rosewarne on vocals and keyboards (ex-Bang); Adrian Scaglione on drums; and Oleh Witer on vocals and percussion (ex-Bang). They issued two albums, ''

Bonk Bonk may refer to: People * Bonk (surname) Arts and entertainment * ''Bonk'' (video game series), a caveman character and video game series *Bonk!, a soft drink company in the first-person shooting game ''Team Fortress 2'' * ''Bonk'' (al ...

'' (May 1988) and ''You Lucky People'' (15 November 1990), on the White Records Label imprint of

Mushroom Records Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival Mu ...

. ''Bonk'' reached No. 5 on the

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...

. In

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, it peaked at No. 2. On the Kent Music Report they had three top 50 singles with "Hungry Town" (October 1986) which peaked at No. 18, " Breakaway" (February 1988) at No. 8, and "Big Hotel" (July) at No. 40. In New Zealand, "Breakaway" was a number-one hit, while "Hungry Town" and "Big Hotel" both reached the top 30. At the

ARIA Music Awards of 1987 The First Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as the ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAS) was held on 2 March 1987 at the Sheraton Wentworth Hotel in Sydney with Elton John as the host. The awards were ...

, Big Pig were nominated for Best New Talent and Best Video for "Hungry Town" by Julie Stone Productions, and they won Best Cover Artist for their debut self-titled extended play (May 1986) by Witer.

History

1984-1985: Formation

In 1984, Big Pig was formed in London by visiting Australian drummer, Oleh Witer (ex-Scratch Record Scratch, Bang), with a variable line-up of eight or nine drummers. Inspired by a performance of Japanese taiko drummers, Witer formed Big Pig: "When I saw them, the key to it was orchestration – that each guy had his own part. There was no improvisation at all. So from that point on, I knew how to do it. It was just a matter of getting the right people". The initial incarnation involved eight or nine drummers with Witer trying to sing over the poly-rhythmic din, while members of the band came and went. At an early gig Witer's former bandmate,

, attended and subsequently joined the ensemble. As a vocalist, she had been a member of various groups: Grand Wazoo, The Editions, Bang, Big Choir, Bob Starkie Shape Up, Gospel Truth, Jo Jo Zep Band, Black Coffee, Dianna Boss and The Extremes, and The Rock Party. In 1988, Sherine recalled "I started joining bands eight years ago, as long as the music was high-energy, really strong, that was the criterion". She had also toured with

INXS INXS (a word play, phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian Rock music, rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboar ...

as a backing vocalist. Another early member was Nick Disbray on vocals and percussion. Witer and Sherine were previously together in a Melbourne-based band, Bang, which Australian musicologist,

Ian McFarlane Ian McFarlane (born 1959) is an Australian music journalist, music historian and author, whose best known publication is the '' Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop'' (1999), which was updated for a second edition in 2017. As a journalist ...

, described as playing "Grace Jones-styled funk". Witer wanted an edgier, more experimental sound that also retained Bang's funky rhythms and, when his visa ran out, he returned to Melbourne. Late in 1985, Big Pig consisted of Abeyratne on lead vocals and percussion, Tony Antoniades on vocals and harmonica, Neil Baker on drums, Disbray on vocals and percussion, Tim Rosewarne on vocals and keyboards (also ex-Scratch Record Scratch and then Bang with Witer), Adrian Scaglione on drums, and Witer on vocals and percussion. McFarlane felt the new group's sound used a "more avant-funk-meets-disco route while still retaining a feel for pop economy".

1986: ''Big Pig''

Big Pig made its concert debut in February 1986 and soon recorded a self-financed, independently distributed three-track, self-titled extended play, which was released in May. It was co-produced by Etienne Conod and Big Pig. Two of its tracks were "Hungry Town" and "Money God". They signed with

' imprint White Label Records, which re-released their debut EP in October as a double-12" with bonus dance mixes of "Hungry Town" and "Money God". In November that year, Polyanna Sutton of ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

'' reported that the group had postponed plans to return to London pending interest from the United States. Antoniades told her "The dance mixes are just for clubs, really. The other thing is: say it did well on the American club scene, it is a strong inroad into cracking some of the American market". Sutton noted that as they "do not use guitars there is a strong reliance on the harmonica to fulfill what the lead guitar would do, playing either riffs or solos". "Hungry Town" peaked at No. 18 on the Australian

Singles Chart. In March the following year it reached No. 22 in

. Witer won an award for Best Cover Artist for the artwork on the ''Big Pig'' EP at the first

. They were also nominated for

ARIA Award for Best New Talent The ARIA Music Award for Best New Talent was an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards. It was presented from 1987 through to 1998. The award for Best New Talent was first presented in 1987. Crowded House won the award with their single "D ...

and

ARIA Award for Best Video The ARIA Award for Best Video, is presented at the annual ARIA Awards, which recognise "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), an o ...

for "Hungry Town" by Julie Stone Productions. The video was directed by

Richard Lowenstein Richard Lowenstein (born 1 March 1959) is an Australian filmmaker. He has written, produced and directed: feature films, including '' Strikebound'' (1984), ''Dogs in Space'' (1986) and ''He Died with a Felafel in His Hand'' (2001); music videos ...

(INXS,

Hunters & Collectors Hunters & Collectors are an Australian rock band formed in 1981. Fronted by founding mainstay, singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Seymour, they developed a blend of Pub rock (Australia), pub rock and funk, art-funk. Other mainstays are John ...

) and was filmed by Andrew de Groot at a Melbourne dance club.

1987-1989: ''Bonk''

Their debut studio album, ''

'', was recorded at Metropolis Studios in Melbourne, Rhinoceros Studios in Sydney and

Townhouse Studios The Town House (also known as Townhouse Studios) was a recording studio located at 150 Goldhawk Road, Shepherd's Bush in London, built in 1978 under the direction of Richard Branson for Virgin Records. The studios changed ownership and eventuall ...

in London, in 1987, with producer

Nick Launay Nicolas Launay is an English record producer, composer and recording engineer. He is one of the most sought after record producers in the world due to his success with recent albums by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Anna Calvi, IDLES, Black Reb ...

(

Public Image Ltd Public Image Ltd (abbreviated and stylized as PiL) are an English post-punk band (and incorporated limited company) formed by singer John Lydon (previously known as the singer of Sex Pistols), guitarist Keith Levene, bassist Jah Wobble, and dr ...

Midnight Oil Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard) and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 by ...

Models A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

). ''Bonk'' was mixed in London later that year and issued in May 1988. ''Bonk'' reached No. 5 on the Australian

Albums Chart It went platinum in Australia. Due to their dominant use of drums, harmonica and vocals, along with the absence of guitars, the band established a unique place in Australian music. Sounding unlike contemporary groups, they also adopted their

signature look Trademark look or signature look is the characteristic clothes or other distinguishing signs used by a certain character or performer, making the person more recognizable by the audience. Politicians may also have trademark signs, such as the sui ...

wearing black waterproof aprons, similar to those worn by

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

s, which gave their stage presence a distinctly industrial feel. The group toured the US in May where Justin Mitchell for ''

The Spokesman-Review ''The Spokesman-Review'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Spokane, Washington, the city's sole remaining daily publication. It has the third-highest readership among daily newspapers in the state, with most of its readership base in ...

'' noted that "Although five of the members sing, vocalist Sherine (no last name) and harp player ntoniadeshandle most of the front work". The album provided three singles, the Chuck Jackson cover " Breakaway" which reached No. 8 (February 1988), "Big Hotel" (June) No. 40, and "Iron Lung" (December). In the US, ''Bonk'' was released by

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

in March 1988 and peaked at No. 93 on the ''Billboard'' 200 with "Breakaway" reaching No. 60 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Singles Chart, and No. 7 on the related

Dance Music/Club Play Singles Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...

chart. "Money God" was used as the theme for the BBC-TV's ''

DEF II DEF II was a programming strand on BBC2, which aired at 6 pm on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 May 1988 to 23 May 1994, to serve the teenage market. It was produced by Janet Street-Porter, and followed on from her influential youth TV show ''Netw ...

''s

Rough Guides Rough Guides Ltd is a British travel guide book and reference publisher, which has been owned by APA Publications since November 2017. In addition to publishing guidebooks, the company also provides a tailor-made trips service based on customer ...

show with

Magenta Devine Magenta Devine (born Kim Taylor; 4 November 1957 – 6 March 2019) was a British television presenter, journalist and music promoter best known for presenting the travel programme ''Rough Guide'' and youth programme ''Reportage'' on BBC2 in the ...

hosting, whilst tracks from ''Bonk'' were used for ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann (director), Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo ...

'' episodes in the late 1980s. "Hungry Town" and "Boy Wonder" both featured in the 1988

Yahoo Serious Yahoo Serious (born Greg Gomez Pead; 27 July 1953) is an Australian film actor, director, and score composer. His films include the comedy films ''Young Einstein'' (1988), ''Reckless Kelly'' (1993), and '' Mr. Accident'' (2000). Serious writes, ...

film, ''

Young Einstein ''Young Einstein'' is a 1988 Australian comedy film written, produced, directed by and starring Yahoo Serious. It is a fantasized account of the life of Albert Einstein which alters all people, places and circumstances of his life, including r ...

''. "Breakaway" was used in the opening sequence of comedy-road film, ''

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure ''Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'' is a 1989 American science fiction film, science fiction comedy film directed by Stephen Herek and written by Chris Matheson (screenwriter), Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon. The first installment of the Bill & T ...

'' (1989).

1990-1991: ''You Lucky People''

Big Pig's second album, ''You Lucky People'', was produced by Hawk Wolinski and Daddy-O, and released on 15 November 1990. Witer told Shane Walker of ''The Canberra Times'' that "At the end of our ''Bonk'' episode we took time out to rest before spending a lot of time on writing ... this album has been more of a band effort, with everyone chipping in ... we're still searching for and evolving the possibilities there are in our instrumentation". Walker felt the album was "more subtle and rounded" showcasing their "blend of thumping bass, strong vocals, blues harmonica and, of course multitudinous drummers". Fellow journalist Penelope Layland opined that ''You Lucky People'' showed a "simple, funky rhythm threading its way through the tracks, but a sprinkle of other sounds have found their way into the picture, a smattering of harmonica and a deft, sparing dose of keyboards". They toured in support of the album, then in February 1991, Big Pig played for the last time at Melbourne's

Sidney Myer Music Bowl The Sidney Myer Music Bowl is an outdoor bandshell performance venue in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is located in the lawns and gardens of Kings Domain on Linlithgow Avenue close to the Arts Centre and the Southbank entertainment precinct ...

. They issued a single, "King of Nothing", on 18 March 1991 and disbanded soon after.

1991-present: Afterwards

Disbray played some gigs with Caitlin Reilly in 1991 and by 1994 had released his debut solo album, ''Yep!''. Late in 1994, Tim Rosewarne joined

Chocolate Starfish Chocolate Starfish is an Australian rock band formed in 1992 and disbanded in 1998. Their self-titled debut album, issued in April 1994, peaked at No. 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart. It was followed in October 1995 by their second album, ''Bo ...

but these days plays keyboards in the ''Absolutely 80's'' show which features Scott Carne, Sean Kelly, David Sterry,

Brian Mannix Brian Mannix (born 7 October 1961 in Melbourne) is an Australian rock music singer and actor. He is best known as the lead singer of 1980s band Uncanny X-Men. Career Early life Mannix won a 'beauty contest' in his childhood after being entered ...

Ally Fowler Alexandra "Ally" Fowler (born 6 December 1961) is an Australian actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Angela Hamilton in '' Sons and Daughters'' (1982–84) and Zoe Davis in ''Neighbours'' (1986); both series were produced by the G ...

Tottie Goldsmith Caroline "Tottie" Goldsmith (born 27 August 1962) is an Australian actress and singer. Career Television In the early 1980s, Goldsmith acted in the Australian television series ''The Young Doctors'', '' Starting Out'', ''Prisoner'', '' Saturd ...

, Dale Ryder, and others performing their hits. Witer is a visual artist whose paintings have been exhibited in galleries across Australia. He also composed music for the 1996 Australian film, '' Love and Other Catastrophes''. Mushroom Records re-released "Hungry Town" in June 1998 to celebrate the label's 25th anniversary. In 2007, "Breakaway" was covered by US House Diva

Inaya Day Inaya Day (born Inaya Davis, January 17, 1977) is an American singer, best known for her vocal work on house music tracks such as "Horny '98" by Mousse T, and her cover version of " Nasty Girl" by Prince protégées Vanity 6. Biography Early ca ...

. "Hungry Town" featured in the first episode of Channel 9's, '' Underbelly: The Golden Mile'' on 12 April 2010.

Members

— lead vocals, percussion * Tony Antoniades — vocals, harmonica * Neil Baker — drums * Nick Disbray — vocals, percussion * Tim Rosewarne — vocals, keyboards * Adrian Scaglione — drums * Oleh Witer — vocals, drums

Other associations

* Rosewarne: Scratch Record Scratch, Red=Blue=Yellow, Bang, Big Choir, Flares, Crawling Kingsnakes, Chocolate Starfish, 21/20 * Abeyratne: Grand Wazoo Band of 1000 Dances, The Editions, Bang, Big Choir, Bob Starkie Shape Up, Gospel Truth, Jo Jo Zep Band, Black Coffee, Dianna Boss and The Extremes, The Rock Party, Mercy Mercy, Sherine, Sherine's X Machine * Witer: Scratch Record Scratch, Bang * Baker: Crawling Kingsnakes, Convenience Store

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Soundtrack appearances

Awards

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...

. It commenced in 1987, Big Pig have won one award from five nominations. , - , rowspan="3",

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

, rowspan="2", "Hungry Town" ,

, , - ,

, , - , ''Big Pig'' ,

ARIA Award for Best Cover Art The ARIA Music Award for Best Cover Art, is an award presented within the Artisan Awards at the annual ARIA Music Awards. The ARIA Awards recognise "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", and have been given by the Aus ...

, , - , rowspan="2",

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

, ''Bonk'' ,

ARIA Award for Album of the Year The ARIA Music Award for Album of the Year, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording Indu ...

, , - , "Big Hotel" , ARIA Award for Best Video , , -

Countdown Australian Music Awards

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

'' was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974–1987. It presented music awards from 1979–1987, initially in conjunction with magazine ''

TV Week ''TV Week'' is a weekly Australian magazine that provides television program listings information and highlights, as well as television-related news. Content ranges from previews for upcoming storylines of popular television programs, particu ...

''. The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards. , - , rowspan="3" , 1986 , "Hungry Town" , Best Debut Single , , - , rowspan="3" , themselves , Best Debut Act , , - , Most Promising New Talent , , -

References

External links

Small photo of Big Pig
fro
Artist Direct
{{Authority control ARIA Award winners Australian rock music groups Victoria (Australia) musical groups Musical groups established in 1985 Musical groups disestablished in 1991 1985 establishments in Australia 1991 disestablishments in Australia