Sorted for E's & Wizz

"Sorted for E's & Wizz" was first performed at the Glastonbury Festival in 1995, where Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker explained his inspiration. "'Sorted for E's and wizz' is a phrase a girl that I met in Sheffield once told me... and she went to see The Stone Roses at Spike Island and I said "what do you remember about it?". And she said "Well there were all these blokes walking around saying 'Is everybody sorted for E's and wizz?'" And that's all she remembered about it and I thought it was a good phrase."[1] Cocker later said of debuting the song live at Glastonbury, "It just seemed like a totally appropriate place to play it for the first time."[2]

"Sorted for E's & Wizz" was inspired by Cocker's ambivalence toward drugs; he once stated that he doesn't "think there's anything big and clever about taking drugs."[3] Cocker explained,

The whole thing it's trying to say is that no matter how great a time you have on drugs, you know that it's been artificially induced. You've introduced a chemical into your brain and that's what makes it such a hollow experience. ... And of course, there's that other feeling, the idea that however great you're feeling you want to make it that much better. ... You're searching for that illusory thing, where you're always trying to get back to that state, but you know you never will. And you start to see through it, notice how it's a bit frayed at the edges. And that's what that song's about. Drugs aren't a magical thing. Just chemicals that leave you feeling hollow.[4]

In another interview, he said of the song's meaning: "It's neither a condemnation nor a celebration of drugs. It's just a factual look. It's about a time when I went to a lot of warehouse things. It was completely different to going to a Roxy discotheque in the middle of town, people were so friendly. Then, of course, you realised that it was mainly because they'd taken loads of drugs and you became disillusioned with it."[5] Cocker described the song as being about when "one minute, people'd be shaking your hands saying, 'Yeah, all right, geezer, you're my best mate,' and then as soon as the thing had finished and you were trying to thumb a lift off these same people they'd be like, 'Fuck off'!"[6]

The song's lyrical matter inspired drummer Nick Banks' performance on the song; Banks said, "I had the mental image that you were walking towards a rave and you could hear the music. It's quite a low level, and your mind can't interpret it right, so it's coming out at quite a different tempo, it appears a bit slower than normal. That's the idea I had in my mind, but whether it's come across, I dunno."[7]

"Sorted for E's & Wizz" was released as a double-A side single with "Mis-Shapes." Cocker credited producer Chris Thomas for convincing the band to release the song as a single; he recalled, "I thought it would never get played because of the subject matter."[8] The CD booklet of the single, referencing the song's lyrics, read, "It didn't mean nothing."[9]

Pre-release orders reached well over 200,000, even before its Monday 25 September release according to Nick Rowe, marketing director for Island Records, the biggest pre-release total in the label's history to that date.[10] By 25 September, this had increased to 400,000 copies. The high expectations of the single's success prompted bookmaker William Hill to refuse taking bets on the single charting at number one.[10] Reviewing the single's other A-side "Mis-Shapes" in 13 September issue of Smash Hits, Mark Sutherland wrote: "Unlike Common People, nothing short of brazen horsefixing will prevent it reaching Number One."[11] Although the single had higher first-week sales than "Common People" and was the band's closest shot at the number one spot, the single charted at number two behind Simply Red's "Fairground", which had a lead of more than 20,000 copies.[12]

The song was also released on the band's 1995 album Different Class. Pulp guitarist Mark Webber, who disliked the song and wanted to replace it with "Mile End," later said, "I didn't want 'Sorted' on the album. I think it's a rubbish song."[13] On its commercial success, Webber said, "'Sorted' sold more than 'Common People', but you wouldn't really think so. But it's just nowhere near as good a song."

Before the release of the single, the Daily Mirror printed a front-page story headed "Ban This Sick Stunt" alongside a story by Kate Thornton which said the song was "pro-drugs" and called for the single to be banned.[14] The pre-release single had an inlay which Thornton alleged showed how to make an origami 'wrap' or parcel with the intention of "offering teenage fans a DIY guide on hiding illegal drugs".[15] In an interview with music paper NME on the same day, Thornton was quoted as saying: "We wanted to see the sleeve pulled and we thought it was a crusade we would take up single-handedly. I think the sleeve is something that will concern our readers, although it may not concern yours."

The band agreed to change the artwork, while continuing to assert that Thornton had misinterpreted the meaning of both the sleeve art and the song's lyrics. Lead singer Jarvis Cocker released a statement two days later saying: "...'Sorted' is not a pro-drugs song... Nowhere on the sleeve does it say you are supposed to put drugs in here but I understand the confusion... I wouldn't want anything we do to encourage people to take drugs because they aren't a solution or an answer to anything. I don't think anyone who listens to Sorted would come away thinking it had a pro-drugs message. If they did I would say they had misinterpreted it."[16] The Daily Mirror printed his statement, but he was unhappy that the front-page article written by Thornton contained the misquote "I don't want the sleeve to get in the way of what the record is saying, which is an anti-drugs message", which he felt oversimplified the song's meaning once again. He also criticised Thornton's decision to contact the father of a victim of an ecstasy-related death for a response.[10] The Daily Mirror campaign continued, publishing their readers' response to a poll to have the song itself banned. The original sleeve was replaced with a plain white sleeve once the initial pressing had sold out.

"Sorted for E's & Wizz" has seen critical acclaim since its release. Rolling Stone's David Fricke said of the song, "The way Cocker whispers the word 'down' is so soft and sad, you can almost feel the hurt and morning-after emptiness."[17] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine lauded the song's "subtle satire,"[18] while The Guardian praised the song's "comedown humour."[19] Pitchfork Media called the song a "wistful flashback to the illegal outdoor raves of the late '80s and early '90s."[9] PopMatters praised the song as "hilarious,"[20] while Drowned in Sound called the song "a fantastically sneering slap at the rave generation."[21]

NME, whose readers ranked the song as Pulp's fifth best in a fan vote, wrote, "Everyone who has ever been to a festival can totally relate to this whoozy tale of getting messed up in a muddy field."[22] Although Stereogum's Ryan Leas did not include it in his Top 10 Pulp song's he noted that he almost ranked it at number ten, "purely on that awesome synth thing that happens about two and a half minutes in."[23] Orange County Weekly named the song as the number four Pulp song for beginners.[24]

All songs written and composed by Jarvis Cocker, Nick Banks, Steve Mackey, Russell Senior, Candida Doyle and Mark Webber; except where noted. The 12" was released in 1996 while the 7" was released in November 1996.

7" vinyl / cassette single

1. "Mis-Shapes" – 3:45
2. "Sorted for E's & Wizz" – 3:42

CD single one (Catalogue no. CID 620) / 12" vinyl

1. "Mis-Shapes" – 3:45
2. "Sorted for E's & Wizz" – 3:42
3. "P.T.A. (Parent Teacher Association)" – 3:15
4. "Common People" (Live at Glastonbury) (Jarvis Cocker, Nick Banks, Steve Mackey, Russell Senior, Candida Doyle) – 7:38

CD single two (Catalogue no. CIDX 620)

1. "Sorted for E's & Wizz" – 3:42
2. "Mis-Shapes" – 3:45
3. "Common People" (Motiv 8 Club Mix) (Cocker, Banks, Mackey, Senior, Doyle) – 7:50
4. "Common People" (Vocoda Mix) (Cocker, Banks, Mackey, Senior, Doyle) – 6:18

• Jarvis Cocker – vocals, acoustic guitar
• Mark Webber – electric guitar
• Candida Doyle – keyboards
• Russell Senior – violin
• Steve Mackey – bass guitar
• Nick Banks – drums

All entries charted with "Mis-Shapes".

• Are You Sorted? – wallet instructions and song notes from Pulp fansite Acrylic Afternoons
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics