| "Common People" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byPulp | ||||
| from the albumDifferent Class | ||||
| B-side | "Underwear" | |||
| Released | 22 May 1995 (1995-5-22) | |||
| Studio | The Town House, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 5:50 | |||
| Label | Island | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Chris Thomas | |||
| Pulp singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Common People" onYouTube | ||||
"Common People" is a song by Englishalternative rock bandPulp, released in May 1995 byIsland Records as the lead single from their fifth studio album,Different Class (1995). It reachedNo. 2 on theUK Singles Chart, becoming a defining track of theBritpop movement as well as Pulp'ssignature song.[2] In 2014,BBC Radio 6 Music listeners voted it their favourite Britpop song in an online poll.[3] In a 2015Rolling Stone readers' poll it was voted the greatest Britpop song.[4]
The song is a critique of the wealthy wanting to be "like common people" – ascribing glamour to poverty.[5] This phenomenon is referred to asslumming or "class tourism".[5] The song was written by the band membersJarvis Cocker,Nick Banks,Candida Doyle,Steve Mackey andRussell Senior. Cocker had conceived the song after meeting a Greek art student while studying at theCentral Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London (the college and the student feature in the lyrics). He came up with the tune on aCasiotone keyboard he had bought in a music store inNotting Hill, west London.
Justin Myers of theOfficial Charts Company wrote the song "was typical Pulp – a biting satire of posh people 'roughing it' and acting like tourists by hanging with the "common people". Jarvis delivered his scathing putdown with glee, in an iconic music video, directed by Pedro Romhanyi,[6] featuring actressSadie Frost as the posh woman on the receiving end of Jarvis' acid tongue."[2] Pulp first performed the song in public during the band's set at theReading Festival in August 1994. A year later, they performed it atGlastonbury Festival as the headline act. The song has since been covered by various artists. In 2004, aBen Folds-produced cover version byWilliam Shatner brought "Common People" to new audiences outside Europe.
The idea for the song's lyrics came from an art student from Greece whomPulp singer-songwriterJarvis Cocker met while he was studying at theCentral Saint Martins College of Art and Design. Cocker had enrolled in a film studies course at the college in September 1988 while taking a break from Pulp. He spoke about the song's inspiration inNME in 2013:
I'd met the girl from the song many years before, when I was at St Martin's College. I'd met her on a sculpture course, but at St Martin's you had a thing called Crossover Fortnight, where you had to do another discipline for a couple of weeks. I was studying film, and she might've been doing painting, but we both decided to do sculpture for two weeks. I don't know her name. It would've been around 1988, so it was already ancient history when I wrote about her.[7]
In a 2012 question-and-answer session onBBC 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. He remembered that at one point she had told him she "wanted to move toHackney and live like 'the common people.'" Cocker used this phrase as the starting point for the song and embellished the situation for dramatic effect, for example reversing the situation in the song when the female character declares that "I want to sleep with common people like you" (Cocker said that in real life he had been the one wanting to sleep with the girl, and she had not been interested in him).[8] Taking this inspiration, the narrator explains that his female acquaintance can "never be like common people" because even if she gets aflat where "roaches climb the wall" ultimately, "if [she] called [her] dad he could stop it all", in contrast to the true common people who can only "watch [their] lives slide out of view".
A BBC Three documentary failed to locate the woman, who, Cocker stated, could have been in any fine art course but that "sculpture" sounded better.[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 likeRussell Senior. Furthermore, Cocker felt that 'slumming' was becoming a dominant theme in popular culture and this contributed to the single's rushed release. Cocker said "it seemed to be in the air, that kind of patronising social voyeurism...I felt that ofParklife, for example, orNatural Born Killers – there is thatnoble savage notion. But if you walk round acouncil estate, there's plenty of savagery and not much nobility going on."[10]
In May 2015, Greek newspaperAthens Voice suggested that the woman who inspired the song isDanae Stratou, wife ofYanis Varoufakis, a former Greek finance minister. Stratou studied at St. Martin's between 1983 and 1988 and is the eldest daughter of a wealthy Greek businessman.[11] Greek newspaperTa Nea contacted Stratou, who replied that "I think the only person who knows for whom the song was written is Jarvis himself!",[12] but theLondon Evening Standard reported that an email exchange with Varoufakis indicated that there was truth in the rumour.[13] Katerina Kana, a Greek-Cypriot who also studied at St. Martins during that time, has claimed since 2012 that the song was about herself,[14] but Cocker has not commented on this claim.
Cocker came up with the tune on a smallCasiotone MT-500 keyboard he had bought from the Music & Video Exchange shop inNotting Hill in west London. He thought the melody "seemed kind of catchy, but I didn't think too much about it".[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 ofEmerson, Lake & Palmer's 1977 hit single "Fanfare for the Common Man".[16] KeyboardistCandida Doyle was the only member of the group who spotted the potential of the tune, saying "I just thought it was great straight away. It must have been the simplicity of it, and you could just tell it was a really powerful song then."[17] Cocker then wrote the lyrics inspired by his time in London. The song was first performed in public during the band's set at theReading Festival in August 1994: Cocker revealed that he had written the majority of the lyrics the night before the band's performance, and he had trouble remembering them on stage the following day.[7]
The band realised they had "written something that had slight pretensions to anthemic"[18] and wanted to find a producer that could give them a big-sounding record. Veteran producerChris Thomas was chosen and the single was recorded in a two-week period atThe Town House in London.[19] The group used all 48 tracks of the studio, filling them with a variety of sounds from keyboards and even aStylophone to create the anthemic sound they were looking for: Thomas remembered that the band "were just coming up with stuff all the time, it was just trying things on here and there."[20] To keep the single at around four minutes, the final verses that begin "Like a dog lying in a corner" were omitted, although they appear on the album version. These include the peak of the crescendo where Cocker reduces to an intense whisper and describes the life of "common people".[9]
The tune bears "more than a passing resemblance" to the song "Los Amantes" by the Spanish groupMecano, which came out in 1988. However, Pulp were not accused of plagiarism despite the similarity.[21]
The accompanying music video for "Common People" was directed by Pedro Romhanyi,[6] featuring an appearance from actressSadie 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 filmYellow Submarine, with everyday people stuck in repeating loops lasting less than a second. The club scenes were filmed inside Stepney's Nightclub on Commercial Road in the East End of London. The nightclub still had its original décor, including a 1970s dance floor, and was described as a "cultural icon" when under threat of demolition in 2007.[22]
"Common People" was released on two CD singles, one a 'day-time CD' and the other a 'night-time CD', both showing the band sitting in a café at different times of day. Four posters available on the band's 2011 tour showed a classic Pulp record sleeve, with photography notes beneath. 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: 1979Hasselblad 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. The time to decide whose side you're on is here. Choose wisely. Stay alive in '95."
"Common People" was a very popular song of the Britpop era with many critics praising Cocker's lyrics. The song was popular in the US music press.Larry Flick ofBillboard wrote 'Layered in the fabric of "Common People" are soft keyboard threads and a majestic weave of blazing guitars. All this and witty lyrics to boot.'[23]Andrew Mueller fromMelody 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] AnotherMelody Maker editor,Simon Reynolds, commented, 'Its populis sentiments are anchored in a specific, one-on-one instance of class combat. It's personal: the song smarts with the humiliation of being patronised, and takes revenge with gloating glee. The title itself is jarring, a reminder: I'd forgotten the wordcommon could even be used in that snobbish sense, outsideAlan Bennett plays like "A Chip in the Sugar".'[25]Music & Media wrote 'Playing with electro and indie guitar pop likeBlur on "Girls & Boys", Pulp come close toKim Wilde's "Kids in America" with the intro to theSex Pistols' "Anarchy in the UK".'[26]Music Week gave the double single 5 out of 5, adding that the song "is epic-length Pulp".[27]Sylvia Patterson fromNME named it Mirth-Quakingly Obvious Single of the Week, writing, "A sound pop idea honed eloquently into a grand colossus of vindication in velveteen trews, this is the one that bestrides Jarvis' gifts for jocular panache and moulded songsmithery and radiates in the pop nook this week as Pulp's very own 'Sympathy for the Devil'. With even more jokes."[28] Tony Cross fromSmash 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."[29]Charles Aaron ofSpin considered it to be "smarter than Blur, and slyer thanElastica". He wrote that "Pulp finally conquered the British charts with this exhilarating slag on class slumming."[30] He later ranked the song at No. 2 on his pick of the singles of 1996.[31]
The song was Pulp's most popular single and has featured on more than 16 compilation albums since its original release. In 2006, an hour-long documentary on the song's composition and cultural impact was broadcast on BBC Three. In 2007,NME magazine placed "Common People" at No. 3 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever.Rock: The Rough Guide said that on the single's parent albumDifferent Class, Cocker was "[s]tripping away the glamour fromBritpop's idealization of the working class" (it had been performed on a TV programme calledBritpop Now), and described the song as the centrepiece of the album and "one of the singles of the 90s".[32] In a poll by theTriple J in July 2009, the Pulp original was placed at No. 81 on its "Hottest 100 of All Time" from over 500,000 votes cast.[33]
In September 2010,Pitchfork listed "Common People" at No. 2 on their list of the Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s.[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. DJ Steve Lamacq said: "It is one of the defining records of Britpop because it seemed to embrace the essence of the time so perfectly."[3] In 2014,Paste also ranked "Common People" at No. 1 in its list of The 50 Best Britpop Songs.[35] In 2015,Rolling Stone readers voted it the greatest Britpop song in a poll.[4] As of October 2014 the single had sold 430,000 copies.[2]
In 2021, it was listed at No. 75 onRolling Stone's "Top 500 Best Songs of All Time".[8]
Different versions of "Common People" exist, including the recording from Pulp's headline act atGlastonbury Festival in 1995, a "Vocoda" mix and a radically different "Motiv8 club mix", which also appeared on the single "Sorted for E's & Wizz".[36] The Vocoda mix later featured on the 2-disc version ofDifferent Class, which was released in 2006.
All songs were written and composed byJarvis Cocker,Nick Banks,Steve Mackey,Russell Senior andCandida Doyle except where noted.
Pulp
Additional personnel
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[54] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[55] | 2× Platinum | 1,200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 22 May 1995 |
| Island | [56] |
| 29 May 1995 | CD2 | [57] | ||
| Japan | 25 November 1995 | CD | [58] | |
| United States | 26 March 1996 | Contemporary hit radio | [59] | |
| United Kingdom | 7 October 1996 | 7-inch vinyl | [60] |
In 2004,Ben Folds produced a cover version of "Common People" for theWilliam Shatner albumHas 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-heavyindie rock style. Reviewers were pleasantly surprised by Shatner's spoken-word presentation of Cocker's tirade against class tourism asShatner's previous work had been widely mocked by reviewers.[61][62] Folds abruptly replaces Shatner's voice with that of singerJoe Jackson, and then alternates and blends the two into a duet, bringing along a large chorus of young voices on the line "sing along with the common people", which finally replace Shatner and Jackson's vocals in the song's concluding crescendo.
In 2011, Cocker praised the cover version: "I was very flattered by that because I was a massiveStar Trek fan as a kid and so you know,Captain Kirk is singing my song! So that was amazing."[63]
In a listeners' poll by Australian radio stationTriple J, this cover version was ranked No. 21 on itsHottest 100 of 2004 poll. In 2007, a ballet calledCommon People, set to the songs fromHas Been, was created byMargo Sappington and performed by theMilwaukee Ballet.
In 2007, impressionistRory Bremner performed a version of the song, as sung byDavid Cameron on Channel 4'sBremner, Bird and Fortune.[64]
American rock bandMy Chemical Romance covered "Common People" multiple times on stage during their 2010-2011 World Contamination Tour. In an interview, lead singerGerard Way explained that the song was important to him growing up because it "speaks to regular people."[65]
UKdark wave band Libitina covered the song as "Gothic People", with subtly altered lyrics referencing clichés of thegoth subculture.[66][67][68]
In February 2019, the news websiteJoe.ie released a speech sampled parody version of the song with the BritishBrexit supporting MPJacob Rees-Mogg supposedly singing "I want to leave the Common Market" instead of "I want to sleep with common people".[69]
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