Get the latest gossip

Pulp announce More, their first album since 2001

Sheffield-formed band also release swaggering new single Spike Island, their first new track since 2013

He told Laverne it was “a slight anticlimax to be honest … there was a lot of anticipation, but it didn’t sound very good, it was windy and the vibe wasn’t there.” The song’s music was written by former Cocker collaborator Jason Buckle, who was also at Spike Island. Driven by that chorus line, Spike Island is an anthemic, swaggering track, filled out with a large arrangement and Cocker’s typically wry yet heartfelt lyrics: “I was conforming to a cosmic design, I was playing to type / until I walked back to the garden of earthly delights”, he sings. They jumped to a major label for follow-up His’n’Hers which reached the UK Top 10 and contained classics such as Babies, Lipgloss and Do You Remember the First Time?, all great showcases of Cocker’s vivid storytelling as he explored the thrill and awkwardness of desire.

Get the Android app