Saturday, October 21, 2006

The Police as Pigs

This is Ed Belchamber's cover of the "Special Pig Issue" of Oz magazine from May 1971. The pig is holding a copy of the infamous "Schoolkids Issue" of May 1970 which became the focus of a major obscenity trial in the U.K. The "Oz Three"--editors Richard Neville, Jim Anderson, and Felix Dennis--were ultimately convicted and sentenced to hard labor, although the verdict was overturned on appeal.

Interestingly, John Lennon and Yoko Ono organized the recording of a song by the Electric Oz Band to gain publicity for the case and raise funds for the defense. The resulting single (Apple Records 36) featured two tracks, "God Save Us" and "Do the Oz." John Lennon's original vocals on the A-side track were replaced by those of Bill Elliot (from Half-Breed and Splinter) for the 7" release.

See what happens when you start looking for the history of the association of pigs with police?


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