Born:
September 19, 1963
in
Sheffield
Best Known For:
Being in the band Pulp.
Early-life:
Jarvis Branson Cocker was born in Sheffield in 1963. He has a sister, Saskia. His uncle and father were both musicians, but the latter left the family when Jarvis was seven, leaving his mum to bring up the children on her own. Singer Joe Cocker was a friend of the family, and used to babysit the youngsters. At the age of 15, Jarvis founded the group Arabacus Pulp, which went through numerous line-up changes. In 1981, they sent a demo tape to DJ John Peel, and were invited to record one of his famous sessions.
Career:
Their first mini-LP It was produced in 1982, but mainstream success eluded the band for several years, despite releasing three albums. In 1992, they signed to Island records and the disc His 'n' Hers became their breakthrough long player. Three years later, they were at the forefront of the Britpop phenomenon, but by 2001, their success began to wane and Pulp went on hiatus in 2002. Jarvis began devoting more time to his other band, Relaxed Muscle, until they fizzled out in 2003. Since then, he's turned his hand to directing music videos, writing songs for other artists and contributed to the soundtrack for Harry Potter film The Goblet of Fire (in which he also briefly appears).
Quote:
"I'm not as famous as I was. Tube travel is possible now. I could get used to this and not pop up again until they do Britpop, The Golden Years."
Trivia:
In 2010, Cocker won the Sony DAB Rising Star Award for his BBC Radio 6 Music Show.