A to Z of N. Ireland Punk Bands

PIG

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Formed in north Belfast in the late 70’s, Pig would continue in many different guises up until the late 80’s.
Initially a three piece, by 1981 Pig featured Martin Williamson on lead guitar. Martin had been in Lovers of Today and would later join the Psychedelic Furs. Pig also recruited Aidan McCann on guitar, Fionuala Quinn on keyboards, Philip Cullinane on bass and Jim McVeigh on guitar. The band relocated to West London where they played the local gig circuit of Fulham Greyhound, Half Moon, Putney and GLC Festivals etc. Along the way they supported The Go-Betweens, The Triffids and The Cult and played regularly with fellow Belfast band Colenso Parade.
Pig finally split in 1987. Some Demo recordings still survive of tracks such as Pecker and Gnomes.

Pig / P45 / The Lids - Gig review McGonagles, Dublin 1980 - Hot Press by Missfit.
It’s difficult enough to get an enthusiastic crowd for the 12 - 3 slot at McG’s, even on a weekend night. Surprising, the amount of people who queue up to go there, not really for any reason other than ‘well, here’s a place that’s open, and we thirst yet for entertainment’. Still, at least it gives the groups something to work on. They have to do something for a reaction.
Pig played first and it was a case of best at the beginning, not at the end. Although they only remained on for about twenty minutes, they either had a truckload of friends in the audience or something, because people like their good short songs. The seasonal ‘Good King Wenceslas’ (a slight variation on) was a gamble, but it worked. A good chaotic ending. The drummer wore a badge ( but tut! tut! it was more than an inch in diameter) proclaiming ‘The Future Is Pig’. Could this be so ? Perhaps.
P.45 came and verbally asked to be given a chance, but the crowd was already drifting off to be fed and watered. The band looked as if they were trying, desperately. I popped out of the hall for a minute, and on my return, the group had been replaced by a record.
The upstairs ‘Wine Lounge’ was decorated with tinsel that had fallen from the ceiling, and discarded dinners. The disco was in full swing elsewhere. Then The Lids came on. Geoff Shannon, vocals, really does have a gymnastic workout during the non-vocal parts of the songs. But their type of R ‘n’ B pop wasn’t working. The only people clapping were the other Belfast groups. Still it was very strange, when at about 1.15 there came a song from the disco deck - and the Lids were still on! They looked very confused, then angry. Apparently the management had said they weren’t “playing, that they were missing” (this is a quote from a McG employee). On every count, I was disappointed.

If anyone has any further information or photographs of this band, then please DO get in contact via spit77to82@aol.com