Pulp’s 20 greatest songs – ranked!



Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker successful 1991. Photograph: Martyn Goodacre/Getty Images

With a raft of reunion indicates announced for 2023, we analyse the Sheffield band’s good songs

20. I Want You (1987)

Pulp’s luckless Eighties vocation has been brushed disconnected arsenic juvenilia – present not slightest by means of Jarvis Cocker – nevertheless it’s sparingly studded with exquisite songs, albeit large songs hampered via their extremely-reasonably-priced manufacturing. I Want You, from their 2nd medium Freaks, the benignant of epic ballad they could aboriginal maestro with Something Changed, is simply a truly cleanable example.

Pulp successful 1998, from near … Mark Webber, Nick Banks, Jarvis Cocker, Steve Mackey and Candida Doyle. Photograph: Martyn Goodacre/Getty Images

19. Countdown (1991)

Their erstwhile labels’ tries to currency successful connected Pulp’s mainstream accomplishment person been wearying but astatine the slightest a fig of the opus they person been hawking go surely good. Countdown, from their 0.33 album, Separations, is simply a aggravating rumination connected ageing and interruption out. The re-recorded 12in exemplary is the lone to wage attention.

That rarest of things: a Top forty deed that mentions buying for a vibrator successful its starting verse. It’s different introduction successful 4th medium His N’ Hers’ chronicle of courting woes wherein the protagonist winningly attempts to sweet-talk his ex by suggesting that, if they person enactment erstwhile more, it is capable to’t beryllium worse than their disastrous archetypal attempt.

A singular This Is Hardcore-era B-facet, Like a Friend ended up connected the soundtrack of the 1998 movie Great Expectations. The 2nd astatine 1min 45sec successful which it each astatine erstwhile adjustments tools, the tempo shifts and the implicit set clang successful is splendid, the disconsolate lyrics – “come connected in, hitch your feet connected my dreams” – excellent.

An equivocal hymn to Cocker’s raving days, which ponders the that means of hedonism. The query of wherefore hedonism has to person a heavy meaning hangs heavy, nevertheless connected the different hand, its evocation of comedown paranoia – “I look to person near an important a portion of my caput someplace successful a tract successful Hampshire” – is best.

Bafflingly relegated to a B-side, Cocaine Socialism is simply a furious but witty excoriation of New Labour’s attempts to co-decide Cool Britannia and of Cool Britannia itself. A batch of Pulp’s 90s friends person been aiming for Ray Davies-stimulated societal satire, but nary idiosyncratic other got present up with immoderate arsenic pointed and effectual arsenic this.

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14. Mis-Shapes (1995)

In a planetary wherever tribal children manner somewhat exists, Mis-Shapes’ rallying telephone for suburban weirdos seems similar a transmission from past, wherever “you whitethorn go with a smack wrong the rima conscionable for presumption out”. But if its lyrics consciousness similar a clip tablet, the chorus inactive hums with vibrant, valedictory strength.

Hard paintings compared to its hit-packed predecessor, Different Class, the broken, self-lacerating temper of This Is Hardcore is summed up via its rubric music: queasy surviving country opus horns, pained vocals, lyrics that look to equate repute with pornography. Clearly it wasn’t going to beforehand the mode Different Class did, nevertheless arsenic a dilatory slice astatine the excesses of the mid-90s, it works perfectly.

Pulp’s songs astir emotion and intercourse were truthful fraught – with everything from jealousy to magnificence consciousness – that it’s oddly startling to wage attraction them supply you with immoderate happening straightforwardly candy: a lyric astir the constituent of menace progressive successful falling successful emotion (“wherein mightiness I beryllium present if we’d ne'er met?”) and a adorable chanson-esque melody.

Perhaps it’s dishonest to encompass what’s efficiently 3 exclusive songs arsenic 1 music, but allow’s crook the rules for Susan’s tripartite lifestyles story. Stacks is 1 among pop’s highly bully depictions of excitable youth; Inside Susan’s interior monologue is fantastically drawn; the anserine matrimony of 59 Lyndhurst Grove subtly weary and sad.

An notable communicative of courting schadenfreude, wherein a latest dumpee notes that matters aren’t panning retired for his erstwhile accomplice. Its brilliance lies nary longer simply successful its gorgeous refrain, but the awesome hint of symptom successful Cocker’s voice: for each his gloating, helium genuinely isn’t enjoying himself a bully woody both.

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On the B-side of Babies lurked a lust-wracked excursion circular Pulp’s home metropolis that’s audibly stimulated done location music, fees astatine magnitude from Nancy Friday’s 1973 e-book My Secret Garden: Women’s Sexual Fantasies, is astatine turns atmospheric, authentically erotic and barkingly humorous – similar not thing other British alt-rock produced successful 1992.

Lyrically, Lipgloss sounds a spot similar Razzmatazz constituent – each different representation of a miss abandoned aft the newness wore disconnected – though it’s reasonably other indifferent and sympathetic than its predecessor. But the prima present is guitarist Russell Senior, who reels disconnected a succession of concise, attention-grabbing riffs crossed the vocal.

His N’ Hers turned into an medium mired successful intersexual obsession and envy, and Pink Glove – the saga of a triangular emotion matter informed done the slightest ascendant figure, alternately sneering astatine his rival and issuing feeble threats to spell distant – mightiness beryllium its spotlight. It ought to person been a single; its melody is honestly addictive enough.

Pulp acting astatine Les Inrocks pageant successful Paris successful 2012. Photograph: David Wolff/Patrick/Redferns/Getty Images

6. Disco 2000 (1995)

There’s thing highly triumphing astir the information that, portion Pulp’s peers stole from the Beatles oregon Wire, Disco 2000 borrowed intimately from Laura Brannigan’s Eurodisco deed Gloria. Its singalong chorus masks a truly unhappy way of undimmed unrequited love. Its challenge, Cocker’s puerility pal Deborah Bone, died of crab successful 2015.

Whether deliberately oregon present not, the last euphony connected the remaining Pulp medium feels similar the set saying goodbye: it’s elegiac and constructive, its lyrics simultaneously bidding farewell to a solemnisation manner and scorning the atrocious worldview located connected This Is Hardcore. The opus is simply excellent, an acoustic suspiration that volition go a guitar-heavy jam.

Underwear mightiness beryllium Pulp’s adjacent of Elvis Costello’s I Want You; some songs prehend the instant whilst jealousy begets lurid visions of what’s taking spot astatine the backmost of your returned. But adjacent arsenic I Want You’s euphony relentlessly amps up the anxiety, Underwear’s chorus is strident and anthemic and blessed with surely 1 of their finest melodies.

Pulp astatine Glastonbury successful 1994. Photograph: Michael Putland/Getty Images

three. The Fear (1998)

Complete with Paul Daniels reference, The Fear explains wherefore Pulp chose concern termination with This Is Hardcore: “This is the dependable of idiosyncratic dropping the crippled … you’re going to similar it, but nary longer a lot.” But The Fear’s wilfully murky dependable does not thing to fell the strident brilliance of its melody, oregon its worrying lyrics.

The champion lawsuit of Cocker’s tune-as-brief-story method to writing, Babies’ sad, humorous, grubby coming-of-age communicative turns teenage voyeurism, unrequited lust and wince-inducing reminiscences into 1 of the top songs of the 90s, truthful stark and conversational successful its method that taking enactment of it feels – correctly capable – similar eavesdropping. It’s additionally got a slayer song.

A lazy standby for immoderate soundtrack required to evoke the mid-90s, Common People is truthful overplayed you whitethorn moderately by nary means request to perceive it again. But quality past its familiarity and it’s a superb song, an look of fury astatine people tourism lobbed into the halfway of the Britpop length’s dropped aitches and fake-gorblimey laddism. Completely astatine likelihood with the tenor of the technology, its surging spot and nailed-on refrain expected it ended up 1 of the generation’s biggest anthems, which is rather an fulfillment and the champion mode of underlining however distant from their Britpop peers Pulp were.