Pulp (band)

Pulp are an English alternative rock band formed in Sheffield in 1978. Their lineup consists of Jarvis Cocker (vocals, guitar), Russell Senior (violin, guitar), Candida Doyle (keyboards), Mark Webber (guitar), Steve Mackey (bass) and Nick Banks (drums).

Throughout the 1980s, the band struggled to find success, but gained prominence in the UK in the mid-1990s with the release of the albums His 'n' Hers in 1994 and particularly Different Class in 1995, which reached the number one spot in the UK Albums Chart. Different Class spawned four top ten singles, including "Common People" and "Sorted for E's & Wizz", both of which reached number two in the UK Singles Chart. Pulp's musical style during this period consisted of disco influenced pop-rock coupled with "kitchen sink drama"-style lyrics. Jarvis Cocker and the band became major figures in the Britpop movement, and were nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 1994 for His 'n' Hers; they won the prize in 1996 for Different Class. They headlined the Pyramid Stage of the Glastonbury Festival twice.

Their next album, This is Hardcore, was not released for another three years. 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.

On 8 November 2010 it was announced that Pulp would return to playing live in 2011, with dates at the Isle of Wight Festival, Reading and Leeds Festivals, Primavera Sound, and the Wireless Festival. A number of additional concert dates have since been added to their schedule.

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 starring Michael Caine, 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. After finally deciding on "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 that year, 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 them as sounding "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 their 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. 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 the band were preaching to the audience This approach also failed and Cocker was becoming 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 establishment of 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 incarnation of Pulp survived a number of ill-fated gigs (including one at a rugby club at Brunel University which ended in a riot 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". The release of Freaks ended up being delayed for a year, and the record was not well received. The album's darker 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 an 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 NMEs 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 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. Pulp 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 on the UK Singles Chart, "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 (1994), which reached number nine on the UK Albums Chart and was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. The single had an inlay which showed how to conceal amphetamines in a DIY 'wrap'. Cocker released a statement two days later saying: "...'Sorted' is not a pro-drugs song. Nowhere on the sleeve does it say you are supposed to put drugs in here but I understand the confusion. I don't think anyone who listens to 'Sorted' would come away thinking it had a pro-drugs message." The single reached number two on the UK Single Charts. This incident propelled Cocker into great controversy in the UK and elsewhere, and Pulp'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.

In March 1996, a compilation of Pulp's early recordings on Fire Records entitled Countdown 1992–1983 was released on the Nectar Masters label. It received largely negative reviews, but due to the band's popularity at the time it reached the top 10 of the UK charts. Cocker, whose permission was not sought before release, urged fans not to purchase the album, comparing it to "a garish old family photograph album". 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". In a message sent to the band's official mailing list on 1 January 2011, Cocker said the large amount of interest in the band's reunion had been "an inspiration," and that he was pleased with how rehearsals were going.

The band announced 22 concerts between May and September 2011, taking place in Europe and Australia. Pulp are playing as Sub-headliners to The Strokes at Reading Festival and are headlining Leeds Festival during the bank holiday weekend in August.

Discography

It (1983)

Freaks (1987)

Separations (1992)

His 'n' Hers (1994)

Different Class (1995)

This Is Hardcore (1998)

We Love Life (2001)

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

Notes

External links

Pulp People - the band's official site, relaunched in 2010

Discography at acrylicafternoons.com

PulpWiki - a comprehensive user-generated resource for everything related to Pulp

Pulp Online - the band's official site, still online but dormant since 2003

Category:1990s music groups Category:2000s music groups Category:Britpop musical groups Category:English rock music groups Category:Music from Sheffield Category:Musical groups established in 1978 Category:Musical quintets