In the summer of 1995, an exceptional heat wave swept the country. The Usual Suspects delighted cinema-goers, and the British press engineered the so-called “battle of Britpop”.
Music fans were urged to choose between the simultaneous single releases from “rough no-nonsense northerners” Oasis and “university-educated, hipster southerners” Blur. Beyond the media circus surrounding these (to my mind) underwhelming songs, however, a third major force in Britpop was emerging in the form of Sheffield’s Pulp.
Formed way back in 1978 by spindly, thrift-store clad frontman Jarvis Cocker, Pulp had hitherto been mouldering on the fringes of the mainstream, releasing under-appreciated records on a succession of indie labels. But that was soon to change, and in dramatic fashion.
