Party Hard (Pulp song): Difference between revisions

"Party Hard"
"Party Hard"
Single by Pulp
from the album This Is Hardcore
Released	7 September 1998
Recorded	1997
Genre	Dance-rock; funk;
Length	4:00
Label	Island
Songwriter(s)	Nick Banks, Jarvis Cocker, Candida Doyle, Steve Mackey and Mark Webber
Producer(s)	Chris Thomas
Pulp singles chronology

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"Party Hard" is a song by British alternative rock band Pulp. Featuring David Bowie-inspired vocals, the song lyrically was inspired by the band's dissatisfaction and exhaustion with clubbing.

"Party Hard" was released as the fourth single from This Is Hardcore, reaching number 29 in the UK. The single was accompanied by a music video inspired by kitschy German variety shows.

Lyrics and music

Rolling Stone's Greg Kot described the song as "about aging nightclubbers driving themselves to the brink of exhaustion to feel more 'alive'".^[3] Sean Plummer of Access Magazine called the song a "cynical anthem," while Vivi McCarthy of Deluxe Magazine said the song "explores the notion of your social life as a competitive sport, complete with injuries and of course, doping."

This song is marked by Jarvis Cocker's David Bowie-esque vocal performance. Michael Krugman of Ray Gun wrote, "The ironic 'Party Hard' sees Jarvis at his most Bowie-esque, as the band boogie down at the Scary Monsters disco."^[4]

Release

"Party Hard" was released on 7 September 1998 as the fourth and final single from the album This Is Hardcore, charting at number 29 in the UK Singles Chart, a commercial disappointment for the band, fuelled by CD2 accidentally containing remixes that were too long for the recently introduced chart-eligibility regulations.^[5] Nigel Coxon explained, "I love 'Party Hard', it was as obvious a single on the record as anything, and it's a brilliant live track as well ... to be honest it would have been hard whatever we put out after 'Hardcore.' The album was ... falling off and things had moved on, and I think whatever we'd have put out as a single would've struggled."^[6]

B-side "We Are the Boyz" was written for the 1998 film Velvet Goldmine.^[7]

Music video

The release of "Party Hard" was accompanied by a music video produced by Hammer & Tongs. The video featured girls wearing tight Pulp T-shirts dancing around Cocker as the band mimed the song. The dance routine was recreated by Pulp during their performance of the song on Top of the Pops.^[6] Director Mike Mills recalled that the video was inspired by a tape of an old German variety show that the band had shown him.^[8]

During live performances of the period, balloons would be dropped on the audience during the song in reference to the song's music video.^[6]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Jarvis Cocker; all music is composed by Nick Banks, Jarvis Cocker, Candida Doyle, Steve Mackey and Mark Webber

CD one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Party Hard"	3:56
2.	"We Are the Boyz"	3:14
3.	"The Fear" (The Complete and Utter Breakdown Version)	7:11

CD two
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Party Hard"	3:56
2.	"Party Hard" (Stretch 'n' Verns Michel Lombert Remix)	8:23
3.	"Party Hard" (All Seeing I's I Hardly Party Mix)	7:40

Cassette
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Party Hard"	3:56
2.	"Party Hard" (Stretch 'n' Verns Michel Lombert Remix)	8:23

Personnel

Jarvis Cocker – vocals
Mark Webber – guitars
Candida Doyle – synthesizers
Steve Mackey – bass guitar
Nick Banks – drums

Charts

Chart (1998)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)^[9]^[10]	90
Scotland (OCC)^[11]	30
UK Singles (OCC)^[12]	29

References

^ Leas, Ryan (25 April 2014). "The Sound Of Someone Losing The Plot: Britpop's Big Comedown And What Came Next". Stereogum. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
^ Watts, Peter (2016). "Pulp - This Is Hardcore". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 828.
^ Kot, Greg (23 March 1998). "Pulp: This Is Hardcore". Rolling Stone. No. 784. Archived from the original on 3 June 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
^ Krugman, Michael. "Deconstructing Jarvis". RayGun. Acrylic Afternoons. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
^ " "Register". Pulp's Facebook page. Retrieved 8 September 2023 – via facebook. Island Records'
^ ^a ^b ^c Sturdy, Mark (2009). Truth And Beauty: The Story Of Pulp. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-103-5.
^ "PULP'S PARTY HARD: COR!". NME. 6 July 1998. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
^ "Mike Mills interview - making of music video for Pulp's Party Hard". YouTube. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 226.
^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 04 Oct 1998". ARIA. Retrieved 20 October 2016 – via Imgur.com.
^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 December 2021.

[1] Leas, Ryan (25 April 2014). "The Sound Of Someone Losing The Plot: Britpop's Big Comedown And What Came Next". Stereogum. Retrieved 3 May 2021.

[Watts_2016-2] Watts, Peter (2016). "Pulp - This Is Hardcore". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 828.

[RS-3] Kot, Greg (23 March 1998). "Pulp: This Is Hardcore". Rolling Stone. No. 784. Archived from the original on 3 June 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2011.

[raygun-4] Krugman, Michael. "Deconstructing Jarvis". RayGun. Acrylic Afternoons. Retrieved 11 August 2020.

[Pulp:_Party_Hard_digital_EP_release_(Facebook)-5] " "Register". Pulp's Facebook page. Retrieved 8 September 2023 – via facebook. Island Records'

[pulp:_truth_and_beauty-6] Sturdy, Mark (2009). Truth And Beauty: The Story Of Pulp. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-103-5.

[7] "PULP'S PARTY HARD: COR!". NME. 6 July 1998. Retrieved 5 February 2022.

[mills-8] "Mike Mills interview - making of music video for Pulp's Party Hard". YouTube. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2020.

[9] Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 226.

[10] "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 04 Oct 1998". ARIA. Retrieved 20 October 2016 – via Imgur.com.

[sc_Scotland_-11] "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 December 2021.

[sc_UK_-12] "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 December 2021.

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@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 | album      = [[This Is Hardcore]]
 | released   = 7 September 1998
-| format     = [[Compact Disc|CD]], [[Compact Cassette|cassette]], [[12-inch single|12" vinyl]]
 | recorded   = 1997
 | studio     =
-| venue      =
+| genre      =
+* [[Dance-rock]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Leas|first=Ryan|date=25 April 2014|title=The Sound Of Someone Losing The Plot: Britpop's Big Comedown And What Came Next|url=https://www.stereogum.com/1678193/the-sound-of-someone-losing-the-plot-britpops-big-comedown-and-what-came-next/columns/theme-week/20-years-of-britpop/|access-date=3 May 2021|website=[[Stereogum]]}}</ref>
-| genre      = [[Alternative rock]]
+* [[funk]]<ref name= "Watts 2016">{{cite book|first= Peter|last= Watts|editor-first= Robert |editor-last= Dimery |year= 2016 |title= [[1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die]] |chapter= Pulp - ''This Is Hardcore''|publisher= [[Cassell (publisher)|Cassell Illustrated]] |location= London |page= 828}}</ref>
-| length     = 3:56 (album version)
+| length     = 4:00
 | label      = [[Island Records|Island]]
-| writer     = [[Nick Banks]], [[Jarvis Cocker]], [[Candida Doyle]], [[Steve Mackey]] and [[Mark Webber]]
+| writer     = [[Nick Banks]], [[Jarvis Cocker]], [[Candida Doyle]], [[Steve Mackey]] and [[Mark Webber (guitarist)|Mark Webber]]
 | producer   = [[Chris Thomas (record producer)|Chris Thomas]]
 | prev_title = [[A Little Soul]]
@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 }}
-"'''Party Hard'''" is a song by [[United Kingdom|British]] [[alternative rock]] band [[Pulp (band)|Pulp]]. The song was released on 7 September 1998 as the fourth and final single from the album ''[[This Is Hardcore]]'', charting at #29 in the [[UK Singles Chart]] (see [[1998 in British music]]). This song is marked by [[Jarvis Cocker]]'s [[David Bowie]]-esque [[baritone]].
+"'''Party Hard'''" is a song by [[United Kingdom|British]] [[alternative rock]] band [[Pulp (band)|Pulp]]. Featuring [[David Bowie]]-inspired vocals, the song lyrically was inspired by the band's dissatisfaction and exhaustion with clubbing.
+"Party Hard" was released as the fourth single from ''This Is Hardcore'', reaching number 29 in the UK. The single was accompanied by a music video inspired by kitschy German variety shows.
-B-side "We Are the Boyz" was featured in the 1998 film ''[[Velvet Goldmine]]''.
+==Lyrics and music==
+''[[Rolling Stone|Rolling Stone's]]'' [[Greg Kot]] described the song as "about aging nightclubbers driving themselves to the brink of exhaustion to feel more 'alive{{'"}}.<ref name="RS">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/pulp/albums/album/302322/review/5946330/this_is_hardcore |title=Pulp: ''This Is Hardcore'' |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |issue=784 |date=23 March 1998 |accessdate=30 September 2011 |last=Kot |first=Greg |authorlink=Greg Kot |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080603115006/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/pulp/albums/album/302322/review/5946330/this_is_hardcore |archivedate=3 June 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Sean Plummer of ''[[Access Magazine]]'' called the song a "cynical anthem," while Vivi McCarthy of ''Deluxe Magazine'' said the song "explores the notion of your social life as a competitive sport, complete with injuries and of course, doping."
+This song is marked by [[Jarvis Cocker]]'s [[David Bowie]]-esque vocal performance. Michael Krugman of ''[[Ray Gun (magazine)|Ray Gun]]'' wrote, "The ironic 'Party Hard' sees Jarvis at his most Bowie-esque, as the band boogie down at the ''[[Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)|Scary Monsters]]'' disco."<ref name="raygun">{{cite web |last1=Krugman |first1=Michael |title=Deconstructing Jarvis |url=http://www.acrylicafternoons.com/raygun98.html |website=RayGun |publisher=Acrylic Afternoons |accessdate=11 August 2020}}</ref>
+==Release==
+"Party Hard" was released on 7 September 1998 as the fourth and final single from the album ''[[This Is Hardcore]]'', charting at number 29 in the [[UK Singles Chart]], a commercial disappointment for the band, fuelled by CD2 accidentally containing remixes that were too long for the recently introduced chart-eligibility regulations.<ref name="Pulp: Party Hard digital EP release (Facebook)">{{cite web |title=Register |url-access=registration |via=[[facebook]] |language=en |url=https://www.facebook.com/welovepulp/posts/pfbid0aXTUKjiBezEBGBuRiSbo7QTmhwFrDjTcym18WVZYNixdcnEVCNqeEyikSLdJaMFl" |website=Pulp's Facebook page |accessdate=8 September 2023}} [[Island Records]]'</ref> Nigel Coxon explained, "I love 'Party Hard', it was as obvious a single on the record as anything, and it's a brilliant live track as well ... to be honest it would have been hard whatever we put out after '[[This Is Hardcore (song)|Hardcore]].' The album was ... falling off and things had moved on, and I think whatever we'd have put out as a single would've struggled."<ref name="pulp: truth and beauty">{{cite book |last1=Sturdy |first1=Mark |title=Truth And Beauty: The Story Of Pulp |date=2009 |publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn=978-0-85712-103-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xYrZx01MPC4C&q=pulp+truth+and+beauty |language=en}}</ref>
+B-side "We Are the Boyz" was written for the 1998 film ''[[Velvet Goldmine]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|date=1998-07-06|title=PULP'S PARTY HARD: COR!|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/pulp-178-1387492|access-date=2022-02-05|website=NME|language=en-GB}}</ref>
+==Music video==
+The release of "Party Hard" was accompanied by a music video produced by [[Hammer & Tongs]]. The video featured girls wearing tight Pulp T-shirts dancing around Cocker as the band mimed the song. The dance routine was recreated by Pulp during their performance of the song on ''[[Top of the Pops]]''.<ref name="pulp: truth and beauty" /> Director Mike Mills recalled that the video was inspired by a tape of an old German variety show that the band had shown him.<ref name="mills">{{cite web |title=Mike Mills interview - making of music video for Pulp's Party Hard | website=[[YouTube]] | date=22 November 2013 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLacoB7YBO65I7u7liFxvwQq-JxN2RcfDS&v=qjnpsYgRIA0&itct=CAgQxjQYBCITCOObjri7uNUCFdM7TgodY50GoDIKcGxwcF92aWRlb1okVkxQTGFjb0I3WUJPNjVJN3U3bGlGeHZ3UXEtSnhOMlJjZkRT&hl=en&gl=US&client=mv-google&app=desktop |accessdate=11 August 2020}}</ref>
+During live performances of the period, balloons would be dropped on the audience during the song in reference to the song's music video.<ref name="pulp: truth and beauty" />
 ==Track listing==
 {{Track listing
 | all_lyrics      = [[Jarvis Cocker]]
-| all_music       = [[Nick Banks]], [[Jarvis Cocker]], [[Candida Doyle]], [[Steve Mackey]] and [[Mark Webber]]
+| all_music       = [[Nick Banks]], [[Jarvis Cocker]], [[Candida Doyle]], [[Steve Mackey]] and [[Mark Webber (guitarist)|Mark Webber]]
 | headline        = CD one
@@ Line 48: / Line 63: @@
 | length1         = 3:56
 | title2          = Party Hard
-| note2           = Stretch 'n' Verns Michel Lombert Remix
+| note2           = [[Stretch & Vern|Stretch 'n' Verns]] Michel Lombert Remix
 | length2         = 8:23
 | title3          = Party Hard
@@ Line 66: / Line 81: @@
 ==Personnel==
 *[[Jarvis Cocker]] – vocals
-*[[Mark Webber]] – guitars
+*[[Mark Webber (guitarist)|Mark Webber]] – guitars
 *[[Candida Doyle]] – synthesizers
 *[[Steve Mackey]] – bass guitar
 *[[Nick Banks]] – drums
-==External links==
+==Charts==
+{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
-* [http://www.pulpwiki.net/Pulp/PartyHardSingle Party Hard on PulpWiki]
+!Chart (1998)
-* {{MetroLyrics song|pulp|party-hard}}<!-- Licensed lyrics provider -->
+!Peak<br/>position
+|-
+!scope="row"|Australia ([[ARIA Charts|ARIA]])<ref>{{cite Ryan|page=226}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://i.imgur.com/Iix4X2U.jpg |title=The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 04 Oct 1998 |publisher=ARIA |via=Imgur.com |accessdate=20 October 2016 }}</ref>
+|90
+|-
+{{single chart|Scotland|30|date=19980913|rowheader=true|access-date=2 December 2021}}
+|-
+{{single chart|UK|29|date=19980919|rowheader=true|access-date=2 December 2021}}
+|}
+==References==
+{{reflist}}
 {{Pulp}}
 [[Category:Pulp (band) songs]]
+[[Category:1997 songs]]
 [[Category:1998 singles]]
 [[Category:Song recordings produced by Chris Thomas (record producer)]]
@@ Line 87: / Line 115: @@
 [[Category:Songs written by Mark Webber (guitarist)]]
 [[Category:Island Records singles]]
-[[Category:1997 songs]]
+[[Category:Dance-rock songs]]
+[[Category:Music videos directed by Mike Mills (director)]]
-{{1990s-rock-song-stub}}

v t e Pulp
Jarvis Cocker Nick Banks Candida Doyle Mark Webber Simon Hinkler Antony Genn Russell Senior Steve Mackey
Studio albums	It Freaks Separations His 'n' Hers Different Class This Is Hardcore We Love Life
Live albums	The Peel Sessions
Compilations	Intro – The Gift Recordings Masters of the Universe Countdown 1992–1983 Freshly Squeezed... the Early Years Hits
Extended plays	The Sisters EP
Singles	"My Lighthouse" "Everybody's Problem" "Little Girl (With Blue Eyes)" "Dogs Are Everywhere" "They Suffocate at Night" "My Legendary Girlfriend" "Countdown" "O.U. (Gone, Gone)" "Babies" "Razzmatazz" "Lipgloss" "Do You Remember the First Time?" "Common People" "Mis-Shapes"/"Sorted for E's & Wizz" "Disco 2000" "Something Changed" "Help the Aged" "This Is Hardcore" "A Little Soul" "Party Hard" "Sunrise"/"The Trees" "Bad Cover Version" "After You"
Video albums	Sorted for Films & Vids F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.I.V.E The Park Is Mine Ultimate Live
Related articles	Discography Relaxed Muscle Richard Hawley Venini