Biography

Introduction

Pulp were an English alternative rock band formed in Sheffield in 1978. They were originally known as "Arabicus Pulp," but this was shortened a year later. The members of Pulp were all schoolmates attending City Secondary School in Sheffield.

Throughout the 1980s, the band struggled to find success but gained prominence in the UK in the 1990s after the release of the albums His 'n' Hers, Different Class and This Is Hardcore. The latter two reaching number one spot in the UK Album Chart. Pulp's musical style in this successful era consisted of disco-influenced pop-rock coupled with "kitchen-sink drama"-style lyrics. This success led to the band and frontman Jarvis Cocker becoming major figures in the Britpop movement in the mid-1990s and also to two nominations for the Mercury Music Prize; in 1994 for His 'n' Hers and a win in 1996 for Different Class. Their 1995 single "Common People" reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart and in 2007 was voted number 3 in NME's's 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever. Later in 1995, they headlined the Pyramid Stage of the Glastonbury Festival. After their last album We Love Life in 2001, the band entered an extended hiatus. As of October 2003, Pulp had sold over 10 million records.

History

Early years: 1978 – 1983

A 15-year-old Jarvis Cocker and his friend Peter Dalton, who was 14, conceived the band at The City School in Sheffield. Cocker's original preference was to name the band after the film Pulp though it was decided that this was too short. Instead, the two took inspiration from a copy of the Financial Times which listed the Arabicas coffee bean in its commodity index. Cocker and Dalton used this, with a slight spelling change, and the band became 'Arabacus'. Early rehearsals took place in Cocker's house and featured Cocker, Dalton and Dalton's younger brother Ian. The band grew tired of the name and added Cocker's original suggestion, becoming 'Arabacus Pulp'. A fixed line-up was then established: Cocker, Dalton and two friends of theirs, David Lockwood and Mark Swift. The band played their first public gig at Rotherham Arts Centre in July 1980. Later in 1980, Cocker met future member, Russell Senior who recognised Cocker from his charismatic sales techniques in his part-time job at the local fish market.

Their musical style at this time was varied, approximately described as "a cross between Abba and The Fall". A local fanzine also noted this eclecticism, describing their sound "as if they listen to the John Peel show every night in an endless quest for influences". Indeed, in October 1981, they gave a demo tape to Peel, who granted them a Peel Session. The session was a giant leap forward for the young band, who became well-known on the local music scene as a result. The tracks recorded were in the typical Sheffield sound of the time (cf. The Human League and Comsat Angels): electronic New Wave and post-punk. These tracks were released in 2006 on The Peel Sessions compilation.

Despite the exposure on national radio, success was not forthcoming and, apart from Cocker, most of the core line-up left for university. Soon, a new set of musicians was gathered: Simon Hinkler (who later joined The Mission and produced All About Eve), David Hinkler, Wayne Furniss, Peter Boam, Gary Wilson, and Cocker's sister, Saskia Cocker. They managed to get enough local backing to record a mini-album in late 1982, entitled It (the title was a pun on pulp-it, as if they band were preaching to the audience), which was released in April 1983 by Red Rhino Records. This largely consisted of folkish, romantic pop songs influenced by Leonard Cohen and was a change of direction from the Peel Sessions a few years earlier. The album was later released by Cherry Red records.

It was not commercially successful and fame was elusive. Pulp continued to seek commercial success, even to the point of recording a single, "Everybody's Problem"/"There Was", which demonstrated a style shift advised by Red Rhino's Tony Perrin who had convinced Cocker that he "could write commercial songs like Wham!". This approach failed and Cocker became unhappy with his chosen musical direction. He was set to break up the band and go to university himself before a practice with Russell Senior (violin, guitar, vocals) and Magnus Doyle (drums) led to the band establishing a new, more experimental, artier, and noisier direction for Pulp. They were subsequently augmented by Peter Mansell (bass) and Tim Allcard (keyboards, saxophone, poetry).

Independent days: 1984 – 1991

The new reincarnation of Pulp survived a number of ill-fated gigs (including one at a rugby club at Brunel University which ended in a riot) before Allcard left to be replaced on keyboards by Magnus Doyle's sister Candida. Following her first performance with the band, they were signed to Fire Records. Soon after signing to Fire, in November 1985, Cocker fell out of a window while trying to impress a girl with a Spider-Man impression and ended up in hospital, temporarily requiring the use of an wheelchair in which he appeared during concerts. Pulp's relationship with Fire Records was tempestuous and Cocker admitted later that the band only accepted the deal as it "was the only offer on the table". During this period, the singles "Little Girl (With Blue Eyes)" and "Dogs Are Everywhere" were released (these were later included on the compilation album Masters of the Universe). These tracks were much darker in tone than those on It, and often veered towards the likes of The Fall in style.

Pulp's next major release was the album, Freaks in 1987. The album was recorded in one week due due to pressure from their label. This left Cocker irritated, remarking that "the songs could've been done a lot better if we'd have had a bit more time...". The release of Freaks ended up being delayed for a year, and the record was not well received. The album's dark style may be considered the antithesis of the happy and optimistic It. When Freaks failed to be a success, Pulp recorded tracks with FON, a Sheffield-based label. A single called "Death Comes To Town" was due to be released by FON in early 1988, but this relationship disintegrated and the release was cancelled. It was during this time that Cocker was taking a part-time foundation course at Sheffield Polytechnic. This led to him leaving for London to study film at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, effectively folding the band.

The fold was short-lived however. Steve Mackey, a regular at their Sheffield and London gigs, was also studying in London and was asked to join the band as a bass player. The line-up now consisted of Cocker, Mackey, Senior, Candida Doyle, Nick Banks (drums). In mid-1989, they began recording another album for Fire, this time with a bigger budget and production from Alan Smyth, called Separations. This was a progression of the style of Freaks, with Leonard Cohen-esque ballads on side one and a Acid House infused track-listing on side two. The disparate styles can be attributed to Cocker and Mackey's different and changing tastes; Mackey introduced Cocker to house music which led to them both going to raves, while Cocker introduced Mackey to "Scott Walker and Serge Gainsbourg". Like Freaks, the release of Separations was delayed, to an extent lessening the potential impact. In the meantime, however, in 1991, a 12" recording - "My Legendary Girlfriend" became music periodical NME's single of the week. Stuart Maconie described it in his review as "a throbbing ferment of nightclub soul and teen opera". Furthermore, "Countdown" began to be mentioned in the mainstream press, heralding a turning point in Pulp's quest for fame.

Commercial height: 1992 – 1996

Pulp's repertoire was growing rapidly. Tracks such as "Babies", "Space" and "She's a Lady" were being played live throughout 1991 and in October of that year, they played their first every overseas gig, a concert organised by French magazine Les Inrockuptibles. However, the band were still frustrated that Separations still had not seen a release and so Pulp left Fire and signed to Warp Records imprint, Gift Records in 1992. Buoyed by a changing musical current, in June 1992 Pulp released "O.U. (Gone, Gone)" on Gift while Fire finally released Separations in the same month. Melody Maker made "O.U" a single of the week alongside "The Drowners" by Suede, another prominent new band. The band then signed to Island Records, who jointly released (with Gift) the singles "Babies" and "Razzmatazz" to increasing chart success. Next were the singles "Lipgloss" and their first Top 40 hit "Do You Remember the First Time" which were put out as full Island releases. These singles were followed by the Ed Buller-produced album His 'n' Hers which reached No.9 in the UK charts and was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize.

This sudden increase in popularity was helped by the massive media interest in Britpop alongside acts such as Suede, Oasis and Blur, who supported the latter in a tour of the United States in 1994. 1995 saw the peak of Pulp's fame, with the release of their No.2 UK Hit single "Common People" in May 1995 and their performance in June at the Glastonbury Festival (standing in for the Stone Roses at the last minute). A double-a side single "Sorted for E's & Wizz/Mis-Shapes" was to precede the release of their next album, Different Class. Upon the release of Sorted for E's and Wizz, the Daily Mirror printed a front-page story headed "BAN THIS SICK STUNT" which called the song "pro-drugs" and called for the single to be banned. The single had an inlay which showed how to conceal amphetamines in a DIY 'wrap'. The wave of publicity created by this controversy helped the song reach number 2 in the UK Single Charts.

In October 1995, Pulp released Different Class. The album garnered significant critical praise and debuted at number one spot in the UK Album Chart. This was the first album featuring Pulp fan-club president Mark Webber, who became a permanent member of the band on guitar and keyboards. The album followed similar themes to their previous work with observances of working class life expressed through Cocker's sexualised, sometimes dark and witty lyrics. Other singles released from Different Class were "Disco 2000" (which peaked at #7), and "Something Changed" (peaking at #10). In 1996, Different Class won the Mercury Music Prize.

It was at this time that Cocker gained significant media exposure due to a prank at the infamous 1996 BRIT Awards, where he invaded the stage in protest during Michael Jackson's performance of "Earth Song" and "wiggled his backside" at the audience. After complaints by Jackson and his entourage, Cocker spent the night in police cells accused of assaulting the child performers. However, with Bob Mortimer acting as legal representation, he was released without charge. This incident propelled Cocker into great controversy in the UK and elsewhere, and the band's record sales soared as a result. The event also coincided with the beginning of their first arena tour and the Daily Mirror, who had attacked the band months earlier, set up a "Justice for Jarvis" campaign backing his actions and carried out a stunt at Pulp's Sheffield Arena gig on 29 February, handing out free T-shirts. The NME described Cocker's actions as a "great publicity stunt" which was "creative, subversive and very, very funny" while Melody Maker described Cocker as, "arguably the Fifth Most Famous Man In Britain" and suggested he should be knighted.

However, domestic attention was not equalled in the rest of the world, though they gained exposure in the US thanks to "Mile End", a song included in the 1996 Academy Award-nominated film Trainspotting.

Late career: 1997 – 2002

It was during this period of intense fame and tabloid scrutiny that long time member and major innovator in the band's sound, Russell Senior decided to leave the band saying "it wasn't creatively rewarding to be in Pulp anymore". The band were due to begin working on a new album in late 1996. However, Cocker was having difficulty with the celebrity lifestyle, battling cocaine addiction and a breakup of a long-term relationship. When the band came to begin work on the next album, they had only one song - "Help The Aged". This creative inertia meant the band took over a year to finish the next record. Indeed, it was Cocker's disillusionment with his long-desired wish for fame that made up much of the subject matter of the This Is Hardcore, which was released in March 1998. The album took a darker and more challenging tone than that of Different Class and lyrical topics - pornography (the title track), fame ("Glory Days") and the after effects of drugs ("The Fear") - were dealt with more earnestly than on previous records. This shift in style meant This Is Hardcore received mixed critical and commercial reactions. Also in 1998, Pulp collaborated with Patrick Doyle on the song "Like A Friend" for the soundtrack to the movie Great Expectations.

Pulp then spent a few years "in the wilderness" before reappearing in 2001 with a new album, We Love Life. The extended period between the release of This is Hardcore and We Love life is partly attributed to having initially recorded the songs which comprise the album and being dissatisfied with the results. Subsequent interviews also suggested interpersonal and artistic differences, including managing the fallout of the Britpop/Different Class era. Legendary singer/songwriter Scott Walker eventually agreed to produce the record and this symbolised a new phase in Cocker and Pulp's development. The record was lighter in tone to This is Hardcore and lyrically, songs reflected Cocker's recent interest in nature and perhaps escape from urban lifestyle e.g. "Trees", "Weeds" and "Sunrise".

Pulp subsequently undertook a tour of the National Parks in the UK, even playing a show as far North as Elgin in Scotland. Richard Hawley, the Sheffield based singer/songwriter was also present on various dates on this tour. In 2002 the band announced that they were leaving their label, Island. A greatest hits package was released: Hits with one new track. It is unclear whether this was the band's decision or released to satisfy contractual agreements. A music festival, Auto, was organised (held at Rotherham's Magna centre) where they played their last gig before embarking on a hiatus from the music industry from which they are yet to emerge.

On hiatus: 2002 – present

Cocker was involved in a number of one-offs and side projects, including the group Relaxed Muscle with Jason Buckle and the film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire where he fronted a group which included Steve Mackey and members of Radiohead. Also in 2007, Cocker appeared on Air's album Pocket Symphony giving vocals to the two tracks One Hell Of A Party and The Duelist. His first solo album Jarvis, with the participation of Mackey, was released to critical acclaim in November 2006. Mackey has also gone on to produce debuts for M.I.A. and The Long Blondes which were both critically well-received.

On 11 September 2006 the band re-released three of their albums (His 'n' Hers, Different Class, and This Is Hardcore), each with a bonus disc of B-sides, demos and rarities. On 23 October 2006 a 2CD set compiling all of Pulp's John Peel Sessions from 1982 to 2001 was released. In a March 2007 interview with magazine The Trip Wire, Cocker was sceptical about Pulp's future, saying he wasn't against it completely, but couldn't see a point in reuniting the band at the moment.

In June 2009, Cocker stated in an article in The Sun that he had no intention of reuniting the band but suggested that a financial incentive might sway him. He added that he would be watching how well Blur's comeback performances were received at the Glastonbury Festival.

Musical and lyrical influences

Pulp's unglamorous mix of musical styles, evident in their music videos, has often been described as forming part of the Britpop aesthetic. It is more likely a result of their public image, and the fact that working-class culture was more "alive" than most people thought.

Discography

References

Mark Sturdy, Truth & Beauty: The Story of Pulp (Omnibus Press, 2003) - comprehensive biography
Jean-Marie Pottier, Brit Pulp. La britpop selon Pulp, de Thatcher à Blair (Autour du Livre, 2009) - a French essay about the connections between Pulp and English popular culture of its time