Jarvis Cocker: Popstar, Political Pundit, Protester

Ex-Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker doesn't do album promotion in the usual ways. In May, SoundUnwound reported on his plans to spend a week in a walk-in gallery in Paris, France, with a loose program planned of jamming, yoga and Pilates sessions, and activities for kids. Now he's set to appear on the UK's most high-profile political TV show, Question Time, on BBC1 this week.

OK, so he's unlikely to whip out a copy of latest CD Further Complications for discussion. Cocker has a history of appearing as a commentator in the British media, and Question Time is not a forum for promotional appearances. Instead Cocker is expected to be asked for his opinion on the big issues of the week, like the economy, the leadership of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and the death of Michael Jackson. Cocker has an interesting history with Jackson: at a 1996 Brit Awards performance by Jackson of "Earth Song", Cocker became angry at what he perceived as Jackson's Christ-like posturing, and invaded the stage in mocking protest. It'll be intriguing to see whether he acknowledges that incident on Question Time, should Jackson's death be mentioned, and whether he can deal with it tactfully.

This 10-minute long clip of the performance features Jarvis Cocker's stage invasion at around 4:45...

Cocker will be joined on the panel by deputy leader of the Labour party, Harriet Harman, former Conservatives leader Iain Duncan Smith, MP David Laws, and journalist Peter Hitchens.

--Ally @ SoundUnwound

SoundUnwound's editorial team write about the latest big music news and quirky stories which catch the eye. We'll be posting a selection of these news stories on Chordstrike every week; for much, much more, visit SoundUnwound.com, the new music site from IMDb and Amazon.