This Is Hardcore
is an album by English band Pulp, first released in March 1998. It came three years after their breakthrough album, Different Class
, and was eagerly anticipated. It did not live up to the commercial success of the previous album, despite reaching number one in the charts. Nevertheless, the album was well received critically, and earned Pulp a third successive nomination for the 1998 Mercury Prize. Initial pressings in the UK came with a bonus live CD entitled "This Is Glastonbury". A deluxe edition of This Is Hardcore
was released on September 11, 2006. It contained a second disc of B-sides, demos and rarities.
The cover art was directed by the American painter John Currin who is known for his figurative paintings of exaggerated female forms. [1] Currin was also the art director for the "Help the Aged" video, based on his painting "The Never Ending Story." Advertising posters showing the album's cover that appeared on the London Underground system were defaced by graffiti artists with slogans like "This Offends Women" [2] and "This is Sexist" or "This is Demeaning" [3].
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THIS IS HARDCORE TICKETS
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Track listing
UK CD release
# "The Fear" – 5:35
# "Dishes" – 3:30
# "
Party Hard" – 4:00
# "
Help the Aged" – 4:28
# "
This Is Hardcore" – 6:25
# "TV Movie" – 3:25
# "
A Little Soul" – 3:19
# "I'm a Man" – 4:59
# "Seductive Barry" – 8:31
# "Sylvia" – 5:44
# "Glory Days" – 4:55
# "The Day After the Revolution" – 14:56
This Is Glastonbury
bonus disc
# "The Fear"
# "Live Bed Show"
# "TV Movie"
# "A Little Soul"
# "Party Hard"
# "Help The Aged"
# "Seductive Barry"
Deluxe edition bonus disc
# "Cocaine Socialism" (Proper Version) - 5:14
# "It's a Dirty World" (Recording Session Outtake) - 5:13
# "Like a Friend" - 4:32
# "The Professional" - 5:09
# "Ladies' Man" - 4:44
# "Laughing Boy" - 3:50
# "We Are the Boyz" - 3:15
# "Tomorrow Never Dies" (Rough Mix) - 4:53
# "Can I Have My Balls Back, Please?" (Demo) - 4:16
# "Modern Marriage" (Demo) - 4:54
# "My Erection" (Demo) - 4:22
# "You Are the One" (Demo) - 4:28
# "Street Operator" (Demo) - 3:52
# "This Is Hardcore" (End of the Line Mix) - 2:06
US CD release
The U.S. version features an edit of "The Day After the Revolution" and adds the B-side "Like a Friend" as a bonus track.
# "The Fear" – 5:35
# "Dishes" – 3:30
# "Party Hard" – 4:00
# "Help the Aged" – 4:28
# "This Is Hardcore" – 6:25
# "TV Movie" – 3:25
# "A Little Soul" – 3:19
# "I'm a Man" – 4:59
# "Seductive Barry" – 8:31
# "Sylvia" – 5:44
# "Glory Days" – 4:55
# "The Day After the Revolution" – 5:52
# "Like a Friend" (bonus track) – 4:32
Japanese CD release
The Japanese pressing features two bonus tracks and also includes the "This Is Glastonbury" bonus disc with 2 bonus tracks from the same show.
# "The Fear" – 5:35
# "Dishes" – 3:30
# "Party Hard" – 4:00
# "Help the Aged" – 4:28
# "This Is Hardcore" – 6:25
# "TV Movie" – 3:25
# "A Little Soul" – 3:19
# "I'm a Man" – 4:59
# "Seductive Barry" – 8:31
# "Sylvia" – 5:44
# "Glory Days" – 4:55
# "The Day After the Revolution" – 14:56
# "Like a Friend" (bonus track) – 4:32
# "Tomorrow Never Lies" (bonus track) - 4:53
Japanese bonus disc
# "The Fear" (Live)
# "Live Bed Show" (Live)
# "TV Movie" (Live)
# "A Little Soul" (Live)
# "Party Hard" (Live)
# "Help the Aged" (Live)
# "Seductive Barry" (Live)
# "This Is Hardcore" (Live) (bonus track)
# "Glory People: Glory Days / Common People" (Live) (bonus track)
UK limited edition double vinyl LP
Side one
# "The Fear" – 5:35
# "Dishes" – 3:30
# "Party Hard" – 4:00
# "Help the Aged" – 4:28
# "This Is Hardcore" – 6:25
Side two
# "TV Movie" – 3:25
# "A Little Soul" – 3:19
# "I'm a Man" – 4:59
# "Seductive Barry" – 8:31
Side three
# "Sylvia" – 5:44
# "Glory Days" – 4:55
# "The Day After the Revolution" – 14:56
Side four
# "Tomorrow Never Lies" - 4:53
# "Laughing Boy" - 3:50
# "The Professional" - 5:09
# "This is Hardcore" (End of the Line Mix) - 2:06
Singles
In the UK, there were four singles released from the album:
# "
Help the Aged" (November 10, 1997)
# "
This Is Hardcore" (March 16, 1998)
# "
A Little Soul" (June 8, 1998)
# "
Party Hard" (September 7, 1998)
- "The Fear" was released as a promo-only CD single in the US in 1998. The single features the 4:29 radio edit and a 0:10 research hook. There was never a commercial single release for the song.
Chart positions
Title
| Release date
| UK
| US
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This Is Hardcore
(album)
| 30 March 1998
| 1
| 114
|
"Help the Aged"
| 10 November 1997
| 8
| -
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"This Is Hardcore" (single)
| 16 March 1998
| 12
| -
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"A Little Soul" / "Cocaine Socialism"
| 8 June 1998
| 22
| -
|
"Party Hard"
| 7 September 1998
| 29
| -
|
References
- Cocker, Jarvis 'They're not grotesque - they're beautiful' Retrieved 11 December 2007.
- Anon 'PULP - ACRYLIC AFTERNOONS - This Is Hardcore Retrieved 8 July 2008.
- 'Sexist' Pulp ads attacked; Anything goes, say advertisers. Not so, say angry women with spraycans.