The curious tale of Pulp’s first John Peel session 1981
As a teenager, Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker religiously listened to John Peel on BBC Radio 1 as part of his nightly routine. In Cocker’s mind, securing a session on the programme was the pinnacle, a moment that would provide his ticket to the big-time — but it didn’t work as he’d envisaged.
At the time of Pulp’s first Peel session in 1981, Cocker was still a student who was unsure about whether to follow his head or heart. If he had acted sensibly, the Pulp frontmen would have put the band on ice and attended university. However, Cocker instead trusted his gut after securing Peel’s critical seal of approval.
Following Peel’s death in 2004, Cocker explained in The Guardian how his love affair started with the late broadcaster: “My relationship with Peel began sometime in early 1977. I was desperate,” He said. “I’d heard all about punk rock but couldn’t get to hear any, since the local radio station in Sheffield had deemed it ‘not real music’. One night I started twisting the dial, hoping that something would happen, and then – bang! – it did. I caught the end of an Elvis Costello track followed by a low, droning voice that I would come to know very well, introducing me to a whole new world.”
Four years later, Cocker had completed his transition from listener to part of the show. Pulp didn’t have any industry backing, but thanks to Cocker’s hunger, he single-handedly made it happen. Peel DJ’d at the local polytechnic in Sheffield, and Cocker handed him a demo, leading to Pulp appearing on the musical institution.
On the same night as their Peel session was due to air on BBC Radio 1, Cocker was at Oxford University ahead of an interview. He later recollected to BBC Radio 4: “My interview at Oxford coincided with our first John Peel session, so I had to take a little transistor radio down. I don’t know if it still happens now, but you go down, spend a night in the college, and then you have your interview the next day, so it gives you a taste of what’s in store if you get accepted.”
He continued: “So, I smuggled this radio in and had to listen to it at an incredibly low volume because I was in a dormitory with other people who were trying to sleep. So that was crazy because it was the first time we’d been played on the radio”.
Pulp’s Peel session didn’t have the effect Cocker imagined, and he also failed his interview at Oxford, which added to the misery. The frontman followed his heart and opted against attending university to pursue his musical career. However, Pulp didn’t initially become the success he imagined following their first radio play, and they spent a decade in the wilderness.
Cocker conceded to The Guardian: “For every one of the bands who got their first break via a Peel Session and then went on to greater things, I guess there must be at least two or three who were never heard of again. For a long time I thought we were going to be one of the latter. I took it badly. Inevitably, it hurt. Oh, John, why hast thou forsaken me, I’d ask.”
Almost 12 years after their first session, Pulp were finally invited back to Maida Vale at the request of Peel. As a result, the Sheffield band hold the record for the largest gap between their first and second Peel session. Eventually, they became an esteemed part of the history of the programme.
