Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker has shared his thoughts on the ‘Britpop’ label, and said that he “always hated” the term.
The iconic frontman spoke to NME as part of a new interview celebrating the release of ‘More’ – the band’s first new album in 24 years.
During the discussion, Cocker was asked about the ongoing ‘Britpop renaissance summer’ which has so far seen the comeback of Oasis, Supergrass, Suede and more, and questioned why he thinks the genre has seen such a surge in popularity in recent times.
“I’ve always hated that word. I would never willingly associate myself with it,” he began, before going on to recall how people seem to be nostalgic for that era in 2025.
“It was an exciting time before they came with that definition of indie bands starting to make waves on the mainstream scene. It felt like a revolution could happen,” he explained. “If people are feeling like that again – that they can make their own thing and it can be taken notice of – then that would be great.
“If that kind of attitude is coming back, then I would be very excited about it, just not the ‘BP’ word – it’s a terrible word.”
When asked if he had plans to go and see Oasis live as part of their huge run of reunion shows, the ‘Common People’ singer responded: “If I can get on the guestlist, I would love to see what they do!”
News of ‘More’ came as the band had been hinting at new material over the past two years – reuniting in 2023 for their first shows since 2012 and signing a new record deal with Rough Trade in 2024. They had also been breaking out unreleased tracks like ‘Farmer’s Market’, ‘My Sex’, ‘You’ve Got To Have Love’, ‘Background Noise’ and ‘A Sunset’ at shows last year.
They built up to the album announcement this spring, by both dropping the anthemic lead single ‘Spike Island’ and revealing plans for a US tour.
In a four-star review from NME, ‘More’ was described as “a mature but vital response to the second summer of Britpop” by Andrew Trendell.
“Drenched in synths and strings and aided by producer James Ford’s knack for making the music feel alive and omnipresent, ‘More’ is everything you’d want a Pulp album to be, made richer from some lived experience,” it read.
Over the weekend, the band kicked off their UK and Ireland live shows with an opening night at OVO Hydro Arena in Glasgow – check out footage and the setlist here. This current run of dates will conclude with a penultimate show at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena on June 19, followed by a final stop at the Co-op Live in Manchester (21). Visit here for any remaining tickets.
