...Pulp or indeed Jarvis' scored their last hit - well Top 10 single anyway. Help The Aged heralded the end of the group's flirtation with the 'business end' of the charts, and set us up for the dark and difficult period that would be This Is Hardcore.

Entering at number 8, before exiting the charts almost as quickly as it came, Help The Aged was nevertheless a timely reminder that the unconventional popstars of Different Class hadn't disappeared for good. It's worth remembering that the single eschewed the 2CD format which had grown legs since the mid-90s (giving big artists the chance to prolong the life of their singles and lift them higher); so relying on one cd and a 7" demonstrated that there was still a large Pulp fanbase. Though a full multi-format release might have been a better idea not just for self-interest - proceeds for the single were given to the 'Help The Aged' charity.

So on the weekend I became a teenager, Jarvis' stated ambition of getting a song about "sex and dying" into the top ten was realised. The funniest thing about it was the requisite kids Saturday morning television promotional appearance, Jarvis being uncomfortably quizzed by kids on GMTV. That's where the mainstream dalliance died for Pulp, and over the next few years they and Jarvis would provide enough themes and tunes of awkwardness, outsiderdom and alienation to help soothe the worst of teenage angst...

Here's a TOTP performance - the last time the group were warranted big enough to give two seperate 'performances' (if that's what miming to a backing track is called)...