Pulp nearly ceased to exist. 24 years later, ‘More’ marks its triumphant return

by

Jarvis Cocker, 62, was recently browsing Portobello Road Market in London and found a suit he really likes. “I’m quite pleased with it,” he said on a Friday afternoon.

He recently acquired a pair of clogs, not for wearing, but simply because he finds them visually appealing. He jokes that his wife dislikes them, but he’s completely captivated by their design.

This outing is a welcome escape for Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker, coming just over two months after the band’s eighth studio album topped the U.K. charts. The new album, titled ‘More,’ marks their first release in over twenty years, following ‘We Love Life’ from 2001.

After more than two decades, Joe Cocker has discovered that making music is what truly brings him joy. While he cherishes time with his wife, he finds the most creative fulfillment in songwriting and performing.

Cocker began making music at about 15 or 16 years old, and he viewed starting a band as a way to experience the world while feeling protected.

Growing up, I was a pretty shy kid, and just talking to people face-to-face was always a struggle. But I found that being *on* a stage, speaking to an audience… that was different. It was a way to connect without the direct pressure, and it actually worked for me, surprisingly enough.

The band struggled to find success in its early years. Unlike bands like Blur, Oasis, and Suede, who all released their first albums in the early 1990s, Pulp had been making music since the 1980s.

The album was initially released as a short, eight-track mini-LP by Red Rhino Records, clocking in at just over 31 minutes.

The reaction to it was shockingly quiet,” Cocker recalls. “It just didn’t catch on… We did a few shows, but then the band broke up.

He was actually thinking about quitting music altogether and moving to Liverpool to study English. He’d been accepted into a program there, but just two months before it was set to begin, he received a phone call from Russell Senior.

He asked me what I was up to, and I told him I was quitting music because it wasn’t going well. We had a rehearsal with just the three of us – him, me, and Magnus Doyle, who later became Pulp’s keyboardist’s brother – and it felt really promising.

He distinctly recalls thinking to himself, “I’d rather not study English. I’ll stay in Sheffield and see what unfolds.”

The band members who would eventually become Pulp continued to struggle; they weren’t selling much music and weren’t getting much attention. Things didn’t start to improve until Jarvis Cocker went to film school at Central Saint Martins, took a break from Pulp, and then rejoined in 1991. That’s when they finally got a concert booking in 1992 and started to gain some momentum.

Later that year, the band gained recognition as part of the Britpop scene, landing a performance at a music festival in Paris with popular acts like Blur and Lush.

Music

Dave Rowntree’s photo book, ‘No One You Know,’ offers a glimpse into the beginning of the band Blur and the Britpop movement.

“It was like we had some friends at last,” he jokes.

The band released a string of influential albums over the next ten years, including “His ‘n’ Hers,” “Different Class,” and “This Is Hardcore,” all created within a four-year span.

He remembers that after feeling isolated and disconnected for so long, it was thrilling to suddenly be seen as part of something bigger – a movement, even if just initially.

You know, after we finally started gaining some real traction, especially with ‘Common People’ blowing up, the pressure was on to follow it up fast. We basically had to rush into the studio and record ‘Different Class’ to really take advantage of the momentum.

Things really started to change after Pulp put out “This Is Hardcore” in ’98. I remember reading interviews where Jarvis was questioning if he even *wanted* to be in a band anymore. It’s funny, because that’s when we, as fans, were really starting to notice him – the more popular he got, the more intensely everything felt, like all the attention was closing in on him.

He recalls that it unexpectedly placed him in an uncomfortable social environment, leaving him feeling torn and unsure how to react.

Shortly after the release of their album “We Love Life” in 2001, the band quietly broke up. Over the next two decades, Jarvis Cocker focused on a solo career and developed a diverse range of interests, moving away from the energetic lifestyle associated with Pulp.

Jarvis Cocker expanded into radio, hosting “Jarvis Cocker’s Sunday Service” on BBC Radio 6 Music. He also wrote an autobiography called “Mother, Brother, Lover,” and even appeared in the 2005 film “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” playing a member of the band the Weird Sisters. He performed alongside Jonny Greenwood, Jason Buckle, and Steve Mackey, the bassist from his own band, Pulp.

I’ve written a book and hosted radio shows, which I really enjoy. But for me, music is how I process my life experiences. I write songs about things that have happened to me, and I essentially turn those stories into musical dramas.

He says he’s loved music since he was very young, so being able to create his own music feels incredible.

After a long and passionate relationship with music, it was only natural that he’d eventually find his way back to Pulp, the band that first captured his heart.

When the band started recording “More,” Joe Cocker worried his bandmates would feel like they were facing a long and unpleasant task – almost like being sent to prison.

Honestly, I hesitated to suggest we make another album. Our last two, ‘This Is Hardcore’ and ‘We Love Life,’ were real labors of love – they took *so* long to finish, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to go through that again!

Just to give you some background, recording “This is Hardcore” took about three years. In contrast, “More” was recorded much faster – in just three weeks – and came out on June 6th.

He explains that they had some songs with potential that never quite came together. He also tried playing some newer material, and even songs he’d written previously, with his band, Jarvis, but they didn’t feel right.

What makes a song truly great is something you can’t force. Sometimes it comes together quickly, and other times it just doesn’t happen. We felt like we just got lucky, perhaps because we’d let the idea sit for a while before working on it.

He also attributes the album’s quick finish to working with producer James Ford, who has a long and successful track record with artists like Blur (“The Ballad of Darren”), Fontaines D.C. (“Romance”), and Black Country, New Road (“Forever, Howlong”).

Cocker explained that the recording environment was very comfortable and helped everyone feel at ease. He felt the material was fully prepared and ready to go, like ‘it was just ripe and ready to be enjoyed.’

Following his June album release, Cocker immediately began touring, playing shows throughout the U.K. and Ireland. In September, he brought the tour to North America, including two performances in Los Angeles.

Okay, so here’s the buzz: Pulp is sharing the stage with LCD Soundsystem at the Hollywood Bowl this Thursday and Friday, and the story of how that came about is wonderfully simple. According to Jarvis Cocker, the invitation to LCD Soundsystem was basically just, ‘We’re playing the Hollywood Bowl, wanna join us?’ And thankfully, Murphy said yes! It’s a refreshingly straightforward tale behind what promises to be an amazing show.

Things have been going pretty well for him, as he consistently stays true to himself. But what is Jarvis Cocker up to in 2025?

He pauses a moment before speaking.

He found it difficult to explain, but he realized he wanted to focus more on experiencing life through emotions rather than just thinking about it. He described it as an ongoing experiment, and said he’d share the results later.

Read More

2025-09-23 13:33