Jarvis Cocker thinks the public grew tired of the “grumpiness” of Britpop stars.
Jarvis Cocker was a star of the Britpop era
The 59-year-old musician was a figurehead of the Britpop era in the 1990s, and he’s explained why the public fell out of love with the genre.
Jarvis – who enjoyed significant success with Pulp in the 90s – told the ‘Rise And Fall Of Britpop’ podcast: “[Britpop] had this euphoria of thinking, ‘Yeah, we’re the snotty kids and we’re finally getting to go centre stage.’
“Then everybody was drinking too much and getting a hangover – and then, of course, people don’t want to buy records by hungover people.
“Then the Spice Girls and Robbie Williams appeared and they did some of the same things, but without the grumpiness.
“The record-buying public – and I don’t blame them at all – just thought, all right, let’s get rid of these misery guts. And so that was the end of it.”
Meanwhile, Jarvis previously confessed to being too intense early in his career.
The musician thinks he’s benefited from adopting a more “casual” approach to his work in recent years.
The ‘Common People’ hitmaker – who has also enjoyed success as a solo artist – told The Independent: “It’s kind of like if you really want someone to date you.
“If you’re kind of really serious about it, and hang around outside their house, you probably will get a restraining order put on you.”
Jarvis was desperate for success during his early years in the music business. But over time, he’s learned to be more relaxed in his approach.
He said: “It’s not the way. You need to be a bit more casual about it. It took me a long time to learn that.”