On This Day 28/02/1993 Pulp

On this day, 28 February 1993, rock band Pulp played Terminal 396, Cardiff University on their Razzamatazz tour supporting St Etienne.

Razzmatazz" is a song written and released by Pulp. Featuring lyrics written by Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker about an ex-girlfriend, the song sees the narrator mock his ex-girlfriend for leading a dull life after dumping him.

"Razzmatazz" was the band's final single for Gift Records, charting at number 80 in the UK. The single was released independently of an album, although it appeared as a bonus track at the end of the US version of His 'n' Hers. Since its release, the song has seen positive critical reception and has appeared on multiple compilation albums.

Review by David Rose

A very quick trip (less than 1 1/2 hours!) down to Cardiff after the live footy got us (me, Clive and infrequent gig-goer Soke) there in time for doors. Not the usual Uni main hall, but an industrial decor pipe-lines psychic dancehall backroom as well! An excellent venue, and certainly one to go back to! Pulp, our main reason for being here tonight, came on at 8.20 and played a totally brilliant set of their haunting, sleazy organ-led pop; seventies-influenced, sleazy, sexy, sinister but always startling and superb. Jarvis Cocker, as I've always believed would happen, is well on his way to becoming a true star of our times, and was an inspiring and eye-catching focus for this brilliant band of misfits and strays. Every one a winner, but highlights were "Stacks", "She's A Lady", the God-like "Babies" and closer "OU". Another highlight was Jarv sharing his late-arriving pizza order with the front rows; I had a mouthful of garlic bread while dancing to "Stacks"! It's only February, but I'll be hard pushed to see a better performance than Pulp's this year!

St. Etienne, however, paled in comparison to their support. Due on at 9.30 but eventually emerging at 10 with "Nothing Can Stop Us", a fine but very laid-back opener, their subsequent set was ambient, unusual and very nice, but never startling and always suffering in comparison to Pulp's sparkling performance. 2 unusual covers, of Bowie's "Absolute Beginners" and the Fall's "Choc Stock", and their own cinematic pop classic "You're In A Bad Way" were the highlights of a set, during which I spent much of the time watching the projections on their heart-shaped backdrop. A very short set as well - off at 10.35 having played considerably shorter than their support, they introduced the last number with vocalist Sarah Cracknell announcing, "sorry to disappoint anyone but we don't do encores. We're not a rock'n'roll band, we're a pop group." Hmmm. So, off we went to the chippy, to celebrate Pulp's set.

Final score; Sheffield 4, St. Etienne 2. An impressive home win!

On This Day 17/10/1992 Pulp

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On this day, 17 October 1992, rock band Pulp played Cardiff University on their Babies tour. Also playing the same night at another venue at the University were the Manic Street Preachers.

An NME article wrongly listed the October 17 show as the Manic Street Preachers headlining with Pulp as support, despite the fact they were playing different venues at the university.

Pulp had recently released their single Babies which is considered to have kickstarted their success.

Pulp were formed in 1978 at The City School in Sheffield by Jarvis Cocker, then 15 years old, and Peter Dalton, then 14. Cocker's original preference was to name the band after the film Pulp starring Michael Caine, though it was decided that this was too short. Instead, the two took inspiration from a copy of the Financial Times which listed the Arabicas coffee bean in its commodity index. Cocker and Dalton used this, with a slight spelling change, and the band became "Arabicus".

On This Day 15/10/1995 Pulp

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On this day, 15 October 1995, rock band Pulp played Cardiff University on their Different Class tour. The tour was in support of their fifth album Different Class.

The album was a critical and commercial success, entering the UK Albums Chart at number one and winning the 1996 Mercury Music Prize. It included four top-ten singles in the UK, "Common People", "Sorted for E's & Wizz", "Disco 2000" and "Something Changed".

Different Class has been certified four times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), and had sold 1.33 million copies in the United Kingdom as of 2020.

Widely acclaimed as among the greatest albums of the Britpop era, in 2013, NME ranked the album at number six in its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time while Rolling Stone ranked it number 162 in their 2020 revised version of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

The album was released in the UK at the height of Britpop. It followed from the success of their breakthrough album His 'n' Hers the previous year. Two of the singles on the album – "Common People" (which reached number two on the UK Singles Chart) and "Disco 2000" (which reached number seven) – were especially notable, and helped propel Pulp to nationwide fame.

The inspiration for the title came to frontman Jarvis Cocker in Smashing, a club night that ran during the early 1990s in Eve's Club on Regent Street in London. Cocker had a friend who used the phrase "different class" to describe something that was "in a class of its own". Cocker liked the double meaning, with its allusions to the British social class system, which was a theme of some of the songs on the album. A message on the back of the record also references this idea: "We don't want no trouble, we just want the right to be different. That's all."

Review - South Wales Echo

On This Day 28/02/1993 Pulp

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On this day, 28 February 1993, Britpop band Pulp played Cardiff University on thier Razzmatazz tour supporting St Etienne.

Formed in Sheffield in 1978. Their best-known line-up from their heyday (1992–1997) consisted of Jarvis Cocker (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Russell Senior (guitar, violin), Candida Doyle (keyboards), Nick Banks (drums, percussion), Steve Mackey (bass) and Mark Webber (guitar, keyboards).

Buoyed by a changing musical current, in June 1992 Pulp released "O.U." on Gift while Fire finally released Separations in the same month.

Melody Maker made "O.U" a single of the week alongside "The Drowners" by Suede, a prominent new band. Pulp then signed to Island Records, who jointly released (with Gift) the singles "Babies" and "Razzmatazz" to increasing chart success.

Setlist

Pink Glove

Stacks

Razzmatazz

You're a Nightmare

Acrylic Afternoons

She's a Lady

Babies