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
P.T.A
Pulp Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
but would you like to stay
until next Saturday / or Sunday?
I'll give you your own room / it's next door to my room
and some time in the night / well, maybe I just might
Oh take your clothes off won't you please?
You don't have to talk to me / just leave the light on so I can see
You've got everything I need / Oh yeah
when your mother came to say / that you'd been taking days off school
I turned and looked at you, I said
"Yes, I understand / I'm gonna take this girl in hand."
Oh take your clothes off, one two three
No you don't have to talk to me / just leave the light on so I can see
You've got everything you need / Oh yeah
'Cause I've never had a woman before
I was too scared to touch the girls in the Poly
And I don't know what it's like to be young
'Cause all my life I've been knocking on forty
Oh yeah / Oh yeah / Oh yeah / Oh yeah
[Jarvis:] So if I / put my hand / on your bosom...
[Candida:] Yeah?
[Jarvis:] ...would that / give you an orgasm?
No that's not right / But, but if we / if we kissed with tongues
[Candida: giggles]
[Jarvis:] won't that / wouldn't that make / wouldn't that make you come?
Oh take your clothes off won't you please?
/ No you don't have to talk to me
just leave the light on so I can see / You've got everything I need
Oh oh oh / Just one touch was all it took
No you can't learn it from a book / Let's go upstairs and have a / look
Oh you've got everything I need / Oh yeah / Oh yeah, oh yeah
Oh yeah, oh yeah / Oh yeah / Hit me.
The song P.T.A by Pulp tells the story of an older man who meets a younger woman at a local P.T.A meeting. He is immediately attracted to her and offers to take her in and give her a place to stay. He also makes sexual advances towards her, telling her to take her clothes off while he watches, and asking her if he were to touch her bosom, would it lead to her orgasm. The woman seems to be unsure and giggles at his questions, but ultimately indulges in his advances. The song speaks to themes of power dynamics, age difference, and sexual exploitation.
At its core, P.T.A is about the manipulation of power dynamics between an older man and a younger woman. The man is portrayed as being in a position of power, one in which he can offer the woman a place to stay and take advantage of her sexually. The young woman seems to be unsure of what to do in this situation, but ultimately gives in to his advances. Jarvis Cocker, the lead vocalist of Pulp, has said that the song is not autobiographical but is a commentary on the attitude towards sex in the 1970s.
Line by Line Meaning
I know I'm getting on / and you're so very young / but would you like to stay / until next Saturday / or Sunday?
Despite the age difference, I'm inviting you to stay with me over the weekend.
I'll give you your own room / it's next door to my room / and some time in the night / well, maybe I just might
I'll provide you with your own room, and I might come and visit you at night.
Oh take your clothes off won't you please? / You don't have to talk to me / just leave the light on so I can see / You've got everything I need / Oh yeah
I want you to undress in front of me, and you don't need to interact with me as long as I can see you.
You know I can't forget / that special night we met / at the local P.T.A. / when your mother came to say / that you'd been taking days off school / I turned and looked at you, I said / "Yes, I understand / I'm gonna take this girl in hand."
I haven't forgotten the night we met at the P.T.A. meeting, where I promised to take care of you after finding out you were skipping school.
No you don't have to talk to me / just leave the light on so I can see / You've got everything you need / Oh yeah
Again, I don't want you to talk, just leave the light on so I can see you.
'Cause I've never had a woman before / I was too scared to touch the girls in the Poly / And I don't know what it's like to be young / 'Cause all my life I've been knocking on forty / Oh yeah / Oh yeah / Oh yeah / Oh yeah
I'm inexperienced with women, I was too scared to initiate with the girls in university, and I don't know what it's like to be young, because I'm almost 40.
So if I / put my hand / on your bosom... / Yeah? / ...would that / give you an orgasm?
Can I give you an orgasm by squeezing your breasts?
But, but if we / if we kissed with tongues / [Candida: giggles] / wouldn't that / wouldn't that make / wouldn't that make you come?
Wouldn't you be able to orgasm if we kissed with tongues?
Oh take your clothes off won't you please? / No you don't have to talk to me / just leave the light on so I can see / You've got everything I need / Oh oh oh
Repeating my request to undress, again no need to talk, just leave the light on.
Just one touch was all it took / No you can't learn it from a book / Let's go upstairs and have a / look / Oh you've got everything I need / Oh yeah / Oh yeah, oh yeah / Oh yeah / Hit me.
Just by touching you once, I know you're what I need. We should go upstairs now, as you have everything I need.
Lyrics © 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