Jarvis Cocker

After numerous line-up changes, and shortening the name to "Pulp", the band eventually found fame in the 1990s with the success of the albums His 'n' Hers (1994) and Different Class (1995).

Cocker was Pulp's frontman, and part of his trademark image was his glasses, which seemed to "stay magically on his face" no matter what antics he performed.

[15] Pulp released two more albums (This Is Hardcore and We Love Life) to critical acclaim, though neither achieved the commercial success of Different Class.

In the series, he took a trip across the globe, meeting so-called "outsider artists", people who create wacky and wonderful works of art, trying to understand what compelled them to do so.

[citation needed] While attending the 1996 Brit Awards, Cocker and Peter Mansell (a former Pulp member) invaded the stage in a spur-of-the-moment protest against Michael Jackson's performance.

Blur frontman Damon Albarn did not approve of Cocker's actions, saying he had found them "really disturbing": "He's got some very odd ideas about reality.

[20][21][22] Jackson said about the incident, "I'm sickened, saddened, shocked, upset, cheated and angry, but immensely proud that the cast remained professional and the show went on.

"[23][24] Cocker said, "My actions were a form of protest at the way Michael Jackson sees himself as some kind of Christ-like figure with the power of healing.

[28] In March 2008, Cocker made a short tour of Latin America (Mexico, Argentina and Chile), where he presented a new song called "Girls Like It Too".

[citation needed] Cocker said that he had written "Girls Like It Too" and "The Usual", and hoped to have enough material to record the follow-up to his solo debut album.

On 6 March 2009, Pitchfork revealed the cover art and album title for Further Complications, which was recorded by Steve Albini and released on 18 May 2009.

Along with Cocker himself, the band comprises Serafina Steer (harp/keys), Emma Smith (violin), Andrew McKinney (bass), Jason Buckle and Adam Betts (drums).

[40] On 2 March 2020, Jarvis announced the band's debut album Beyond the Pale on Steve Lamacq's BBC Radio 6 show and released the single "House Music All Night Long".

Furthermore, he gained co-writing credits for several songs ("Walk Like a Panther", "1st Man in Space", "Drive Safely Darlin'", "Stars on Sunday", and "Happy Birthday Nicola") on The All Seeing I's album Pickled Eggs & Sherbet, released in 1999.

He also performed live with The All Seeing I on Top of the Pops, singing "Walk Like a Panther" in place of Tony Christie, who sang on the recorded version.

[46] Cocker also contributed to the soundtrack for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, writing and performing three tracks: "This Is the Night", "Do the Hippogriff" and "Magic Works".

The fictitious group also featured Jonny Greenwood and Phil Selway from Radiohead, Steve Mackey from Pulp, Jason Buckle from Relaxed Muscle and Steven Claydon from Add N to (X).

Also in 2006, along with Steve Mackey, he 'curated' the two-CD compilation, The Trip, which featured a wide selection of tracks by artists as varied as The Fall, Gene Pitney, The Beach Boys, and The Polecats.

In 2007 Cocker and Beth Ditto (The Gossip) collaborated on a cover version of Heaven 17's "Temptation" at the NME Awards in London.

That same year, Cocker contributed to two songs on French electronica group Air's album "Pocket Symphony" – performing on "One Hell of a Party" and (with Charlotte Gainsbourg) "The Duelist".

The line-up he chose included Motörhead, Roky Erickson and the Explosives with Clinic, Devo with Drumsize, Iggy & The Stooges, Cornershop, and The Jesus and Mary Chain.

Cocker, alongside Jason Buckle, wrote, produced and sang backing vocals for the track "Worship Me now" on Marc Almond's album The Dancing Marquis (2014).

[57] In November 2021, he teamed up with Gucci Soundsystem (a dance music project featuring Riton and Ben Rhymer) for the climate change-inspired "Let's Stick Around", which came with a video filmed in Glasgow around the time of the COP26 conference.

[58][59][60] Cocker has also directed music videos for, among others, Warp Records, including On by Aphex Twin, Sudden Rush by Erlend Øye and Aftermath by Nightmares on Wax (all three were co-directed with Martin Wallace).

He also made brief appearances in the music videos for "A Little More for Little You" by Swedish rockers The Hives and "Fifteen Feet of Pure White Snow" by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.

[61] On 3 October 1996, Cocker co-hosted the Australian Saturday morning programme Recovery with regular co host (and radio personality) Jane Gazzo.

"[66] Cocker won the Sony DAB Rising Star Award 2010, voted for by listeners, for his BBC Radio 6 Music Show.

[67] In January 2011 he appeared with fellow musician Richard Hawley and DJ Marc Riley on a Radio 4 programme, entitled "In Search of the Holy Whale", in which the trio embarked on a whale-watching expedition in the sea off Cork, Ireland.

In June 2011, Cocker was chosen as poetry guest editor for The Mays Anthology, a collection of new writing from students at Oxford and Cambridge.

[84] Cocker had previously lived in Paris in the early 1990s, writing lyrics for Pulp's breakthrough album His 'n' Hers there, but he never learned to speak French, according to Bidault-Waddington.

Jarvis Cocker performing at the Latitude Festival in 2007
Cocker in 2012