#162 Pulp, 'Different Class' (1995)

New Entry

Led by enigmatic frontman, Jarvis Cocker, Pulp’s 5th album, ‘Different Class,’ was a major career breakthrough for Pulp. Released at the height of the Britpop era, the album explores themes of social class and sex. The album title was had a double meaning; the first to mean that the band was in a class of their own, but the second, playing on the British class system, a subject explored in the single ‘Common People.’

The album went straight to #1 on the UK charts and would go on to win the Mercury Music Prize in 1996. To date, the album has been certified 4x platinum. Cocker’s voice often reminded me of David Bowie’s. Two of its singles, ‘Common People’ and ‘Disco 2000’ were major chart hits for the band and put the band firmly on the map, especially in the UK. This album is a great snapshot and insight into life in the UK mid-90s. Bands like Oasis and Blur were dominating at the time, so it’s often easy to forget about the major successes of bands like Pulp.

#rs500albums