The Swinging Swine
Reading this post moved me to dig out this track. I saw Galway band The Swinging Swine a few times in Limerick and remember being enchanted by the rather elusive female singer with an amazing voice. This song sums up what the band for me were all about and really has stood the test of time. Enjoy..
Them Ghosts Do Come (Demo) [1988?]
Updating 12th July 2009..
I hope readers of this post visit the excellent entry on the band at the Irish Punk & New Wave discography but since this has been one of the most visited posts on this blog I figured I’d better add a few more details. It turns out The Swinging Swine had their fair share of artistic turmoil and the band I saw circa 1987-89 was but one of a number of incarnations. Originally formed by Eamonn Dowd, Doug Steen, Joe Wall and Seamus Sullivan The Swinging Swine were soon joined by Joanne Loughman on vocals and Hugh O’Carroll on fiddle with John Lalor replacing Joe Wall who was busy with The Stunning. The band did release a version of the above track on an EP in 1990 and another version on the ‘Flick’ movie soundtrack. Joanne Loughman & Hugh O’Carroll went on to form their own band The Glee Club releasing an EP on Setanta in 1993 and then an album ‘Mine‘ in 1994 which was licensed by 4AD in the U.S. Since the mid 90’s Eamonn Dowd has been touring and recording as Eamonn Dowd & The Racketeers.
The Fanning Sessions Archive 
May 15, 2009 at 5:35 pm
oh my god!!! i have been trying to chase the swinging swine down for so long! It is a distant memory but i have never forgot joanne’s voice.
bless you!!! any more???
May 22, 2009 at 9:35 am
I don’t think I have anything else but will update as I trawl though the cassettes…
May 22, 2009 at 5:44 pm
Oh my god I just found this, I loved the Swinging Swine I used to go everywhere to see them on my Vespa(I had their name painted on the sides etc) iIthink Joanne used to be sick of me hanging around. I have a few songs on cassette tape and a coulpe of songs on video somewhere !
May 23, 2009 at 9:44 am
hehe yeah i was totally obsessed with her too… please try to get those songs and videos on the net…..does anyone know where she is now? seems like she disappeared
July 12, 2009 at 5:17 am
Thanks for the memories, i heard some mention of the Swinging Swine on public radio here in the Washington D.C area I was curious to see if it was Doud and company after all these years .
July 17, 2009 at 9:56 pm
Great band.
I got the EP when it came out – I’ve uploaded it and its available at the following link:
http://www.divshare.com/download/7932834-f83
September 17, 2009 at 10:24 pm
great 2 hear it again! hav a bootleg tape buried in attic .did a fanning in 86/87.still sounds fresh.
November 27, 2009 at 10:11 pm
This is mad!!! I played drums on this. I haven’t heard or thought about The Swinging Swine in years.
November 28, 2009 at 1:01 am
Wow, that brings me back to Dun Laoghaire c.1990 – I was in love with the singer and the whole band. I remember going into a second-hand record store and asking for their latest – and being told that they were broken up. Truly, this song – and people’s memories – was something they can be proud of.
November 28, 2009 at 12:47 pm
wow, what a memory! cheers 🙂
December 2, 2009 at 10:15 pm
to be proud of – for sure! – and you know, if the swine hadn’t been, neither would a lot of things.. like certain blogs for example.. ha ha.
Contrary to what I say on my post about getting it down on tape, this is a great recording of that Swinging Swine energy, in fact this is ALL Joanne, belting it out. It’s much wilder than the version on the EP. thanks for posting this one.
December 2, 2009 at 11:44 pm
[…] and we’ve been honoured by John’s presence here on the comments and also Seamus over on Fanning Sessions. Hope you […]
August 19, 2010 at 11:02 am
Eamon Dowd is back in town with the Racketeers, playing The Cobblestone Saturday 21st August at 9pm.. http://theracketeers.com/
February 18, 2011 at 9:04 pm
Someone has posted a lo-fi version of The Swinging Swine performing on what looks like Borderline here
May 17, 2011 at 9:45 am
Looks like there could be news on the unreleased Swinging Swine music front. More here http://auldtapes.wordpress.com/2011/05/17/john-maguire-feeding-his-pigs
November 6, 2013 at 5:53 pm
Joanne features on ‘Bigger Picture’ the last track of David Long’s (Into Paradise) solo album http://youtu.be/I81JHPkC1rQ?t=47m27s
January 11, 2014 at 5:25 pm
Peter Murphy from Galway replaced Joe Wall on bass, not John Lalor.
January 24, 2014 at 8:42 pm
Posted 1988 Fanning session here https://fanningsessions.wordpress.com/2014/01/24/the-swinging-swine-1988-session/ Rob is the lineup correct?
April 30, 2015 at 8:47 pm
I have searched so many times for this song. It’s a weird feeling right now. I had their TV performance on an old VHS that my mother taped over to record something like Corination Street a few nights later. I was so pissed off. This song has haunted me since ’88 and I am commenting here before I have clicked the play button and I can STILL recall and sing the line “He, he could not wait, time had told him to go:
If I got that wrong and it’s only close to right then understand my thrill. I wonder how that lovely girl singing is doing today…
Please use my website if you can update me on these guys….
March 21, 2016 at 3:22 pm
[…] one, alongside other Galway bands like The Swinging Swine and The Little Fish, they were the very antithesis of The Sawdoctors, another independent-minded and […]
August 8, 2018 at 10:44 am
i have not 1 but 2 12″ vinyl singles of this song as eamonn was my neighbour & friend
April 23, 2020 at 10:24 am
I am a Canadian who discovered them years ago when their Nick Drake cover of Voice From The Mountain completely won me over with its beauty and magical arrangement and Joanne’s voice. I know they had a brief life but I want to know all about them!s