Hamming it up: The Pink Floyd balloon pig hovers over Battersea Power Station todayPink Floyd's iconic flying pig has made a comeback - 35 years after it caused chaos by escaping into the skies over London.
A new 30-foot, helium-filled balloon floated high above Battersea Power Station to mark the reissue of the band's 14 studio albums.
But unlike its famous predecessor, this pig remained firmly tethered to the ground.
Sow big: The 30ft monster is firmly tethered, unlike the original which escaped over London in 1976 and caused chaos The original balloon, Algie - designed by band founder Roger Waters - broke free from its moorings during a photo shoot for the cover of the hit album Animals in 1976.
Plans had been made to fly Algie over Battersea on the first day of the three-day shoot, with a marksman ready to blast it out of the sky if things went wrong, but the pig was not launched.
On the second day, organisers had forgotten to book the marksman - and Algie made its bid for freedom. A strong gust of wind snapped the tether and the pig shot skywards, drifting off south over London.
Double take: The original Animals album cover from 1977 (left) and the new shoot on MondayThe pig disappeared from sight within five minutes and was soon spotted by startled airline pilots at 30,000 feet.
Flights to and from Heathrow Airport were cancelled as Algie flew through the path of passenger aircraft. The balloon headed out towards the coast before crash-landing at a farm in Kent that night.
The pig was recovered and repaired so the photo-shoot could resume. but by the time he was brought back to Battersea, the cloudless, blue sky was deemed too 'boring'. So what Floyd fans eventually got was a composite picture.
The way they were: Floyd together at Live 8 in 2005 (from left) Dave Gilmore, Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Rick Wrightsource: dailymail
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