Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag

"Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag" is an instrumental performed by British dance-punk band Pigbag. The instrumental was written by Chris Hamlin and James Johnstone before Pigbag was formed and produced by Dave Hunt and Dick O'Dell. In the United States, the instrumental was released as an import on the Rough Trade label, where it made it to number 56 on the US dance chart. A 1982 re-release of "Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag" went to number three in the United Kingdom. Several covers of the instrumental have been released, including popular versions by Perfecto Allstarz and Thunderpuss.

"Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag"
Single by Pigbag
Released	May 1981 (first release) March 1982 (re-issue)
Length	6:08 (12-inch version) 3:35 (7-inch edit)
Label	Y Rough Trade Fire
Songwriter(s)	Pigbag
Producer(s)	Pigbag Dave Hunt Dick O'Dell
Pigbag singles chronology
"Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag" (1981) "Sunny Day" (1981)

The piece's title is a play on the James Brown song "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag". Whilst the track is well known for its brass riff, the bassline of the track was also ranked by Stylus Magazine at number 40 in their 2005 list of the "Top 50 Basslines of All Time".^[1]

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1981–1983) Peak position Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[2] 26 Ireland (IRMA)^[3] 7 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[4] 8 Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[5] 6 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[6] 22 UK Singles (OCC)^[7] 3 US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)^[8] 56

Year-end charts Chart (1982) Position UK Singles (OCC)^[9] 50 Chart (1983) Position Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[10] 86 Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[11] 58

Perfecto Allstarz version

"Reach Up (Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag)"
Single by Perfecto Allstarz
Released	23 January 1995 (1995-01-23)^[12]
Length	3:40
Label	EastWest Perfecto
Songwriter(s)	Chip Carpenter Chris Lee James Johnstone Ollie Moore Roger Freeman Simon Underwood
Producer(s)	Paul Oakenfold Steve Osborne
Music video
"Reach Up (Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag)" on YouTube

On 23 January 1995, Paul Oakenfold released the track "Reach Up (Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag)", credited to Perfecto Allstarz. This version went to number six in the United Kingdom,^[13] topped the UK Dance Chart,^[14] and also charted in Australia, Ireland, the Netherlands and Switzerland.^[15][16][17]

Critical reception

In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton stated, "The track has lost nothing with time, a glorious catchy soul-funk instrumental that looks set to dominate dancefloors just as it did 13 years ago."^[18] Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "Britain's dance and remix culture started through Adrian Sherwood's productions of the Pop Group, to which family tree Pig Bag belonged. So recycling the 1982 instrumental "Papa's Got a Brand New Pig Bag" is only fair."^[19] James Hamilton from Music Week's RM Dance Update described it as a "Pigbag's braying brass from 1982 driven now by bursts of Goodmen-ish percussion like Postflix's 'Rototom', in organ and 'reach up' divas prodded 136.2bpm [track]".^[20]

Track listings

• 12-inch, UK (1995)

1. "Reach Up (Papa's Got a Brand New Pig Bag)" (Perfecto remix)
2. "Reach Up (Papa's Got a Brand New Pig Bag)" (Indian Summer remix)
3. "Zed's Dead"

• CD single, Europe (1995)

1. "Reach Up (Papa's Got a Brand New Pig Bag)" (radio edit) – 3:40
2. "Reach Up (Papa's Got a Brand New Pig Bag)" (Perfecto remix) – 7:02
3. "Reach Up (Papa's Got a Brand New Pig Bag)" (Indian Summer remix) – 6:47
4. "Zed's Dead" – 6:40

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1995) Peak position Australia (ARIA)^[15] 82 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)^[21] 18 Europe (European Dance Radio)^[22] 18 Ireland (IRMA)^[16] 7 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)^[23] 5 Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[17] 36 Scotland (OCC)^[24] 6 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[25] 49 UK Singles (OCC)^[13] 6 UK Dance (OCC)^[14] 1 UK Club Chart (Music Week)^[26] 7 UK on a Pop Tip Club Chart (Music Week)^[27] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1995) Position UK Singles (OCC)^[28] 63

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)^[29]	Silver	200,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Thunderpuss version

In 2001, Thunderpuss had a number-one dance hit on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart when they covered the track.^[30]

Charts

Chart (2001)	Peak position
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)^[30]	1

In popular culture

• Molly Mccann at UFC Fight Night 208 led the crowd in a chant of "fuck the Tories" using this riff.^[31]

See also

• List of Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play number ones of 2001

References

1. . Stylus Magazine. 4 October 2008. Archived from the original on 2 May 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
2. "Pig Bag – Papa's Got a Brand New Pig Bag" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
3. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
4. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 23, 1983" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
5. "Pig Bag – Papa's Got a Brand New Pig Bag" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
6. "Pig Bag – Papa's Got a Brand New Pig Bag". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
7. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
8. "Pigbag Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
9. Rees, Dafydd; Lazell, Barry; Jones, Alan (1983). "The Top 100 UK Singles". Chart File Volume 2. London, England: Virgin Books. pp. 80–81. ISBN 0-907080-73-1.
10. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1983". Dutch Top 40. from the original on 29 August 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
11. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1983" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. from the original on 14 February 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
12. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 21 January 1995. p. 31. (PDF) from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
13. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
14. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
15. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 216.
16. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Reach Up (Papa's Got a Brand New Pig Bag". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
17. "Perfecto Allstarz – Reach Up (Pig Bag)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
18. Masterton, James (29 January 1995). "Week Ending February 4th 1995". Chart Watch UK. from the original on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
19. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. 25 February 1995. p. 12. (PDF) from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
20. Hamilton, James (21 January 1995). "Dj directory" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 11. (PDF) from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
21. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 7. 18 February 1995. p. 19. (PDF) from the original on 15 July 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
22. "European Dance Radio" (PDF). Music & Media. 15 April 1995. p. 31. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
23. "Perfecto Allstarz – Reach Up (Pig Bag)" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
24. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
25. "Perfecto Allstarz – Reach Up (Pig Bag)". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
26. "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 14 January 1995. p. 6. (PDF) from the original on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
27. "The RM on a Pop Tip Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 18 February 1995. p. 8. (PDF) from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
28. "Top 100 Singles 1995". Music Week. 13 January 1996. p. 9.
29. "British single certifications – Perfecto Allstarz – Reach Up". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
30. "Thunderpuss Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
31. "UFC fighter Molly McCann leads crowd in "F**k The Tories" chant". JOE.co.uk. from the original on 30 July 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.