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But days after British auctioneers Durrants listed it as part
of a catalogue of inflatable props its maker was selling, Algie
is no longer on offer -- going back to the band instead.
The inflatable, which broke free during the 1976 cover shoot,
grounding flights at Heathrow airport, has been withdrawn from
sale after props builder Air Artists offered it to Pink Floyd.
"The pig is going back to Pink Floyd. They want it home again,"
Rob Harries, owner of Air Artists, told Reuters.
Durrants had listed Algie among Air Artists' works, used in
music concerts and promotions but now being cleared out, for its
Sept. 5-15 sale drawing coverage from numerous media outlets.
"We made a list of all the inflatables that we weren't going to
store anymore ... and the auctioneers jumped the gun a bit and
started publicizing the most iconic one," Harries said.
"I felt I'd better talk to Pink Floyd, which I duly did and they
duly wanted it back, unsurprisingly."
Harries said Algie, which has a "big split" but could be
repaired and displayed, would be returned to the group's
management company. "There's often lots of talk of a Pink Floyd
exhibition maybe this will be a spur for it to happen," he said.
Inflatables still in auction include Herman, the pig's head from
Roger Walter's 1990 "The Wall" concert in Berlin, and Freddie
Mercury and Brian May caricatures for Queen's 1986 "The Magic
Tour". Dominic Parravani of Durrants said the auctioneers had
"no idea" how much the items would fetch.
Air Artists, whose work has been used by AC/DC and Rolling
Stones, is selling the items as Harries, after some 40 years of
inflatable-making, now focuses clay and wax sculpture.
(Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
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