One of the great traditions at the Riverside for over 25 years has been to enjoy the wild, up-beat, trumpet-led tune which greets the ‘Boro team coming out onto the pitch. The tune, Reach Up (Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag) by the Perfecto Allstarz, is a 1995 remix of an original 1982 hit Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag by a young band thrust to stardom when their tune was played twice on Top of the Pops in 1982.
The band was formed in Cheltenham in 1980 and landed their first gig, supporting The Slits, in Bristol. They played a twenty-minute version of what was to become ‘Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag’ and the next day were invited to record the track for Y Records. At this point they adopted the name Pigbag, in reference to a band member’s scruffy cloth bag bearing a screen-printed warthog. (Thank you Wikipedia, for this bit). The band calls the tune Papa’s.
I arrived in Middlesbrough in 1982, just as the tune hit the charts. I watched many games at Ayresome Park but I can’t recall if a version of Papa’s was played then. But I do recall the Samba music which we heard much later, at the Riverside, after the arrival of Boro’s Brazilian stars including Juninho. Maybe this sparked the playing of Latin brass sounds, including Papa’s. I enjoyed many seasons at the Riverside but will never forget taking a small drum to some matches during the Samba Season.
During almost twenty years in Teesside I developed my musical tastes and enjoyed jazz in local venues including the Dovecot Arts Centre, the Bluebell Inn on Acklam Road and The Inn Off the Park on Linthorpe Road. I have fond memories of the 80 and 90s, listening to the Bob Peacock trio and the more abstract sounds of Stuart Johnson.
I now live in Norwich. A few weeks ago, I was enjoying an evening at a local jazz club, and chatted with a trumpet player. His name is Chris Lee and he told me of his youthful musical beginnings, when he was the trumpeter in what became ‘Pigbag’. Yes, it’s his trumpet you can hear whenever Boro score!
I was blown away. I asked Chris if he knew that the tune is a legend in Middlesbrough - and that football fans in their thousands have adopted it as their goal celebration tune, especially at Boro and QPR. I said there was probably a statue to him somewhere. He laughed.
A few weeks later I interviewed Chris for FMTTM.
Trevor Phillips: So, how did the Papa’s tune come about? Did you help to write it?
Chris Lee: Yeah, we all did. A group of us just jammed together. We didn’t read or write music. We weren’t trying to make a hit single, it was a complete accident. It wasn’t structured, anyone could do anything. A basic groove held it together. Everything was credited to everyone because it came out of an improvisation.
TP: I have seen your band was described as post-punk, is that accurate?
CL We thought it was Jazz Punk. We were one of the first bands to play with percussions and horns, as opposed to guitars and synthesisers. Until near the end we were instrumental, not restrained by song structures. There was no lead singer, so it was more of a collective.
TP: When did you first play the trumpet?
CL: I was about 19, just before the band started. Trumpet is a hard instrument. I didn’t really know how to play it. That was the punk influence. In that era people said ’just get up and do it’ which was great.
TP: Did your school help you with music?
CL: No I hated music at school, it was all classical. I applied to study music after school but I wasn’t accepted because I didn’t read music then.
TP: Who were your personal musical influences?
CL Charlie Parker is the big one. Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, Herby Hancock and jazz-funk stuff and avant-guarde stuff like Sun Ra, from Philadelphia. For the band there was the influence of Dub Reggae, coming from Bristol: three of us were from Cheltenham and two from Bristol. Two of the band were from Birmingham and we also became influenced by Two-tone: we once supported the Specials. James Brown was a big influence. He was influenced by what’s called Modal music and he played a lot of this. We could follow that style, partly because we didn’t know what chords were and couldn’t play them.
TP: Once you’d been noticed you were quickly on tour. Where did you tour beyond the UK?
CL: Yeah, within two months we were on the road. We went to New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, San Francisco. And we were quite big in Japan. We were the backing track to an advert with tennis player Bjorn Borg riding a Honda motorbike. And, in the corner of the ad was the credit: ‘Music by Pigbag’, which was great for us. We also played some sit-down audiences but one became a bit of a melee, when security people tried to stop the dancing.
TP: Did you enjoy being on Top of the Pops?
CL: No, it was horrible. It was so false and didn’t feel right. We didn’t want to be there. The band didn’t set out to do pop music. Also, the dancing kids weren’t treated very well.
TP: How did audiences at gigs respond to Papa’s?
CL: Well, we usually played it at the end of the set and audiences were really into it. Even in 2016 and 2021. There are 7 inch and 12 inch versions of the number, but it’s mainly that famous riff that people respond to.
TP: Do you follow football at all?
CL: A bit. I was in North London for a time, and I was kind of an Arsenal fan during the Invincibles era. It was great time. I followed all the England games recently.
TP: What do you think of the version of Papa’s played at the Boro? It’s a mix by a DJ, not done by performing musicians, isn’t it?
CL: It’s alright. Unless they used a synthesiser, the sound of the trumpet comes from me. About three different DJs did versions of it, I think Perfecto Allstarz did the first one. Someone else released it under their own name and we took legal action to stop that. All the versions produce some writing royalties for us. Anyone playing the music is probably paying the Performing Rights Society something, which still buys me the odd beer. Thanks Boro!
TP: Does the original band still exist? Do you play Papa’s on tour?
CL: The original band was 1980-83. Around 2011 to about 2016, some of us played together occasionally. Lots of the original band don’t play music now. One is graphic designer, one is a recluse and so on. In 2021 an agent asked me if we were interested in playing three gigs at a festival called Lets Rock, based in Edinburgh, Liverpool and Reading. It was a sort of retro-80s feel, with Jason Donovan, Wet Wet Wet, OMD. I did a 20 minute set, with other pals..
TP: Overall, how do you describe your life with Papa’s?
CL: We were a One-Hit-Wonder band. It doesn’t bother me, if you have one hit it’s one more hit than others have. We were lucky. Some of the tracks on our albums were better than Papa’s.
TP: You are still playing two or three times a week. Stuff like Papa’s or jazz?
CL: No, not all jazz, though that’s what I most like doing. I am also in a band called Night Train which is mostly rock and soul.
TP: Would you fancy playing live up North, maybe at the Riverside?
CL: If the money was there. But it’s a long way from Norfolk and the band is big. It wouldn’t be cheap!
TP: Where can we find more of your music?
CL: Pigbag.com is the fan site with lots of history. Pigbag.co.uk has links to the music.
TP: Thanks. See you around.
CL: I enjoyed it. Good luck to Middlesbrough this season. I hope there’s plenty of goals and reasons to play Papa’s a lot!
The band was formed in Cheltenham in 1980 and landed their first gig, supporting The Slits, in Bristol. They played a twenty-minute version of what was to become ‘Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag’ and the next day were invited to record the track for Y Records. At this point they adopted the name Pigbag, in reference to a band member’s scruffy cloth bag bearing a screen-printed warthog. (Thank you Wikipedia, for this bit). The band calls the tune Papa’s.
I arrived in Middlesbrough in 1982, just as the tune hit the charts. I watched many games at Ayresome Park but I can’t recall if a version of Papa’s was played then. But I do recall the Samba music which we heard much later, at the Riverside, after the arrival of Boro’s Brazilian stars including Juninho. Maybe this sparked the playing of Latin brass sounds, including Papa’s. I enjoyed many seasons at the Riverside but will never forget taking a small drum to some matches during the Samba Season.
During almost twenty years in Teesside I developed my musical tastes and enjoyed jazz in local venues including the Dovecot Arts Centre, the Bluebell Inn on Acklam Road and The Inn Off the Park on Linthorpe Road. I have fond memories of the 80 and 90s, listening to the Bob Peacock trio and the more abstract sounds of Stuart Johnson.
I now live in Norwich. A few weeks ago, I was enjoying an evening at a local jazz club, and chatted with a trumpet player. His name is Chris Lee and he told me of his youthful musical beginnings, when he was the trumpeter in what became ‘Pigbag’. Yes, it’s his trumpet you can hear whenever Boro score!
I was blown away. I asked Chris if he knew that the tune is a legend in Middlesbrough - and that football fans in their thousands have adopted it as their goal celebration tune, especially at Boro and QPR. I said there was probably a statue to him somewhere. He laughed.
A few weeks later I interviewed Chris for FMTTM.
Trevor Phillips: So, how did the Papa’s tune come about? Did you help to write it?
Chris Lee: Yeah, we all did. A group of us just jammed together. We didn’t read or write music. We weren’t trying to make a hit single, it was a complete accident. It wasn’t structured, anyone could do anything. A basic groove held it together. Everything was credited to everyone because it came out of an improvisation.
TP: I have seen your band was described as post-punk, is that accurate?
CL We thought it was Jazz Punk. We were one of the first bands to play with percussions and horns, as opposed to guitars and synthesisers. Until near the end we were instrumental, not restrained by song structures. There was no lead singer, so it was more of a collective.
TP: When did you first play the trumpet?
CL: I was about 19, just before the band started. Trumpet is a hard instrument. I didn’t really know how to play it. That was the punk influence. In that era people said ’just get up and do it’ which was great.
TP: Did your school help you with music?
CL: No I hated music at school, it was all classical. I applied to study music after school but I wasn’t accepted because I didn’t read music then.
TP: Who were your personal musical influences?
CL Charlie Parker is the big one. Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, Herby Hancock and jazz-funk stuff and avant-guarde stuff like Sun Ra, from Philadelphia. For the band there was the influence of Dub Reggae, coming from Bristol: three of us were from Cheltenham and two from Bristol. Two of the band were from Birmingham and we also became influenced by Two-tone: we once supported the Specials. James Brown was a big influence. He was influenced by what’s called Modal music and he played a lot of this. We could follow that style, partly because we didn’t know what chords were and couldn’t play them.
TP: Once you’d been noticed you were quickly on tour. Where did you tour beyond the UK?
CL: Yeah, within two months we were on the road. We went to New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, San Francisco. And we were quite big in Japan. We were the backing track to an advert with tennis player Bjorn Borg riding a Honda motorbike. And, in the corner of the ad was the credit: ‘Music by Pigbag’, which was great for us. We also played some sit-down audiences but one became a bit of a melee, when security people tried to stop the dancing.
TP: Did you enjoy being on Top of the Pops?
CL: No, it was horrible. It was so false and didn’t feel right. We didn’t want to be there. The band didn’t set out to do pop music. Also, the dancing kids weren’t treated very well.
TP: How did audiences at gigs respond to Papa’s?
CL: Well, we usually played it at the end of the set and audiences were really into it. Even in 2016 and 2021. There are 7 inch and 12 inch versions of the number, but it’s mainly that famous riff that people respond to.
TP: Do you follow football at all?
CL: A bit. I was in North London for a time, and I was kind of an Arsenal fan during the Invincibles era. It was great time. I followed all the England games recently.
TP: What do you think of the version of Papa’s played at the Boro? It’s a mix by a DJ, not done by performing musicians, isn’t it?
CL: It’s alright. Unless they used a synthesiser, the sound of the trumpet comes from me. About three different DJs did versions of it, I think Perfecto Allstarz did the first one. Someone else released it under their own name and we took legal action to stop that. All the versions produce some writing royalties for us. Anyone playing the music is probably paying the Performing Rights Society something, which still buys me the odd beer. Thanks Boro!
TP: Does the original band still exist? Do you play Papa’s on tour?
CL: The original band was 1980-83. Around 2011 to about 2016, some of us played together occasionally. Lots of the original band don’t play music now. One is graphic designer, one is a recluse and so on. In 2021 an agent asked me if we were interested in playing three gigs at a festival called Lets Rock, based in Edinburgh, Liverpool and Reading. It was a sort of retro-80s feel, with Jason Donovan, Wet Wet Wet, OMD. I did a 20 minute set, with other pals..
TP: Overall, how do you describe your life with Papa’s?
CL: We were a One-Hit-Wonder band. It doesn’t bother me, if you have one hit it’s one more hit than others have. We were lucky. Some of the tracks on our albums were better than Papa’s.
TP: You are still playing two or three times a week. Stuff like Papa’s or jazz?
CL: No, not all jazz, though that’s what I most like doing. I am also in a band called Night Train which is mostly rock and soul.
TP: Would you fancy playing live up North, maybe at the Riverside?
CL: If the money was there. But it’s a long way from Norfolk and the band is big. It wouldn’t be cheap!
TP: Where can we find more of your music?
CL: Pigbag.com is the fan site with lots of history. Pigbag.co.uk has links to the music.
TP: Thanks. See you around.
CL: I enjoyed it. Good luck to Middlesbrough this season. I hope there’s plenty of goals and reasons to play Papa’s a lot!
