# Pulp — Common People

Pulp’s Common People (1995) is No. 1 in our Britpop ranking. The full verdict, and where to hear it.

- **Released:** 1995
- **Label:** Island
- **On one list:** Britpop
- **Updated:** 2026-08-31
- **Artist:** [Pulp](https://waxonia.com/artist/pulp/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/pulp--common-people/

## What we say

### No. 1 in [Britpop](https://waxonia.com/genre/britpop/)

Jarvis Cocker's account of a rich student who wanted to slum it, and by several distances the best lyric of the era. Class rage as a disco record.

## Analysis

7 sections, no single moment the energy jumps to, 29% of it spent climbing.

- **Tempo:** 143.6 BPM — holds throughout
- **Key:** C major
- **Dynamic range:** 4.1 dB — compressed hard — very little between the quiet and the loud
- **Length:** 4:05

- `0:00` A · **intro**, sung — opens the record below its own average energy — playing: bass, vocals, other
- `0:35` B · **build** (bar 22), sung — energy and brightness climbing without a break — playing: drums, bass, vocals, other
- `1:17` B · **build** (bar 46), sung — energy and brightness climbing without a break — playing: drums, bass, vocals, other
- `1:45` C · **steady** (bar 63), sung — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: drums, bass, vocals, other
- `2:39` D · **peak** (bar 95), instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, other
- `3:05` C · **peak** (bar 111), sung — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, vocals, other
- `3:26` C · **outro** (bar 124), sung — the closing fall — playing: drums, bass, vocals, other

**What is playing.** Separated into parts by a source-separation model, so each lane is the instrument it names.

- **drums:** the drum kit, separated from the mix
- **bass:** the bass part, separated from the mix
- **vocals:** the voice, separated from the mix
- **other:** everything else — synths, guitars, keys, strings

Measured from the YouTube master on 2026-08-29. Section labels describe how the energy
moves, not musical form. Anything we were not confident enough to state is omitted
rather than hedged.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Pulp%20Common%20People) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=yuTMWgOduFM)

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Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.