Originally called "Arabicus Pulp" (although they shortened it to Pulp within a year), the band achieved sudden success some thirteen years after their formation and became known during the Britpop era as much for their music as for frontman Cocker's antics (notably conducting a stage invasion during Michael Jackson's performance of Earth Song at the 1996 BRIT Awards).
Achieving little success off the back of a Peel session in 1981, Pulp were finally able to release their debut album, It, in 1983. This album and its 1986 follow-up, Freaks, showcased a Pulp keen on Nick Drake (notably on the It single, My Lighthouse), with strong folk roots and little sign of the tendencies for storytelling and acid house music which would eventually bring forth success.
After the release and commercial flop of "Freaks", the band disbanded for a year, but reformed a year later to record a third album, Separations. Delayed for three years after its recording, Separations showed Cocker's increasing exposure to acid house, featuring multiple synths, and a hit single, My Legendary Girlfriend, which helped Pulp's career start to rocket.
Their next single, Babies, which would eventually feature on their 1994's commercial breakthrough His 'n' Hers, and it was the first example of the Pulp-sound most listeners associate with the band--cheap synths, rolling guitars, and Cocker's deadpan vocals telling a story. "His 'n' Hers" in sound, was lumped in with the Britpop movement of the time, receiving commercial and critical acclaim. However, it was the 1995 single Common People, which finally saw them become known, eventually charting at number 2 in the UK charts. Awash with Britpop guitars, catchy keyboard lines and that trademark Cocker vocal performance it has remained a favorite. A successful appearance at Glastonbury that summer cemented their fame, and their success was subsequently confirmed by the release of Different Class, which arrived at the peak of the Britpop movement and featured this song and other UK hits as Disco 2000 and Sorted for E's & Wizz.
Their last two albums, 1998's darker This Is Hardcore, -an album that marked the end of the Britpop era- and 2001's more downbeat We Love Life were commercial successes, but Pulp were no longer as famous or trendy as they had been in the height of Britpop. Following their curation of a music festival, Auto, in 2002, the band announced that they would be embarking on an "indefinite hiatus".
In 2003, Jarvis Cocker released an album as Relaxed Muscle and then two solo efforts, 2006's Jarvis and 2009's Further Complications.
On 8th November 2010, it was announced that the band with its most relevant lineup will reform to play a series of gigs in summer 2011.
Discography:
It 1983
Freaks 1986
Separations 1992
His 'n' Hers 1994
Different Class 1995
This Is Hardcore 1998
We Love Life 2001
Official website:
http://www.pulppeople.com
Disco 2000
Pulp Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Our mothers said we could be sister and brother
Your name is Deborah (Deborah)
It never suited ya
And they said that when we grew up
We'd get married, and never split up
Oh, we never did it, although I often thought of it
Your house was very small
With wood chip on the wall
When I came 'round to call
You didn't notice me at all
And I said, "Let's all meet up in the year 2000
Won't it be strange when we're all fully grown?
Be there two o'clock by the fountain down the road"
I never knew that you'd get married
I would be living down here on my own
On that damp and lonely Thursday years ago
You were the first girl at school to get breasts
And Martyn said that you were the best
Oh, the boys all loved you, but I was a mess
I had to watch them try and get you undressed
We were friends, that was as far as it went
I used to walk you home sometimes but it meant
Oh, it meant nothing to you
'Cause you were so popular
Deborah, do you recall?
Your house was very small
With woodchip on the wall
When I came 'round to call
You didn't notice me at all
And I said, "Let's all meet up in the year 2000
Won't it be strange when we're all fully grown?
Be there two o'clock by the fountain down the road"
I never knew that you'd get married
I would be living down here on my own
On that damp and lonely Thursday years ago
Do it
Oh, yeah
Oh, yeah
Now Deborah, do you recall?
Oh, your house was very small
With wood chip on the wall
And when I came 'round to call
You didn't notice me at all
And I said, "Let's all meet up in the year 2000
Won't it be strange when we're all fully grown?
Be there two o'clock by the fountain down the road"
I never knew that you'd get married
I would be living down here on my own
On that damp and lonely Thursday years ago
Oh, what are you doing Sunday, baby?
Would you like to come and meet me, maybe?
You can even bring your baby
Ooh ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
What are you doing Sunday, baby?
Would you like to come and meet me, maybe?
You can even bring your baby
Ooh ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
In Pulp's song Disco 2000, the singer reminisces about a girl named Deborah whom he knew growing up. They were born within an hour of each other, and their mothers said they could be brother and sister. However, the singer never saw Deborah as a sister as he often thought about them getting married when they grew up. The singer describes Deborah's home, with its small size and wood chip wall, and how she never noticed him. He also points out how Deborah was popular and the boys all loved her, but he was a mess and couldn't compete. The singer reminisces about how they were just friends and nothing more.
The chorus consists of the singer proposing they all meet up in the year 2000 when they would be fully grown. He never expected Deborah to get married and him to be living alone on a rainy Thursday. The song ends with the singer asking Deborah to meet up with him and to bring her baby along.
The lyrics to Disco 2000 are a nostalgia-filled look back at what could have been. The song is essentially about teenage longing and the idea of “the one who got away." The singer, although he never acted on his desires, imagines a life with Deborah and still has feelings for her. Overall, the song is a reflection on the bittersweet memories of youth and growing up.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, we were born within an hour of each other
We have the same birth hour.
Our mothers said we could be sister and brother
Our mothers thought we are like siblings.
Your name is Deborah (Deborah)
Your name is Deborah.
It never suited ya
But Deborah does not suit you.
And they said that when we grew up
And they thought that when we grew up
We'd get married, and never split up
We would get married and never separate.
Oh, we never did it, although I often thought of it
But we never did, even though I thought about it.
Oh, Deborah, do you recall?
Oh Deborah, do you remember?
Your house was very small
Your house was tiny.
With wood chip on the wall
The walls had wood chips.
When I came 'round to call
When I came to visit.
You didn't notice me at all
You didn't pay any attention to me.
And I said, "Let's all meet up in the year 2000
And I suggested we meet up in the year 2000.
Won't it be strange when we're all fully grown?
Won't it be weird when we're all grown up?
Be there two o'clock by the fountain down the road"
Meet at the fountain down the road at 2 o'clock.
I never knew that you'd get married
I didn't know you would get married.
I would be living down here on my own
But I would be living here alone.
On that damp and lonely Thursday years ago
On that dreary and solitary Thursday many years ago.
You were the first girl at school to get breasts
You were the first girl in school to grow breasts.
And Martyn said that you were the best
And Martyn thought you were the best.
Oh, the boys all loved you, but I was a mess
All the boys liked you, but I was a wreck.
I had to watch them try and get you undressed
I had to see them try to undress you.
We were friends, that was as far as it went
We were friends, and that was the extent of it.
I used to walk you home sometimes but it meant
I used to walk you home sometimes but it didn't mean much.
Oh, it meant nothing to you
It didn't mean anything to you.
'Cause you were so popular
Because you were so well-liked.
Now Deborah, do you recall?
Now Deborah, do you remember?
Oh, what are you doing Sunday, baby?
Oh, what are you doing Sunday, honey?
Would you like to come and meet me, maybe?
Would you like to come and meet me, perhaps?
You can even bring your baby
You can even bring your child.
Ooh ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Candida Doyle, Jarvis Branson Cocker, Mark Andrew Webber, Nick Banks, Russell Senior, Stephen Patrick Mackey
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
George Kay
About time this version was made available on Spotify!
Kyle Rickards
Is it not there?
George Kay
Kyle Rickards I don’t think so. I don’t know if it’s a copyright issue or it simply hasn’t been released by choice.
Kyle Rickards
@George Kay Shame
moomoo22
it's just recently been put onto spotify, along with a whole load of other pulp songs and EPs that weren't previously available!!
George Kay
@moomoo22 Indeed! I was over the moon when they announced it haha.
Ernesto Medina
I think this version makes the song complete, I hate that the album version misses the "But now it's all over.." which is the climax of the song. It finishes the story and it's whispered in a way which only Jarvis can do. The only thing I'm missing in this version are the chimes on the chorus, a nice touch that I prefer to those backing voices on the chorus.
Antarctic Apes
Single > album version.
The mixing in this far more superior!!! Shame it’s not on streaming platforms except Youtube!
I Hate Unicorns
Far superior to the album version.
carlosoliva2007
it certainly is and I cannot seem to find it in spotify