Freaks





Jarvis Cocker  -  lead vocals and guitar
                  drums on °
Russell Senior -  violin and guitar
                  lead vocals on * and °
Candida Doyle  -  organ and piano
                  backing vocals on ·
Peter Mansell -  bass
                  guitar on ^
Magnus Doyle   -  drums and percussion
                  guitar on °


©1986 Fire Records


Track Listing:
  1. Fair Ground *
  2. I Want You
  3. Being Followed Home
  4. Master Of The Universe
  5. Life Must Be So Wonderful ^
  6. There's No Emotion ·
  7. Anorexic Beauty °
  8. The Never-Ending Story
  9. Don't You Know
  10. They Suffocate At Night


All words by Jarvis Cocker except "Fairground", words by
Russell Senior, and "Anorexic Beauty", words by David Kurley.
All Music by Pulp.

Now listen; these freaks we're talking about, they're just normal people gone a bit wrong, that's all. Something happened to them and they never got over it. Now they walk around in a daze with twisted innards and black faces, wanting to join in but too scared to make the jump. It's sad but don't bother crying; they still eat and drink and watch TV, just like anyone else.
And they smoke.
Various Notes:
  • Tony Perrin is no longer the manager, a certain guy named Russell Senior takes over his position and Pulp signs to Fire Records.
  • The album was recorded in Input Studios located in Sheffield during one week in June 1986.
  • The album apparently only cost £600 to make, due to Fire's diminutive budget.
  • The songs were inspired by a diminishing relationship between Jarvis and his then girlfriend. "The freaks thing is like getting divorced from the rest of the world by something like that relationship".
  • The album's title was used in a serious way (refer to above note) and in a way to "put two fingers up" since the band was always being called freaks due to their visual oddness. Sounds had described Pulp as "the escape party from One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest".
  • The song "Master of the Universe" was named after a shampoo.
  • NME wasn't too pleased with the album, but Melody Maker and Sounds adored it.
  • Jarvis believes Freaks had some good songs, but it was ruined by the cheap production.
  • The album has been likened to Ian McEwan, a psychosexual-specializing author; Tod Browning's film, Freaks; and a german dramatist/compser Bertolt Brecht.
  • Singles released:
  • They Suffocate At Night with the b-side Tunnel
  • Master Of The Universe(Sanitised Version)' with the b-sides Manon and Silence

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