Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs have covered Donna Summer’s 1979 disco classic ‘Hot Stuff’, with guest vocals from The Lovely Eggs.
Proceeds from the single will go to the Sunderland record shop, art space and live venue Pop Recs, in memory of the late Dave Harper. As well as managing Pop Recs, Harper was the drummer in Frankie & The Heartstrings and a vocal champion of music in the North East. You can purchase the single via Bandcamp, and listen to it above.
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, who have a fearsome live reputation, are also currently gearing up for a long-awaited tour of the UK and Ireland, having delayed their live shows a number of times due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Lovely Eggs will support the band as special guests at their Nottingham show, while Richard Dawson will join them in Manchester. The rest of the gigs will feature Obey Cobra, Kulk and Blom. The full list of dates can be found here.
Belowe, we caught up with the band’s Matt Baty and Adam Ian Sykes to discuss the new cover as well as their plans for the upcoming tour.
When and why did you decide on a Donna Summer cover?
Matt Baty: Doing a cover version is something we’d discussed on and off for a while, quite often as a way to pass time in the van on tour. Sometime amidst the chaos of last year I had Smooth Radio on in my car and ‘Hot Stuff’ came on. It’s an absolutely raging song so I cranked it up and started to realise all the right ingredients were there for a cover. It’s got thumping drums, a pushy tempo and the lead melody in the bridges is weirdly Sabbath-y. Most importantly though, it had the potential of being really fun to try.
Adam Ian Sykes: It’s an untouchable song in a lot of ways but, well, here we are.
How did you come to get The Lovely Eggs involved?
AIS: We met The Lovely Eggs a few years ago playing the same stage at Manchester Psych Fest. We shared some drinks and watched their set. During the recording we hit a point where we discovered we’d benefit from some guest vocals. At that point the decision to ask The Lovely Eggs almost seemed like an intuitive one. Admittedly, we did have a small list of artists to ask but they were at the top and perhaps foolishly, they said yes.
The single’s raising money for Pop Recs, in memory of the late Dave Harper. For those who might not be aware of Dave, and his impact on the North East’s music scene, can you tell us what he meant to you?
AIS: Sadly, we never actually got the chance to meet Dave but I think that speaks volumes about his reach and influence on people in the North East. Pop Recs was, and is, so important to Sunderland and creativity in the North East as a whole. ‘Breathing life into the area’ is a stale, overused journalistic phrase but in the North East, an area where arts funding has been ruthlessly cut, it feels pertinent. It seems clear to us what an amazing bloke he was and what an incredible legacy he has left behind.
The Lovely Eggs are also supporting you on the Nottingham show of your upcoming tour. Do you think ‘Hot Stuff’ will get a live airing?
AIS: Only if it makes this year’s John Lewis Christmas advert.
Speaking of the tour, how does it feel to be back on the road after all this time?
AIS: In a word – incredible. It almost doesn’t feel real. Those less exciting moments; sitting in a van for eight hours, spending an afternoon backstage in a ‘converted’ toilet, paying £4 for a service station sausage roll, they all now feel like a Christmas morning in the ’80s. Our first show since the pandemic began was otherworldly and we get the sense that after the last 16 months, that will continue for some time.
We’re struggling to think of a band who had to postpone their shows as much as you. How did you all cope with the effect that must have on your psyche?
AIS: We’re just grateful we have the opportunity to play these shows now and grateful that people are still here, willing to buy tickets for our shows. It was a strange, confusing year and a half but that was the case for everyone. We’re just glad we’re still here and still able to crack on. And crack on we will.
Has anything changed in terms of the live experience we can expect from you?
AIS: This may not be the most exciting of answers, but we’re looking forward to taking that next step, production wise. We’ll have a lighting technician with us for the whole tour, something we haven’t done before and something that will allow us to have a new way of presenting our tracks. It’s exciting for us, anyway.
Hopefully Chris [Morley, drums] may have a new pair of Lars Ulrich signature drumsticks too.
The three homecoming shows at The Cluny must feel massive. Are there any others you’re particularly anticipating?
AIS: All of them. The Albert Hall in Manchester with Richard Dawson is one for the diary, no doubt, but we just feel so starved of it that I’m sure every show will feel like playing Live Aid (without the arms trade, hopefully).
