Party Hard (Pulp song)

"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"
Single by Pulp
from the album This Is Hardcore
Released7 September 1998
Recorded1997
GenreAlternative rock
Length3:56 (album version)
LabelIsland
Songwriter(s)Nick Banks, Jarvis Cocker, Candida Doyle, Steve Mackey and Mark Webber
Producer(s)Chris Thomas
Pulp singles chronology
"A Little Soul"
(1998)		 "Party Hard"
(1998)		 "Sunrise" /
"The Trees"
(2001)

"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'".[1] 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."[2]

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. Island Records' 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."[3]

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

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.[3] Director Mike Mills recalled that the video was inspired by a tape of an old German variety show that the band had shown him.[4]

During live performances of the period, balloons would be dropped on the audience during the song in reference to the song's music video.[3]

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.TitleLength
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.TitleLength
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.TitleLength
1."Party Hard"3:56
2."Party Hard" (Stretch 'n' Verns Michel Lombert Remix)8:23

Personnel

References
  1. Kot, Greg (23 March 1998). "Pulp: This Is Hardcore". Rolling Stone (784). Archived from the original on 3 June 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  2. Krugman, Michael. "Deconstructing Jarvis". RayGun. Acrylic Afternoons. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  3. Sturdy, Mark (2009). Truth And Beauty: The Story Of Pulp. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-103-5.
  4. "Mike Mills interview - making of music video for Pulp's Party Hard". Retrieved 11 August 2020.
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