The flying pig is back at Battersea

[wfgodot]

Middling Pink Floyd fan here - Dark Side of the Moon? inescapable; anything with Syd on it? worth its weight in gold - so, regarding the second half of the Floyd's oeuvre, I'm, like, meh. Nevertheless, one of the finest cultural icons of our time, the flying pig, tethered at Battersea Power Station, is back with us. Here's hoping it escapes, like Algie in 1976, "(causing) chaos by escaping into the skies over London."

Pigs do fly! Iconic porker floats above Battersea power station again to celebrate 35 years of Pink Floyd album

Pink Floyd's iconic flying pig has made a comeback - 35 years after it caused chaos by escaping into the skies over London.

A new 30-foot, helium-filled balloon floated high above Battersea Power Station to mark the reissue of the band's 14 studio albums.

The original balloon, Algie - designed by band founder Roger Waters - broke free from its moorings during a photo shoot for the cover of the hit album Animals in 1976.
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Plans had been made to fly Algie over Battersea on the first day of the three-day shoot, with a marksman ready to blast it out of the sky if things went wrong, but the pig was not launched.

On the second day, organisers had forgotten to book the marksman - and Algie made its bid for freedom. A strong gust of wind snapped the tether and the pig shot skywards, drifting off south over London.

The pig disappeared from sight within five minutes and was soon spotted by startled airline pilots at 30,000 feet.

Flights to and from Heathrow Airport were cancelled as Algie flew through the path of passenger aircraft. The balloon headed out towards the coast before crash-landing at a farm in Kent that night.
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more, with pictures, at Daily Mail link above

 

[badhorsie]

I would have loved to have seen the original pig flying towards Kent, how utterly surreal

 

[wfgodot]

Good print interview with the Floyd's Nick Mason, erstwhile drummer and least-affected member:

Pink Floyd drummer rejects labels (CNN)