Cape Town lost one of its favourite sons this morning in the form of Hog Hoggidy Hogg frontman George Bacon.
George, along with the Hoggs, has been at the forefront of defining a unique Cape Town punk/ska music flavour in a post-1994 South Africa.
From first reading about them as a laatie in Blunt magazine in 1997, to sneaking into the old The Jam (now Mercury) as a 16-year-old a few years on to watch them play live, to seeing them headline Rock the River NYE festival 10 years later in 2012 and the next at Rocking The Daisies in 2013, I feel as though George and the Hoggs have been a part of my life for nearly 20 years. So I am shocked about the news of George’s untimely passing this morning. There have been no details released about what happened but frankly I do not want to know. George’s family have asked for privacy during this time, and it goes without saying we’ll respect that.
George’s contribution to the Hoggs has essentially helped define what is affectionately called porkrock, a mix of punk rock, ska, thrash, African and irie sounds, which has inspired and influenced the sound of other bands like The Rudimentals. Many an unforgettable Hoggs gig was led by George at Cape Town venues like the old Purple Turtle to as far aflung as Slovenia.
It was only this past Friday night at The Assembly that the Hoggs kicked off their comeback tour – to much admiration, respect and nostalgia, judging by the warm reception received on the event’s Facebook page.
This is not the first time tragedy has struck the band. One of the original members of Hog Hoggidy Hogg, Mybergie, was killed in 2008.
In George’s words from the track ‘So Long’: so long, so long sad to say goodbye / so long, so long ’til we meet again.
