Cover Art of the Week #31: Different Class, Pulp

“Sing along with the common people,
sing along and it might just get you through,
laugh along with the common people,
laugh along even though they’re laughing at you,
and the stupid things that you do.
Because you think that poor is cool.”

(from: Common People, Pulp, 1995)

Different Class was originally released with silver lettering and six double-sided cards with photos of  cardboard cut-out band members in black and white, against colored backgrounds of various ordinary places and people. Some additional shots featuring the cardboard-cut-outs were taken also.

The cover reflects the album title itself, of being part of a different class. There is, of course, a double meaning there, reflecting the British class system, but in the end what class really meant to the band was the feeling of not fitting in, being an outsider and for that matter, simply being in a class of their own. One can find an elitist view point in there for sure, but at the same time there is a sense of desire to belong and be accepted. Why else would they put the message “We don’t want no trouble, we just want the right to be different. That’s all” on the back of the record?

The sleeve was designed by Blue Source, a company that closed their doors some years ago, but many of the founders have gone on to set up design studios that are still very much involved in the art of cover art. A good example of these new companies is Village Green, founded by Seb Marling from Blue Source and Jonathon Cooke from Love. The photos were shot by Donald Milne and Rankin, the latter of which has played a major role in anything from Dazed & Confused magazine to shooting portraits of people like Lily Allen and Queen Elizabeth II, or being a guest judge on Germany’s Next Top model, and is generally as close to being an institution as a photographer can be in England. For Different Class, Rankin who is famous for portraits, took the black & white photos and Milne the colored ones. The Pulp logo was designed by The Designers Republic, known for doing many album covers for the mighty Warp label who, like Pulp and The Designers Republic, come from Sheffield.

The music on Different Class has been reviewed and analyzed over and over again and the album is on many of those best of the decade lists that everyone seem to be doing, and so it should be. It still sounds great. You shouldn’t let the band’s other albums go unnoticed though. Hear for yourself by tuning into our Pulp AUPEO! Artist Station!