The title of Pulp’s Common People has Emerson, Lake & Palmer to thank, according to frontman Jarvis Cocker.
Pulp‘s anthemic single, which reached number two in the charts at the time of its release, defined the generation and remains a relevant track to this day. According to Cocker, who spoke to Q Magazine about the origins of the song, it’s an Emerson, Lake & Palmer track that fans have to thank for the breakout Different Class single. The song Fanfare for the Common Man was crucially relevant to Cocker at the time, who suggested the use of “common” and the word’s use in Sheffield particularly, had affected him enough to dub the song Common People. Speaking about the song, Cocker suggested it was the “vulgar, coarse, rough-arsed” meaning behind the word “common” that guided the track, with the “double meaning” still lasting today.
He said: “In Sheffield, if you say someone’s common, then you’re saying they’re vulgar, coarse, rough-arsed. The kind of person who has corned-beef legs from being too close to the gas fire. So that’s what attracted me to calling it Common People, the double meaning, ‘Oh, you’re common as muck.'”
Cocker, who released More with Pulp last year, told fans recently what he would say to Bob Dylan should the two ever meet. While there’s little overlap between the two music legends, Cocker has suggested he has some choice words for the Desolation Row hitmaker.
Speaking to a crowd in Minneapolis on Pulp’s More tour, Cocker confirmed he had a rough idea of what he’d say to the Mr. Tambourine Man and Things Have Changed hitmaker. Though an elusive artist, some have managed to bump their way into Dylan’s presence, like Chumlee from Pawn Stars.
Whether Cocker managed to do the same on the US tour is yet to be disclosed, but the Spike Island and Common People hitmaker has shared what he’d ask Dylan. While in the city, Cocker joked that he would “probably bump into Bob Dylan” while wandering around, but it doesn’t appear to have happened. Dylan was likely on tour, with the Rough and Rowdy Ways show seeing the veteran songwriter head across the US and Europe. Dylan will continue the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour in 2026.
Cocker said: “I thought, ‘well I’ll probably bump into Bob Dylan when I get to Minneapolis, so I better think of what I’ll say to him.’ So I’ve got some of the things I was gonna say to him if I bumped into him.
“I was gonna say, ‘Bob, never walk in the rain wearing shepherd’s slippers.’ That’s because I did that yesterday and I fell over. Yeah. I went to Trader Joe’s to get some water. It was pissing it down with rain, I don’t know if you were here yesterday. I got into the entrance and just went *whoosh*. So I was going to warn him about that.”
Though it’s sound advice, Cocker hasn’t yet had a chance to pass on the message to Dylan. He added: “Not met him yet, there’s still time.” Cocker had previously praised Dylan for the Rough and Rowdy Ways performances, comparing the experience to “watching a séance”.
