The Pigs were a garage band from Bristol. The band formed in March 1977 and disbanded in March 1978.
The Pigs were a loveable Bristol band who, like so many, were galvanised by a another local band - The Cortinas - to form and play. Unlike many others they got to record a single for posterity - the excellent 'National Front'.
As the history below recounts there were the usual highs and lows including, stabbings, playing the Roxy, the single's release and it being played by John Peel and of course realising the dream was over.
As typical a story of a band as what was happening all over the UK at the time.
It's good to see their stuff being reissued by the mighty Bristol Archive Label.
David Essex's first notable acting role was the lead in the stage musical, Godspell in 1971. Two years later, he starred in the film That'll Be The Day (1973) and recorded a major hit single, "Rock On" (which he wrote himself), in the same year. A second single, "Lamplight", also reached the British Top 10.
In the 1970s, Essex emerged as one of the UK's top performers. His biggest hits during this decade included a pair of Number One singles : "Gonna Make You A Star" (1974), a satirical look at his success; and "Hold Me Close" (1975), a cheerful singalong. He also appeared in Stardust, a 1974 sequel to That'll Be The Day; the title song was another Top 10 hit. In 1976, Essex covered the Beatles song, “Yesterday”, for the musical documentary All This and World War II.
Essex's pop idol looks gave him a strong female fan base and his British tours created scenes of hysteria reminiscent of Beatlemania. According to the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-190-X 'he was voted the number one British male vocalist in 1974, and was a teen idol for more than a decade'.
In 1978, he appeared on Jeff Wayne's concept album, a musical version of The War of the Worlds, as the Artilleryman. The two album set remains a bestseller.
In the same year, Essex played the character Che, loosely based on Che Guevara, in the original production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Evita, and his recording of the show's "Oh What a Circus" reached Number 3. Two years later, he starred in the film Silver Dream Racer; and the soundtrack song "Silver Dream Machine" was yet another Top 10 hit in the UK singles chart. In 1985, he wrote and starred as Fletcher Christian in the West End musical Mutiny!, based on the novel Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. The score produced two more hit singles, including "Tahiti," his tenth Top 10 success.
Essex has continued to perform in all areas of show business, to varying degrees of success. A 1989 sitcom, "The River", achieved good ratings. In 1991, a compilation entitled His Greatest Hits reached Number 13; a 1993 album, Cover Shot, peaked at Number 3. His autobiography, A Charmed Life, was published in 2002, and became a bestseller.
In 1999, Essex was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. He still tours the UK on a yearly basis and releases albums through his website. Surprisingly, despite his long and thriving British career, he remains largely unknown in the United States. "Rock On" reached Number 5 in 1974, and was his only Billboard Top 40 hit single.
The grandson of an Irish Traveller, Essex told Jake Bowers of the BBC's Rokker Radio, a programme for Gypsies and Travellers, on 30th July 2006, that he has always been openly proud of his Traveller roots, but that having moved to the US, Essex has said he feels it inappropriate for him to continue as Patron of Britain's National Gypsy Council, which works for equal rights, education, and services for Romany and Irish Travellers.
In 2005, he appeared as a guest vocalist on Saint Etienne's album Tales from Turnpike House. Also that year, he appeared in the Channel 4 documentary Bring Back…The Christmas Number One.
Essex was due to join the cast of soap opera EastEnders, in early 2006, as new character Jack Edwards. However, the role was expanded beyond the three weeks planned, and Essex was unable to commit the time. The role instead went to Nicky Henson.
A model and recording of Essex is featured in the museum of West Ham United Football Club. In the recording, he explains his reasons for supporting West Ham and his love of the team. He remains a popular, hard working and respected star, who has nevertheless not achieved a more global presence.
Logan Mader was born on November 16, 1970 in Montreal, Canada. Is the former guitarist of the heavy metal band Machine Head, who formed in Oakland, California in 1992. Their 1994 debut, Burn My Eyes, was released by Roadrunner Records and quickly became the top-selling debut album in the label's history. Their second album, The More Things Change..., was released in 1997 and Logan left the band shortly thereafter to divert his energy and time to side projects
Fallon Bowman (born November 16, 1983 in Cape Town, South Africa) is a musician from London, Ontario, Canada, best known for her involvement with Kittie. She is of Dutch and Indonesian descent. Since departing Kittie in 2001, Bowman has worked with Pigface and as a solo artist under the name Amphibious Assault, as well as under her own name
Today in 2018 Artillery released the album The Face of Fear
Taastrup,Denmark Thrash Metal
Status:Active
Years active: 1982-1991, 1998-2000, 2007-present
Artillery were one of the top technical thrash bands of the eighties, characterized by intense, energetic riffing and the somewhat unique vocals of Flemming Ronsdorf. The band had achieved worldwide acclaim even before their first album, thanks to some well-distributed demos (since repackaged and re-released as Deadly Relics). The first album, Fear Tomorrow, was a slight letdown from those demos due to a substandard production, but the songs were on track. Terror Squad fared better, and is probably their best album overall. The band disbanded in 1991, shortly after the release of the By Inheritance album. They reunited in 1999, and released a comeback album, B.A.C.K., in 2001, with the unique vocals of Ronsdorf and thrash riffing that were trademarks of the band in their prime still intact. Since then they've been relatively quite but have now stated that recording for a new album will commence in March 2009.
Metal Blade records
Michael StützerGuitars (lead), Guitars (acoustic), Guitars (12 string), Vocals (backing)
Peter ThorslundBass
Josua MadsenDrums
Michael Bastholm DahlVocals (lead), Vocals (backing)
Today in 2018 Amon Amarth released the album/DVD The Pursuit of Vikings: 25 Years in the Eye of the Storm
Stockholm,Sweden Melodic Death Metal
Status:Active
Years active: 1988-1992 (as Scum), 1992-present
Amon Amarth is a card-carrying member of a healthy Swedish death metal scene. There is little here that hasn't been done (or is being done) by fellow bands such as Hypocrisy or perhaps (earlier) In Flames, but they do deliver crunchy, energetic death metal with conviction and style. They've settled into a comfortable groove now, as their last few albums are virtually interchangeable with each other in terms of style and quality.
Columbia Records
Ted Lundström Bass
Olavi Mikkonen Guitars
Johan Hegg Vocals
Johan Söderberg Guitars
Jocke Wallgren Drums
Guest/Session
Doro Pesch Vocals (BD track 25; CD track 14)
Disc 1 (Blu-ray)
1. Warriors of the North 02:22
2. Dawn's First Light 02:42
3. First Kill 09:43
4. Valkyries Ride 06:43
5. Viking Hearts 08:45
6. Versus the World 07:47
7. Runes to a Memory 11:05
8. The Viking Way 14:28
9. Riffs of the Blackbirds 22:49
10. A Dream That Could Actually Be 11:15
11. Coming of the Tide 04:35
12. The Pursuit of Vikings 06:28
13. As Loke Falls 05:47
14. First Kill 04:30
15. The Way of Vikings 05:18
16. At Dawn's First Light 03:47
17. Cry of the Black Birds 04:40
18. Deceiver of the Gods 05:56
19. Destroyer of the Universe 05:01
20. Death in Fire 05:10
21. Father of the Wolf 05:51
22. Runes to My Memory 04:36
23. War of the Gods 05:56
24. Raise Your Horns 05:17
25. A Dream That Cannot Be 04:57
26. Guardians of Asgaard 04:54
27. Twilight of the Thunder God 10:13
03:10:35
Disc 2 (CD) - Live at the Summer Breeze - August 17th, 2017 Mainstage
1. The Pursuit of Vikings 06:19
2. As Loke Falls 04:23
3. First Kill 04:28
4. The Way of Vikings 05:18
5. At Dawn's First Light 03:44
6. Cry of the Blackbirds 04:42
7. Deceiver of the Gods 04:13
8. Destroyer of the Universe 03:42
9. Death in Fire 05:03
10. Father of the Wolf 05:35
11. Runes to My Memory 04:44
12. War of the Gods 04:45
13. Raise Your Horns 04:34
14. A Dream That Cannot Be 04:32
15. Guardians of Asgaard 04:43
16. Twilight of the Thunder God 06:51
01:17:36
Blu-ray composed of:
- tracks 1-11 The Pursuit of Vikings (25 Years in the Eye of the Storm) - Documentary
- tracks 12-27 Live at Summer Breeze: The Movies - August 17th, 2017 Mainstage
Recording information:
Recorded at two different sets at 2017's Summer Breeze Festival in Germany;
T-Stage Show: August 16th, 2017 (tracks 1-14) and Main Stage Show: August 17th, 2017 (tracks 15-30).
