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April 19, 2025 14 mins

Beloved Britpop band Pulp have released their first new music in almost a quarter of a century, the single 'Spike Island'.

Their talismanic frontman Jarvis Cocker has always been the band's star turn, with his second-hand 70s style, mesmeric stage presence and biting lyrics.

Following some difficult early years in his hometown of Sheffield, Cocker formed the band in 1978, but had to wait over a decade before breaking through on the crest of the Britpop wave in the mid-90s. The band released some of the most memorable and well-loved songs of the era, including 'Common People' and 'Disco 2000'.

But his very public bottom-baring protest against Michael Jackson at the 1996 Brit Awards thrust him even more firmly into the public's imagination, and the fame he had craved for so long quickly took a darker turn.

Mark Coles speaks to some of the most important people in Jarvis's story, including current and former bandmates Candida Doyle, Nick Banks and Richard Hawley, and his sister Saskia.

Presenter: Mark Coles Producer: Ben Cooper Researcher: Chloe Scannapieco Editor: Max Deveson Sound: Gareth Jones Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele

Mark as Played

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