"Common People" is a song by English alternative rock band Pulp, released in May 1995 by Island Records as the lead single from their fifth studio album, Different Class (1995).

[5] The song was written by the band members Jarvis Cocker, Nick Banks, Candida Doyle, Steve Mackey and Russell Senior.

[7]In a 2012 question-and-answer session on BBC Radio 5 Live, Cocker said that he was having a conversation with the girl at the bar at college because he was attracted to her, but he found some aspects of her personality unpleasant.

[9] The lyrics were in part a response by Cocker, who usually focused on the introspective and emotional aspects of pop, to more politically minded members of the band like Russell Senior.

Cocker said "it seemed to be in the air, that kind of patronising social voyeurism...I felt that of Parklife, for example, or Natural Born Killers – there is that noble savage notion.

Cocker came up with the tune on a small Casiotone MT-500 keyboard he had bought from the Music & Video Exchange shop in Notting Hill in west London.

[15] When he played it at rehearsals to the other members of the band, most of them were unimpressed; Steve Mackey said it reminded him of Emerson, Lake & Palmer's 1977 hit single "Fanfare for the Common Man".

[21] The accompanying music video for "Common People" was directed by Pedro Romhanyi,[6] featuring an appearance from actress Sadie Frost and a dance routine improvised by Cocker on the day of shooting.

[9] The video also features a homage to the "Eleanor Rigby" sequence in the animated film Yellow Submarine, with everyday people stuck in repeating loops lasting less than a second.

For the poster of the "Common People" 'day-time' CD single it read: LOCATION: Frank's Sandwich Bar, Addison Bridge Place, London W4 (eat-in and takeaway available) TIME: 4:05pm, Wednesday 30 November 1994 PHOTOGRAPHER: Donald Milne CAMERA: 1979 Hasselblad 500CM with 80mm lens FILM STOCK: Fuji Super G-400 (pushed 2 stops) DESIGN: The Designer's Republic™ ORIGINAL SLEEVE NOTES: "There is a war in progress, don't be a casualty.

Larry Flick of Billboard wrote 'Layered in the fabric of "Common People" are soft keyboard threads and a majestic weave of blazing guitars.

'[23] Andrew Mueller from Melody Maker named it Single of the Week, noting that it 'is remarkable for the eloquence with which it articulates the envy vs snobbery dynamic inspired by all good class struggles.

'[24] Another Melody Maker editor, Simon Reynolds, commented, 'Its populis sentiments are anchored in a specific, one-on-one instance of class combat.

The title itself is jarring, a reminder: I'd forgotten the word common could even be used in that snobbish sense, outside Alan Bennett plays like "A Chip in the Sugar".

'[25] Music & Media wrote 'Playing with electro and indie guitar pop like Blur on "Girls & Boys", Pulp come close to Kim Wilde's "Kids in America" with the intro to the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy in the UK".

"[28] Tony Cross from Smash Hits gave it a top score of five out of five, adding, "It's sad, funny, ironic, and all dressed up in pop music that's so melodramatically camp it could open a boy scout's jamboree.

[34] In April 2014, listeners of BBC Radio 6 Music voted it as their favourite 'Britpop' song in an online poll conducted by the station to celebrate 20 years since the start of the Britpop era.

All songs were written and composed by Jarvis Cocker, Nick Banks, Steve Mackey, Russell Senior and Candida Doyle except where noted.

In 2004, Ben Folds produced a cover version of "Common People" for the William Shatner album Has Been that brought the song to an audience outside of the British Isles.

[61] This version begins with an electronic keyboard Britpop or disco sound, but quickly moves into a drum kit and guitar-heavy indie rock style.

In 2011, Cocker praised the cover version: "I was very flattered by that because I was a massive Star Trek fan as a kid and so you know, Captain Kirk is singing my song!

[64] American rock band My Chemical Romance covered "Common People" multiple times on stage during their 2010-2011 World Contamination Tour.

"[65] UK dark wave band Libitina covered the song as "Gothic People", with subtly altered lyrics referencing clichés of the goth subculture.