Ongoing History Daily: Connecting Pulp to Vladimir Putin

April 10, 2024 Alan Cross 0 Comments 0 min read

Can we connect a major Britpop act to the thug that’s running Russia?

Let’s go back to the end of Britpop in 1998 and the sixth studio album from Pulp entitled This is Hardcore. The cover features what looks like a blonde female mannequin. It is not. That’s a Russian actress and politician named Ksenia Sobchak. In the years following that gig, Sobchak got a job in the Russian media, hosting a program called Dom-2, the longest-running reality show in the country.

She then moved into politics, actually running against Vladimir Putin in the 2018 presidential election. She lost, of course, but is still alive and well. She’s still on TV hosting a program called Dok-Tok.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

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