The making of 'Pigs (Three Different Ones)': how Roger Waters weaponized a talk box against Mary Whitehouse and Margaret Thatcher

The centerpiece of Animals, “Pigs (Three Different Ones)” was recorded at Pink Floyd’s own Britannia Row Studios in 1976. Roger Waters was in a particularly cynical mood, having just read George Orwell’s Animal Farm and seeing parallels in 1970s Britain. He aimed his bile at three specific “pigs”: morality crusader Mary Whitehouse, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (then opposition leader), and an unnamed third figure—likely a composite of capitalist fat cats.

The most striking element is Waters’ vocal, which goes from a tight, snarling verse to a distorted, almost robotic chorus. That gnarly, pitch-shifting effect came from a Heil talk box, the same device Peter Frampton made famous. But Waters used it differently: instead of melodic swoops, he dialed in a cold, disembodied sneer. The line “You gotta keep the loonies on the path” hits like a tape being stretched—it’s meant to sound like the pigs are dehumanizing themselves, not just their victims.

David Gilmour recorded his searing solo through a console that had been modified by the band’s techs, pushing the preamp into distortion. The solo pans violently between channels, mimicking the chaotic panic of a cornered pig. Waters added pig grunts and squeals from a real farm, then sped them up so they sounded almost human—a final nasty touch that blurs the line between animal and politician.