The frontman of Pulp, Jarvis Cocker, infamously crashed the stage of the Brit Awards while Michael Jackson was performing Earth Song at the 1996 Brit Awards on this day in London. 
The incident has gone down in history as one of the most controversial musical moments of the 1990s, not least because immediately after he stepped off the stage Cocker was promptly arrested and taken into custody.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the Brit Awards had invented an award, Artist of a Generation Award, just for Michael Jackson; reveal why the Daily Mail declared the evening the “Night Our Dreams Were Pulped”; and discuss why if he had his time over Cocker wouldn’t do it again… 
Further Reading: • ‘Jarvis Cocker's on-stage mooning of Michael Jackson at the BRITs turns 25’ (The Daily Mirror, 2021): https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/jarvis-cockers-stage-mooning-michael-23527875  • ‘Bum rush the show! Jarvis Cocker’s Britpop celebrity moment’ (The Guardian, 2021): https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/feb/19/bum-rush-the-show-jarvis-cockers-britpop-celebrity-moment  • ‘Jarvis Cocker - 1996 Brit Awards Michael Jackson’ (BBC South East, 1996): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymCQyq-9APw 

 This episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 

When Jarvis Met Jacko

Ten minute daily episodes bringing you curious moments from this day in history, with Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina and Arion McNicoll: The Retrospectors. It's history, but not as you know it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Accessible and rigorous, the King James Bible was published on 2nd May, 1611, at the behest of the Monarch after which it was named - and perhaps even he would be surprised at the book’s extraordinary success.
Advancements in printing technology made copies affordable, the expansion of English colonialism propagated it across the word, and its poetic imagery captured the imagination of churchgoers, who felt as though they were listening to God. But, there was an embarrassing typo!
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the book’s authors were wise to a) name it after the King, and b) keep their footnotes to a minimum; elucidate the difference between ‘interpretation’ and ‘translation’; and reveal the common phrases still in use today which most people don’t even realise originate in this book…
Further Reading: • ‘Who Wrote The Bible, And When? The History Of The Book’ (HistoryExtra, 2020): https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-history/history-bible-origins-who-wrote-when-how-reliable-historical-record/ • ‘King James Bible: How and Why the Translation Came to Be’ (TIME, 2017): https://time.com/4821911/king-james-bible-history/ • ‘Adam Nicolson: The King James Bible’ (National Geographic, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx5A9d52v94
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Creating The King James Bible

Eleven year-old Johnny Clem formally became part of the Union Army on 1st May, 1863 - though he had already been participating as a Drummer Boy for the 22nd Michigan Infantry in the American Civil War for two years.
Clem's youthful determination and bravery propelled him into the spotlight of national fame - but he was far from the only child soldier in this tumultuous American era.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly peruse Clem’s memoir, ‘From Nursery To Battlefield’; reveal how President Ulysses S. Grant personally intervened to assist Clem’s further career; and consider how Clem’s image was used for powerful propagandistic purposes… 
Further Reading: • ‘The Boys of War’ (The New York Times, 2011): https://archive.nytimes.com/opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/04/the-boys-of-war/?searchResultPosition=3 • ‘Why the Union Army Had So Many Boy Soldiers’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2023): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-the-union-army-had-so-many-boy-soldiers-180981458/ • ‘Early Accounts of Drummer Boy Johnny Clem’ (Life on the Civil War Research Trail, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k2dDVnSO2U
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America's Celebrity Child Soldier

Rerun: The advertising industry underwent a minor revolution on 30th April 1952 when Mr Potato Head starred in the first ever nationally televised ad campaign for a toy, unleashing the demon force of kiddie pester power on an unsuspecting world.
Unlike regular toy dolls, a Mr Potato Head wasn’t self-explanatory, so toy company Hasbro decided it was worth investing in TV ads for the product. The marketing decision is credited with helping sell more than a million Mr Potato Heads in the toy’s debut year. 
In this week’s Sunday episode, exclusively for members of 

Meet Mr Potato Head

Peter Mark Roget waited until retirement to compile his personal collection of synonyms into a book for publication: the first edition of Roget’s Theasurus, released on 29th April, 1852. 
Despite initial scepticism from critics, who couldn't grasp its practical brilliance, the public embraced the new format - despite its unconventional organisation, in which synonyms were categorised by conceptual threads, rather than in alphabetical order.
In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca explain how Roget drew inspiration from the systematic brilliance of Carl Linnaeus; discover literary references to the book in J.M. Barrie and Sylvia Plath; and question whether Roget’s work was an entirely positive development for journalism…
Further Reading: • ‘Roget and His Thesaurus’ (The Saturday Evening Post, 2023): https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2023/01/roget-and-his-thesaurus/ • ‘Peter Mark Roget, the Keeper (See: Steward, Caretaker) of Synonyms’ (The New York Times, 2008): https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/18/books/18book.html • ’Eulogy at a Roget's Thesaurus Funeral - Johnny Carson’ (NBC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSYzLJiSZzM
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Roget's Lexical Legacy

The Italian poet Petrarch hiked up Mont Ventoux in Provence on 26th April, 1332 - an event claimed for centuries to be the first time mountaineering for pleasure had been attempted. 
His celebrated letter to Dionigi di Borgo San Sepolcro was the source, revealing Petrarch's contemplations on spirituality and the human condition amidst the breathtaking views. However, debate persists over the letter's authenticity and whether Petrarch's climb was literal or allegorical.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how, centuries later, Romantic poets revived Petrarch's tale, interpreting his ascent as a metaphor for spiritual enlightenment and intellectual curiosity; consider how mountaineering in its present form evolved into a mainstream leisure activity; and reveal that climbing Mont Ventoux has become a competitive sport...
Further Reading: • ‘The Fig and the Laurel: Petrarch’s Search for Self-Knowledge’ (The London Magazine): https://thelondonmagazine.org/article/the-fig-and-the-laurel-petrarchs-search-for-self-knowledge/ • ‘In Provence, Honoring a Poet at 6,263 Feet’ (The New York Times, 2006): https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/30/travel/30explorer.html • ‘GW1 - Petrarch: "Ascent of Mount Ventoux"’ (Douglas Parker, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRhdr55jsRw
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When Jarvis Met Jacko

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