Freaks (Pulp album)

Release and aftermath

It was released in 1987 to little commercial success. It has a much darker sound than its predecessor, It. Russell Senior sings lead vocals on "Fairground" and "Anorexic Beauty". "Master of the Universe" was released as a single in an alternative version called the "sanitised version"; it replaces the word "masturbates" with "vegetates".

"I Want You" is the only song from the album to have been performed live regularly, most notably during the UK Forest Tour in the Summer of 2002.

The album was reissued and remastered by Fire Records in 2012 along with 1983's It and 1992's Separations. This re-release took several delays as the first stated release date was 8 August 2011 while the albums finally came out on 13 February 2012. During than period the information that the albums would be remastered was stated and new bonus tracks were added to the track listing. The reissue also includes new artwork and liner notes from music journalist Everett True.

The reissue bonus disc is in fact Masters of the Universe compilation aside from two tracks: "They Suffocate at Night" which appears on the album itself and "Master of the Universe (sanitised version)" which again appears on the album without censorship.

Track listing

All music is written by Pulp, all lyrics are written by Jarvis Cocker, except "Anorexic Beauty" (by David Kurley), and "Fairground" and "The Will to Power" (by Russell Senior).

1. "Fairground" – 5:07
2. "I Want You" – 4:42
3. "Being Followed Home" – 6:03
4. "Master of the Universe" – 3:22
5. "Life Must Be So Wonderful" – 3:59

6. "There's No Emotion" – 4:28
7. "Anorexic Beauty" – 2:59
8. "The Never-Ending Story" – 3:01
9. "Don't You Know" – 4:09
10. "They Suffocate at Night" – 6:17

Personnel