Jools Holland catches up with Jarvis Cocker

Tonight’s penultimate edition of the music programme’s 56th (yes you read that right) series sees a Later… favourite, Jarvis Cocker, take centre stage.

The frontman chats to the host about his musical journey, which began back in his Sheffield school in 1978 when, aged 15, he formed the band Arabacus Pulp – which would later become Pulp, the band with whom he found fame and no little success in the 1990s.

Here Jarvis shares stories of those early years and charts the path of his band and his solo career. As ever in this new, Covid-enforced format, the chat is punctuated by clips from the Later… archive – and there are plenty for Jools to choose from, with Cocker and Pulp performing several times over the years on both the main show and the New Year’s Eve Hootenanny.

Granted the last time he appeared on Jools’ show was 2006, when the frontman unveiled music from his debut solo release, but he has not been resting on his laurels in the meantime, so it’s high time for a catch-up.

This year he released album ‘Beyond the Pale’ under the guise of JARV IS… The seven tracks of the record took shape on a work-in-progress tour of small clubs and unusual places including an underground cave in Derbyshire, which the band returned to during lockdown to play a virtual concert.

Jools is not just about established acts, however, and in fact over the years this programme has been a launchpad for any number of emerging talents who have used it to break into the mainstream. This week, those hoping for a leg-up are two promising performers who are worthy of attention.

First up is Greentea Peng, the alter ego of south London psychedelic R’n’B artist Aria Wells. Recently tipped as a breakthrough artist of 2020 – and perhaps best described as a sort of Erykah Badu meets Miss Dynamite – has gone from bar work to supporting the likes of Neneh Cherry live and collaborating with The Streets. Peng will be performing her latest release, ‘Hu Man’, in which she explores our attachment to feelings of identity.

Next up Yorkshire-based alt-indie/new-wave trio Working Men’s Club demonstrate their distinctive brand of power-pop – something fellow Yorkshireman Cocker should surely relish. Surprisingly given their distinctly Northern moniker and Todmorden, West Yorkshire heritage, the band’s sound has been likened to that of the nascent post-punk renaissance scene of Brooklyn, New York City, with comparisons to the likes of Parquet Courts.

The group arrive having earned widespread critical acclaim for their self-titled first album, from which Valleys and Bad Blood are stand-out singles.

Both artists are quite rightly on the ascent right now, and their Later… debuts will surely be the first of many such appearances. One can almost picture them on a future edition of this show, reminiscing over clips of tonight’s performances.

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