Razzmatazz

Just around the start of the 1990s (after over a decade in the game), Pulp finally began to garner commercial and critical attention. In this time, they endured multiple lineup changes - with Jarvis Cocker being the one constant. "Razzmatazz" was the band's final single on Gift Records before making the major-label move to Island for their next album His 'n' Hers. Whilst it failed to chart, it gained much critical acclaim - a further sign of the mounting momentum behind the band.

"Razzmatazz" details the months after a breakup, with the narrator being ditched by his supposedly far more cocksure girlfriend. The title relates to what the girl thinks is needed after the breakup: some fun, frolics, and 'razzmatazz.' However, as the singer keeps meeting her in the months after, that turns out not to be the case - she winds up putting on weight, going out with a new guy who resembles "a bad comedian," and sitting around in her house all day eating chocolate and watching TV. Eventually he bumps into her at the doctor's whilst he is "waiting for some tests to be done," and he realizes how downhill she has gone since their breakup.

"Razzmatazz" was never released officially on an album, although it was included on the US release of His 'n' Hers as a bonus track, and on the 1995 compilation Intro - The Gift Recordings.