Matthew White
Matthew White is GWR’s long-time music consultant having previously worked on the long-running GWR British Hit Singles series (1977–2006). He also advises on some of our sport categories – namely tennis and cricket. Between 2009 and 2023, he has pored over an estimated 60,000 published records as proofreader for the world's best‑selling annual.
Largest reward for the return of a stage prop
During a solo performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at Indio, California, USA, on 27 April 2008, a special white version of Pink Floyd founder member Roger Waters’ (UK) giant inflatable pig – a regular fixture at live shows since the release of his band’s 1977 album Animals – broke free from its tethers and floated off into the night sky. Festival organizers offered a $10,000 (£5,034) reward and four lifetime Coachella tickets (potentially worth up to $36,900 or £18,577) for the safe return of the prop, which had been adorned with political messages, and even set up a dedicated email address for information relating to its whereabouts. The 12-m-long (40-ft) “capitalist” porker was found two days later as “crumpled heaps of shredded, spray-painted plastic” approximately 14.5 km (9 miles) away at the Hideaway Club in La Quinta, California.