The A to Z of Pulp
Introduction
The list you didn’t ask for but opened anyway.
One letter, one entry. No setup. No safety net. Just Pulp, alphabetised and flammable. You’re not here to learn. You’re here because it’s 1995 in your head, the ashtray’s full, and Common People still makes you feel seen and slightly attacked. Twenty-six entries. All still twitching.
A – Arabicus
Pulp’s original band name before settling on the moniker that stuck. Teenage ambition meets the Financial Times commodities index. Of course it does.
B – Nick Banks
Drummer since 1986. Kept the tempo while everything else bent sideways. Nephew of a World Cup legend. Never brought it up.
C – Jarvis Cocker
Louche lyricist, awkward magnet, reluctant sex symbol. The lanky silhouette behind every lyric that made you wince, then quote it anyway.
D – Different Class (1995)
The kitchen-sink masterpiece. Sex, class, resentment , all set to a disco stomp. Quadruple platinum and still smells like sweat and shame.
E – ELO (Electric Light Orchestra)
Orchestral glam excess. Referenced by Jarvis while talking vocoders and Sheffield electronics. The punchline to a very specific joke.
F – Fire Records
The label that noticed them, lost them, delayed them, defined them. Everything went wrong. That mattered more than when it went right.
G – Glastonbury Festival
The Roses dropped out, Pulp stepped in. "Sorted for E's" debuted, the nation twitched. Jarvis turned the Pyramid Stage into group therapy.
H – His 'n' Hers (1994)
All cheap perfume and unspoken tension. Glitter in the gutter. Mercury-nominated and desperate to be noticed. It worked.
I – It
The debut mini-album from 1983. Folkish, hesitant, quietly lovely. Like reading someone’s teenage diary and realising it's yours.
J – Michael Jackson
1996 BRIT Awards. Jarvis crashes the messiah act mid-“Earth Song.” A protest? A piss-take? Both. And a British pop culture reset.
K – Ken Patten
Sheffield recluse. Built a vocoder for 50p. Former pilot. Let teenagers record synth-pop in his carpeted front room. The weird uncle of their origin story.
L – "Lipgloss" (1994)
Spite in lipstick form. The opener to His 'n' Hers. Their first Top 50 hit. Still sounds like side-eye set to a beat.
M – Steve Mackey
Joined in ’89. Brought groove, style, vision. The band looked cooler and sounded meaner. Died in 2023. Left a hole no one can fill.
N – NME (New Musical Express)
Called the BRITs protest a “great publicity stunt.” Loved them, slagged them, needed them. Britpop’s co-conspirator and court jester.
O – Outsider Art
Jarvis’s obsession. Turned it into a documentary. Art with no polish, no audience, and no exit plan. It tracks.
P – Party Hard
Late-period sleaze. Disco with a death rattle. Sounded like someone smiling through clenched teeth. Still catchy, somehow.
Q – Q Awards
Best Live Act (1996), Best Album (1998), Inspiration (2012). The industry clapped eventually. Just took them a decade and a comedown.
R – Russell Senior
Violinist, guitarist, contrarian. Kept things weird, noisy, and necessary. Left when it all got too polished. Good instinct.
S – "Sorted for E's & Wizz" / "Mis-Shapes" (1995)
The double A-side that said everything. Rave come-downs, class warfare, eyeliner and exclusion. Scandal-bait and silver-certified.
T – This Is Hardcore (1998)
The comedown record. Fame as pornography. Orchestration as deflection. No one danced. That was the point.
U – "Underwear"
Track eight on Different Class. Quiet desperation. Skin, silence, the moment before someone leaves. Still lingers.
V – Venice
A maybe-title, maybe-joke. Probably both. Referenced once, remembered forever. Pulp’s relationship with truth in miniature.
W – Mark Webber
Fan-turned-guitarist. Started as their slide projectionist. Ended up holding the centre. Liked things angular, quiet, and correct.
X – XFM
"Pulp Hijack XFM". Transmitted: 30 August 1997. Pulp guest presented from 7–11pm on London’s newly licensed former pirate station. A takeover before the official launch, and very on brand.
Y – Yorkshire Content Fund
Backed Pulp: A Film about Life, Death & Supermarkets. Bureaucratic as hell. Still made you cry. Culture, paid for in triplicate.
Z – “Zhivago”
Played live once in 1981. Never recorded. Never mattered. Except it kind of does. The ghost of a band that nearly wasn’t.
That’s It. Time to Get Back to the Music
You just read 26 entries about Pulp without a ranking, hot take, or listicle. Go put on a record. Or don’t. The point is, they already knew you would.
