"We Are the Pigs" is the first single from the album ''

Dog Man Star ''Dog Man Star'' is the second album by English alternative rock band Suede (band), Suede, released in October 1994 on Nude Records. The album was recorded in London at Master Rock studios in early 1994, and was produced by Ed Buller. It was th ...

'' by British band

Suede Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, fabrics, purses, furniture, and other items. The term comes from the French , which literally means "gloves from Sweden". The term was fir ...

, released on 12 September 1994 through

Nude Records Nude Records is an independent record label, established in August 1991 in London. The label was set up and operated by Saul Galpern, who had previously worked with artists such as Simply Red, The Fall, Julian Cope, The Triffids, The Slits and ...

Background

The single heralded the darker tone that the band had taken for ''Dog Man Star'', which contrasted heavily with their debut album. The unsettling sound on the single was not characteristic of the popular Britpop bands of the time. The departure of guitarist

Bernard Butler Bernard Joseph Butler (born 1 May 1970) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the first guitarist with Suede, until his departure in 1994. He has been hailed by some critics as the greatest guitarist of his ...

, ahead of its release, overshadowed the single somewhat. That event, along with the song's music video receiving little airplay, contributed to its relatively poor charting, although still managing a No. 18 peak. Singer and co-writer

Brett Anderson Brett Lewis Anderson (born 29 September 1967) is an English singer best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the band Suede. After Suede disbanded in 2003, he fronted The Tears with former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler in 2004-2 ...

has said he wrote it while he was living in

Highgate Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisati ...

. It is a song about revolution and the juxtaposition between the middle class lives of Highgate and the council estates of the not too far away Archway. He said: " t'sa warning to the middle classes that everyone they're keeping under their feet is going to end up crushing their skulls. That was the idea behind it. It's supposed to be quite a violent thing." The cover art for the single features a still from the cult film '' Freak Orlando''.

Music video

The video for "We Are the Pigs", directed by David and Raphael Vital-Durand, features a grim, ''

Nineteen Eighty-Four ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final ...

''–like setting. It was initially banned by some TV stations including MTV for being too violent. The video features burning cars,

cross burning In modern times, cross burning or cross lighting is a practice which is associated with the Ku Klux Klan. However, it was practiced long before the Klan's inception. Since the early 20th century, the Klan burned crosses on hillsides as a way to i ...

s, and masked gangs roaming the streets, committing violent acts. Also notable is the video features the first official public appearance of new guitarist Richard Oakes. The video for the B-side, "Killing of a Flash Boy", a specially commissioned backdrop film for the ''Dog Man Star'' tour, produced by

Derek Jarman Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman (31 January 1942 – 19 February 1994) was an English artist, film maker, costume designer, stage designer, writer, gardener and gay rights activist. Biography Jarman was born at the Royal Victoria Nursing Home ...

was shot in

Nightingale Estate The Nightingale Estate is located in the Lower Clapton area of the London Borough of Hackney, next to Hackney Downs. The estate originally consisted of six 22 story tower blocks, but was redeveloped between 2003-2006 and replaced with mostly low- ...

in Hackney.

Reception and legacy

The single was very well-received in the British press. David Sinclair of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' wrote: "Propelled by one of Bernard Butler's finest riff chord sequences and fuelled by the nightmare visions of Brett Anderson's lyric, the song romps home with a glorious chorus that combines old-fashioned sing-a-long appeal with an intriguingly sinister edge." Caroline Sullivan's review in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' was printed the day before the band announced Oakes as their new guitarist. In it she predicted it would be the band's swansong. However, she was very favourable saying: "It's a typically melodramatic affair, Butler's squawking playing counterpointed by Brett Anderson's breastbeating emoting. One of their best." Martin Aston of ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' wrote: "After the recent departure of guitarist Bernard Butler, Suede have to be at their best. 'We Are the Pigs' is just the ticket, one of their very best, strident, anthemic singles, which neatly sets the tone for the equally stunning second album on October 10." ''Pitchfork'' placed "We Are the Pigs" at No. 169 on their list of the Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s. In 2006, ''

Total Guitar ''Total Guitar'' is a monthly music magazine based in Bath, the United Kingdom, that has been in circulation since 1994. The magazine is owned by Future plc, who publish many other magazines ranging from drums and video games to technology mag ...

'' ranked Butler's solo at No. 57 in its list of the "100 Hottest Solos". The B-side "Killing of a Flash Boy" became a staple of Suede's live set list and was included on the B-sides album ''

Sci-Fi Lullabies ''Sci-Fi Lullabies'' is a two-disc compilation album by English alternative rock band Suede released by Nude Records on 6 October 1997, consisting of B-sides from the singles that were released from the group's first three albums. It reached no. ...

''. In 2014, ''NME'' ranked the song at No. 364 on its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

Track listings

All songs were written by

and

. 7-inch vinyl, cassette # "We Are the Pigs" # "Killing of a Flashboy" 12-inch vinyl, CD # "We Are the Pigs" # "Killing of a Flash Boy" # "Whipsnade"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:We Are The Pigs Suede (band) songs 1994 singles 1994 songs Protest songs Song recordings produced by Ed Buller Songs written by Bernard Butler Songs written by Brett Anderson