Pulp’s ‘Common People’ voted greatest Britpop anthem by BBC Radio 6 Music listeners

Oasis, Blur and Suede also featured in the Top Ten of the public-voted poll

‘Common People’ by Pulp has been crowned the public’s favourite Britpop anthem, according to a listener-voted poll announced today (April 11).

The track, which was released on May 22, 1995 and reached Number Two for the Sheffield band, was announced as the winner on Steve Lamacq’s BBC Radio 6 Music show, after a public vote was conducted to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the defining 90s musical movement.


Speaking about the public’s choice, Lamacq said, “I’m really pleased ‘Common People’ has won 6 Music’s Favourite Britpop Anthem vote. It is one of the defining records of Britpop because it seemed to embrace the essence of the time so perfectly. It was a big, bold anthem, but with a great narrative. And it seemed to sum up a feeling of ‘us and them’, as if to illustrate how the indie mavericks had taken on the pop stars and for once they’d won.”

Advertisement

Elsewhere in the poll, The Verve’s 1997 hit ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ was voted the second most popular track, while Oasis’ ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ reached Number Three.

The full Top 10 is as follows:
1. Common People by Pulp
2. Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve
3. Don’t Look Back in Anger by Oasis
4. Wonderwall by Oasis
5. Parklife by Blur
6. Animal Nitrate by Suede
7. Girls & Boys by Blur
8. Slight Return by The Bluetones
9. Disco 2000 by Pulp
10. Girl From Mars by Ash

‘Common People’ also topped NME’s 100 Greatest Tracks of the ‘90s poll in 2012, beating off competition from Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and Suede’s ‘Stay Together’ – which came in at Number Two and Number Three respectively.

Last month, meanwhile, Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker unveiled a new documentary about the band at SXSW. The documentary is centred around Pulp’s homecoming gig at Sheffield’s Motorpoint Arena in December 2012 and is simply entitled Pulp. Featuring footage from the shows alongside interviews with band members and fans, the film documented Pulp’s last headline performance to date.

When asked last year by NME what he meant when he told fans at the band’s triumphant homecoming show “This is it, for now”, Jarvis Cocker replied: “For a while, you know. That was a good concert that, it was nice. But those things, you can’t keep doing them… Pulp won’t be playing this year.”

You May Also Like

Advertisement

TRENDING

Advertisement

More Stories