Ahead of the government’s ”meaningful vote” on Brexit on Tuesday (15 January), Pulp front man Jarvis Cocker took part in a live TV debate on the BBC and put forward his views on a second referendum.
True to form, Jarvis came up with an absolutely mad, but spot on analogy likening the Brexit situation to mediocre pop music. “I think the great unifying chart hit of today would be called something like ‘Are You Sick of Hearing, Reading, Eating, Breathing, Dreaming About Brexit?’ There is a chart-topper if ever I heard one.
“The UK pop charts used to be this crazy collision of rampant commerce and grassroots democracy. People from all walks of life and different backgrounds, beliefs, ethnicities, gender orientations, shoe sizes… could find that they actually had something in common. They liked dancing to a particular song.
“I’m mentioning the pop charts because I actually think they do shed some light on Brexit. And particularly on the validity of a second referendum. Because that referendum result is the equivalent of single entering the UK Top 40 at 19.”
Jarvis was on the Politics Live debate after speaking at the Convention group alongside MPs in London. “‘Limping in at number 19’. You’re having a laugh! We wouldn’t have even dared to call it a hit back in the day, we really wouldn’t. We definitely wouldn’t have dared to call it ‘the will of the people’. Everybody who was the architect of Brexit just walked away as soon as it happened. so obviously they didn’t expect this to happen. and both sides basically agree that this deal that’s being voted on in is rubbish.
“Let’s do it again. Let’s have a second referendum and let’s define a margin of victory this time. And then let’s put this nightmare behind us and move onto thinking about something more interesting instead. Like dancing, for instance.”
Never change, Jarv…
Image: BBC
