The pig paper 1975–1987

The pig paper is cited as Canada’s first self-published music fanzine. Co-founded in 1975 by the writer, record producer, filmmaker, singer, and songwriter Gary Pig Gold, its first issue was styled as a mock concert program for a gig in Toronto that year by The Who, while the third issue took a similar format for a 1977 concert by The Kinks. As it developed, the zine provided coverage of the punk and indie scenes in Canada and beyond, combining parody and serious analysis. For instance, the fifth issue (August 1977) included an interview with the Ramones, conducted after a performance in Toronto. In 1978, the offshoot Pig Records emerged, releasing a single by the Canadian rock group Simply Saucer. Later issues took a newsletter form with mock headlines like "John Lennon has come back as a crow!", but The pig paper continued over 32 issues until December 1987.