Bad Cover Version
Encyclopedia
"Bad Cover Version" is a song by British
rock
band Pulp
, from their 2001 album
We Love Life
. It was released 15 April 2002 as the second single
from the album, charting at #27 in the UK Singles Chart
(see 2002 in British music
). It was the band's last single before their eight year hiatus, which ended in 2011. CD1's B-sides appear as bonus tracks on the US release of We Love Life
. The B-sides to CD2 are cover versions of Pulp songs performed by other artists.
since the 1980s, the TV adaptation of Planet of the Apes
, and later episodes of Tom and Jerry
where Tom and Jerry could talk.
Most notable is the reference to and "The second side of 'Til The Band Comes In
", a 1970 album by Scott Walker
. Walker was the producer of Bad Cover Version, along with the rest of the We Love Life album. 'Til The Band Comes In
contains original songs on side 1, and cover songs on side 2. Critical reaction was that the covers let the album down, an opinion which Walker himself has now admitted he shares, stating that the inclusion of covers was a compromise with the record company. Pulp singer and lyricist Jarvis Cocker
has stated that the lyrics were written and finalised before he knew that Walker would be involved.
's famous album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
. The child on the cover is in fact Pulp's guitarist Mark Webber
.
's "Do They Know It's Christmas?
". All the lookalikes appear to perform their own lines in the style of the artists they are impersonating, with the exception of the Jarvis Cocker lookalike, who is miming to Cocker's vocal. Cocker himself appears in the video dressed as Brian May
, playing the guitar solo that ends the song. Since Kurt Cobain
died in 1994 he is the only impersonated artist who was dead at the time of the song's release.
The video caused some confusion with many casual viewers not realising that this was not the proper version of the song and not knowing who it was actually by.
The list of impersonated artists:
Singers:
Guitarists:
Percussionists:
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Pulp
Pulp (band)
Pulp are an English alternative rock band formed in Sheffield in 1978. Their lineup consists of Jarvis Cocker , Russell Senior , Candida Doyle , Mark Webber , Steve Mackey and Nick Banks ....
, from their 2001 album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
We Love Life
We Love Life
Initial critical response to We Love Life was very positive. The album received an average score of 84 at Metacritic, based on 20 reviews. The music review online magazine Pitchfork Media placed We Love Life at number 194 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s.-Track listing:All songs written...
. It was released 15 April 2002 as the second single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from the album, charting at #27 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
(see 2002 in British music
2002 in British music
This is a summary of 2002 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year. In 2002, as in the previous year, there were 30 songs that reached the top of the charts...
). It was the band's last single before their eight year hiatus, which ended in 2011. CD1's B-sides appear as bonus tracks on the US release of We Love Life
We Love Life
Initial critical response to We Love Life was very positive. The album received an average score of 84 at Metacritic, based on 20 reviews. The music review online magazine Pitchfork Media placed We Love Life at number 194 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s.-Track listing:All songs written...
. The B-sides to CD2 are cover versions of Pulp songs performed by other artists.
Lyrics
The song details the protagonist's belief that his former partner's current relationship is inferior to what she had with him. The latter part of the song is a list of things the narrator likens said relationship to, including The Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
since the 1980s, the TV adaptation of Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes (TV series)
Planet of the Apes was a short-lived American science fiction television series that aired on Friday evenings at 8:00 PM Eastern/7:00 PM Central on CBS in 1974. The series starred Roddy McDowall, Ron Harper, and James Naughton, Mark Lenard and Booth Colman...
, and later episodes of Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
where Tom and Jerry could talk.
Most notable is the reference to and "The second side of 'Til The Band Comes In
'Til The Band Comes In
'Til The Band Comes In is a Scott Walker album, released in 1970. As a compromise with his record company, the first 10 tracks are self-penned, the remainder are cover versions.- Track listing :- Personnel :* Alan Clayson – liner notes...
", a 1970 album by Scott Walker
Scott Walker (singer)
Scott Walker, born Noel Scott Engel on January 9, 1943 is an American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and the former lead singer of The Walker Brothers. Despite being American born, Walker's chart success has largely come in the United Kingdom, where his first four solo albums...
. Walker was the producer of Bad Cover Version, along with the rest of the We Love Life album. 'Til The Band Comes In
'Til The Band Comes In
'Til The Band Comes In is a Scott Walker album, released in 1970. As a compromise with his record company, the first 10 tracks are self-penned, the remainder are cover versions.- Track listing :- Personnel :* Alan Clayson – liner notes...
contains original songs on side 1, and cover songs on side 2. Critical reaction was that the covers let the album down, an opinion which Walker himself has now admitted he shares, stating that the inclusion of covers was a compromise with the record company. Pulp singer and lyricist Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis Branson Cocker is an English musician and frontman for the band Pulp. Through his work with the band, Cocker became a figurehead of the Britpop movement of the mid-1990s. Following Pulp's hiatus Cocker has led a successful solo career...
has stated that the lyrics were written and finalised before he knew that Walker would be involved.
Single Cover
The cover for the single is similar to the cover of David BowieDavid Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
's famous album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is a 1972 concept album by English musician David Bowie, which is loosely based on a story of a rock star named Ziggy Stardust. It peaked at number five in the United Kingdom and number 75 in the United States on the Billboard Music...
. The child on the cover is in fact Pulp's guitarist Mark Webber
Mark Webber (guitarist)
Mark Webber is an English rock guitarist.He is most famous for playing in Pulp , and appearing on all of their albums since their Mercury Music Prize winning collection Different Class...
.
Video
The song's video features many celebrity lookalikes who gather in a West London studio to perform a "tribute" to Pulp, in a similar style to the video for Band AidBand Aid (band)
Band Aid was a charity supergroup featuring British and Irish musicians and recording artists. It was founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia by releasing the song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" for the Christmas market that year. The single...
's "Do They Know It's Christmas?
Do They Know It's Christmas?
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a song written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in 1984 to raise money for relief of the 1984–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The original version was produced by Midge Ure and released by Band Aid on 29 November 1984....
". All the lookalikes appear to perform their own lines in the style of the artists they are impersonating, with the exception of the Jarvis Cocker lookalike, who is miming to Cocker's vocal. Cocker himself appears in the video dressed as Brian May
Brian May
Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
, playing the guitar solo that ends the song. Since Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
died in 1994 he is the only impersonated artist who was dead at the time of the song's release.
The video caused some confusion with many casual viewers not realising that this was not the proper version of the song and not knowing who it was actually by.
The list of impersonated artists:
Singers:
- Robbie WilliamsRobbie WilliamsRobert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
- Liam GallagherLiam GallagherWilliam John Paul "Liam" Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, the former frontman of the English rock band Oasis and currently of the band Beady Eye. Gallagher's erratic behaviour, distinctive singing style, and abrasive attitude have been the subject of commentary in the press...
- Kylie MinogueKylie MinogueKylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
- David BowieDavid BowieDavid Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
- George MichaelGeorge MichaelGeorge Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
- BonoBonoPaul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
- Sophie Ellis Bextor
- Jennifer LopezJennifer LopezJennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
- Paul McCartneyPaul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
- Craig DavidCraig DavidCraig Ashley David is an English singer and songwriter. He has released five studio albums: Born to Do It, Slicker Than Your Average, The Story Goes..., Trust Me, Signed Sealed Delivered and a Greatest Hits album...
- Tom JonesTom Jones (singer)Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
- BjörkBjörkBjörk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
- Jon Bon JoviJon Bon JoviJon Bon Jovi is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as the founder, occasional rhythm guitarist, and lead singer of rock band Bon Jovi, which was named after him...
- Kurt CobainKurt CobainKurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
- Rod StewartRod StewartRoderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
- Meat LoafMeat LoafMichael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
- CherCherCher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
- Jay Kay
- Jarvis CockerJarvis CockerJarvis Branson Cocker is an English musician and frontman for the band Pulp. Through his work with the band, Cocker became a figurehead of the Britpop movement of the mid-1990s. Following Pulp's hiatus Cocker has led a successful solo career...
- Mick JaggerMick JaggerSir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
- Elton JohnElton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
- Missy ElliottMissy ElliottMelissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott , is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actressA five-time Grammy Award winner, Elliott, with record sales of over seven million in the United States, is the only female rapper to have five albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one...
- Bob GeldofBob GeldofRobert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
Guitarists:
- Noel GallagherNoel GallagherNoel Thomas David Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, formerly the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and principal songwriter of the English rock band Oasis. He is currently fronting his solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.Raised in Burnage, Manchester with his...
- Mike OldfieldMike OldfieldMichael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...
- Keith RichardsKeith RichardsKeith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
- Brian MayBrian MayBrian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
Percussionists:
- Phil CollinsPhil CollinsPhilip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
- Gary NumanGary NumanGary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.Numan is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music...
CD1
- "Bad Cover Version" (album version) (4:10)
- "Yesterday" (3:51)
- "Forever in My Dreams" (4:23)
CD2
- "Bad Cover Version" (video version) (3:58)
- "Disco 2000Disco 2000 (song)"Disco 2000" is a hit single by British band Pulp, released in 1995. It reached #7 in the UK Singles Chart. It was the third single from the album Different Class, following "Common People" and the double A-side "Mis-Shapes"/"Sorted for E's & Wizz", both of which reached #2.The song tells the story...
" (Nick CaveNick CaveNicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...
version) (5:20) - "SortedSorted for E's & Wizz"Sorted for E's & Wizz" is a song by the English band Pulp. Taken from their UK number one album Different Class, it was released as a double A-sided single with "Mis-Shapes" in September 1995 and reached number two in the UK charts...
" (Roisin MurphyRóisín MurphyRóisín Marie Murphy is an Irish singer-songwriter and record producer, known for her electronic style.Murphy first came to note as part of the electronic music duo Moloko. Her partner in the band was then-boyfriend Mark Brydon. After the two ended their romantic relationship, Murphy released her...
version) (6:10)
DVD
- "Bad Cover Version" (album version - audio only)
- "Bad Cover Version" (video)
- Making the video