Worlds collide

When two worlds collide, the result is often a giant mess. But just occasionally, something wonderful happens.

I've written about Abba's The Day Before You Came before - indeed, I made it a Clandestine Classic all the way back in 2012, when that series was still a thing. It is an amazing song, for me the crowning achievement of the band's storied career. It is their best lyric, by far, and the music, soaked through in quiet melodrama, oh! It's quite the thing, even now, more than 40 years later. The record-buying public were less convinced - it only limped to #32 in the UK chart. But what does the record-buying public know?

There have been lots of cover versions since, of course, notably by Blancmange and The Real Tuesday Weld. Now there's another... and it's a marriage made in heaven.

Pulp's skill with kitchen-sink drama is a perfect fit for this tale of minor-key heartbreak rooted in the mundane, whilst the arrangement and BBC Concert Orchestra backing do justice to the majesty of the music. And all for Radio 2's Piano Room feature! I hope everyone involved knows what they've got here, and I hope - forlornly, no doubt - that this becomes a regular addition to Pulp's live set, so well is it suited to Jarvis et al.