The year was 1985, Pulp only had one record to name: 'It' released in 1983, when front-man Jarvis Cocker left a party with a girl to go back to her flat. To combat the initial awkwardness of the meeting, Jarvis decided to try and break the ice by recreating a Spiderman trick he’d seen a week earlier at another party.
The trick entailed someone dropping onto the ledge of a sash-window, swinging and climbing onto the adjacent windowsill, and then coming back in through the open window from the next room.
However, this girl's window was of a more modern style, meaning it didn't have the thick sill he had seen the trick performed on the week before. After lowering himself down onto the ledge, Cocker quickly realised physique couldn't pull this off or this and so he hung... very awkwardly.
He politely asked the girl to help pull him up, but she didn't have the strength to either, and no one else in the flat was home - leaving Cocker with a very unfortunate looming fate.
He counted down from three before dropping from the window ledge, falling three stories, and breaking his hip, ankle, and wrist.
He ended up spending six weeks in hospital, where he experienced an epiphany, noting
that he needed to stop being so profound within his lyrics, and instead should write about average, normal life.
The difference between It and Cocker's lyrical style saw a great shift towards the lyrics we all adore 'til this day.
The blue girls that bake in the sun
Skin falls in flakes from each one
Like leaves from autumn trees
They float upon the breeze
~ Blue Girls (1983)
You see, I spy for a living
And I specialize in revenge
On taking the things I know will cause you pain
I can't help it, I was dragged up
My favourite parks are car parks
Grass is something you smoke, birds are something you shag
Take your "Year in Provence" and shove it up your ass
~ I Spy (1995)
Click here to listen to the full interview with comedian Stephen Merchant, where Cocker charms us with the full story.
Cocker also broke two of his ribs falling down the stairs late last year whilst playing a festival in Hong Kong, what a clumsy man!
Fancy supporting our other platforms? Here's our TikTok page with the full Jarvis story: