The Great Pink Floyd Pig Escape of 1977

The inflatable pig on the Animals tour wasn’t just a prop — it was a character. During “Pigs (Three Different Ones),” the ground crew would slowly raise the pig from behind the stage using tethers, making it drift over the crowd. The timing wasn’t automated; a stage manager watched Roger Waters and released the pig on a specific lyric cue. The pig’s movement was meant to mirror the song’s escalating tension — rising higher as the second verse hit, then hovering menacingly during Gilmour’s slide-guitar solo.

Then came the famous disaster. At the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on May 16, 1977, someone forgot to secure the tether. A strong Santa Ana wind caught the 40-foot inflatable pig and launched it into the night sky. It flew over the airport, where a pilot radioed the control tower about an unidentified flying object — a pig. Authorities tracked it to a field in Palmdale, 30 miles away. The band never got it back intact; locals reportedly tore it apart for souvenirs. Waters later said the escape was the most punk rock moment of the entire tour.