Song · Pulp
“Mis-Shapes” by Pulp
From the album Different Class (1995)
“Mis-Shapes” by Pulp appears on 3 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 1995 and 2025. It was first released in 1995 on the album Different Class. Its best result is #12 on the John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1995. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #144 alternative song of 1995.
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"Mis-Shapes" shared a double A-side with "Sorted for E's & Wizz" as the follow-up to "Common People", the second single from Pulp's fifth album, Different Class, released on Island in 1995. It matched the chart peak of its predecessor, stalling at number two in the UK, and critics have loved it since.
Jarvis Cocker wrote the words out of his own years as an outsider on the Sheffield social scene, and the song is a rallying cry for the misfits, the oddballs banding together to take over. There's an irony in how it played out: once the song was out and Pulp's following swelled to take in the townies, Cocker grew uneasy about it. The whole band shares the music credit, with Chris Thomas producing.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 12 | John Peel (BBC Radio 1) | John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1995 | 50 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 541 | KEXP | The Best Opening Tracks of All Time | 738 |
| 2025 | 61 | Absolute Radio | Absolute Radio 100 Ultimate Britpop Anthems | 100 |
Also listed as: Mis-shapes.
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