Pulp formed in Sheffield in 1978 around Jarvis Cocker, then spent over a decade in obscurity before becoming one of Britpop's defining bands. Different Class (1995) — home of Common People and Disco 2000 — won the Mercury Prize, and the darker This Is Hardcore (1998) is the connoisseur's pick. Explore Pulp vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Pulp formed in Sheffield, England in 1978 as Arabicus Pulp by Jarvis Cocker and school friends. The band's name was shortened to Pulp by 1980 (Cocker attributing the name to the term used by his geography teacher). They are widely cited as one of the foundational acts of the 1990s British Britpop movement alongside Blur, Oasis, and Suede. Despite their formation in 1978, they remained obscure for over a decade before signing with Island Records in 1993 and achieving commercial breakthrough with His 'n' Hers (1994), Different Class (1995), and This Is Hardcore (1998). Their 1995 album Different Class - featuring the international singles Common People, Sorted for E's & Wizz, and Disco 2000 - became one of the defining documents of the 1990s Britpop movement and won the British Mercury Prize in 1996. The band went on hiatus from 2002 to 2011, with Jarvis Cocker solo work in the interim. They have reformed and dissolved multiple times since. Bassist Steve Mackey died on March 2, 2023 at age 56. The remaining band reformed in 2023 (with Andrew McKinney on bass) for touring and released the 2025 LP More - their first new studio album in 24 years.
Pulp's sound is foundational to Britpop as a recognized genre - combining Britpop, art rock, indie pop, alternative rock, glam rock, and dance-rock with Jarvis Cocker's distinctive vocal delivery (use of theatrical, observational lyrical content), use of synthesizers and atmospheric production, and lyrical content addressing class, sexuality, English suburban life, and broader contemporary social observation drawing on English social realist songwriting traditions.
Original Fire Records and Island Records pressings of the Pulp catalog are foundational items in Britpop and broader rock collecting.
Listeners new to Pulp typically start with Different Class (1995) or This Is Hardcore (1998).
