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
Paula
Pulp Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Your voice annoys me and your hair's all wrong, so wrong.
Oh and Paula, I don't like any of your friends.
Yes, and horoscopes just send me fast asleep.
Oh funny how we still spend the night together,
oh even though we don't see one thing the same.
But we still do it again. Oh yeah we do it again.
Oh Paula, I just can't get it through my head
how you can look so bad but be so good in bed. So good.
Oh funny how we still spend the night together,
oh even though we don't see one thing the same.
But still we do it again. Oh yeah we do it again, yeah.
Oh funny how we still spend the night together,
oh even though we don't see one thing the same.
And still we do it again. Oh yeah we do it again.
Oh now Paula. I think it's time that you should go.
Until tonight at least and then we can go to bed.
Let's go to bed.
Ooooooo. Ooooooo.
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la.
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la (x3).
Oh.
The lyrics to Pulp's song "Paula" tell the story of a dysfunctional relationship that somehow manages to continue despite the fact that the singer cannot stand anything about his partner Paula. He finds her voice annoying, thinks her hair is wrong, dislikes her friends, and falls asleep during horoscope readings. However, he admits that they still spend the night together, even though they see nothing the same. He even comments that he cannot understand how she looks so bad but is so good in bed. The ironic and humorous tone of the song suggests that perhaps the relationship is sustained only by sexual desire or habit, as the couple cannot seem to agree on anything else.
At its heart, "Paula" is a song about the complicated and messy aspects of love and relationships. Despite the fact that the singer dislikes almost everything about Paula, he is still drawn to her and cannot resist spending the night with her. The song speaks to the paradoxical nature of attraction and desire: why do we often find ourselves drawn to people who we know are wrong for us, who we do not even like? Pulp seems to suggest that perhaps there is something inexplicable, even magical, about this dynamic.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey hey Paula, I never thought we'd last this long.
Despite my initial doubts, our relationship has persisted longer than I anticipated.
Your voice annoys me and your hair's all wrong, so wrong.
I dislike your appearance and mannerisms.
Oh and Paula, I don't like any of your friends.
I find your friends unlikable and unpleasant.
Yes, and horoscopes just send me fast asleep.
I am uninterested in astrology.
Oh funny how we still spend the night together, oh even though we don't see one thing the same.
It is peculiar that we continue to have a physical relationship despite our fundamental disagreements.
But we still do it again. Oh yeah we do it again.
Regardless, we continue to engage in this behavior.
Oh Paula, I just can't get it through my head how you can look so bad but be so good in bed. So good.
I cannot reconcile your physical unattractiveness with your sexual prowess.
Oh now Paula. I think it's time that you should go. Until tonight at least and then we can go to bed. Let's go to bed.
Our time together has ended for now, but we will continue our physical relationship when we reconnect.
Ooooooo. Ooooooo. La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la. La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la (x3). Oh.
Musical interlude.
Contributed by James T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.