Richie's singles club

The jury's out on when Pulp 'made it'. For some, it's their first Peel session in 1981. For others, it's the magic singles run of 'Babies', 'OU' and 'Razzmatazz' on the Gift label. Some even say it's when Jarvis owned the buzzer round on BBC1's 'Pop Quiz' revival in 1994. But, commonly (and we're talking about common people after all) it's held that Pulp arrived with this single and their last-minute Glastonbury headline appearance a month later. Mind you, it took its time in getting there. The first public broadcast of 'Common People' that I remember was actually way back in October 1994 when Radio 1 broadcast a concert featuring Blur and Pulp from the Aston Villa Leisure Centre. We were still hammering 'His and Hers' at this point, so it was a novelty to hear a new song and, from what I remember, I couldn't wait to hear a studio recording. But, irritatingly it would take at least six months before I heard it again when the promo was released to radio stations. So, it's with a slight sneer and a good dose of schadenfreude that I think back now to the unlikely scenario Pulp faced when the single charged out into local record shops in late May 1995. If there had been a plan to get to number one then, although they'd successfully avoided releases by Blur, the now indomitable Oasis (who had just hit the top with 'Some Might Say') and even Jarvis's future sparring partner Michael Jackson, they hadn't banked on a couple of rugged actors from Sunday night TV. Yes, just as they were to do to 'Wonderwall' later in the year, it was Robson & Jerome who denied Britpop it's greatest number one single. But, what did that matter? Common People remains an anthem for the wannabe working class - if they ever needed one.

It seems so bloody obvious now but, for some reason, I never realised that the chunky riff on 'Stories' is provided by a bass saxaphone and not the nimble fretwork of Mr Andrew Cairns. This was Therapy?'s come back after the massive success of 'Troublegum': a tough act to follow and clearly one they were going to use every instrument available to do so (see the prominent cello on their cover of 'Diane' and, indeed, in a cello version on the B-side of this release). As with every success of the time, a quick, yet not significant, fall was inevitable. While 'Stories' performed well, both core fans and journalists had moved on from the boys from Northern Ireland and, if we're being honest, you could detect a certain amount of record label pressure to sound marketable...which is the last thing you need when you're a bonafide, hard-rockin' mutha. There was a silver lining though: the more establishment Therapy? became, the more chance there was to see fun things like when they appeared on Top of the Pops and three lads invaded the stage and started moshing rather unconvincingly and playing with their hair. And you just weren't going to get that with 'Meat Abstract'.