The couple from Pulp’s “Different Class” album covers announced that they are still together 25 years after the album was released.
Dominic O’Connor, 53, and his wife Sharon, 50, celebrated their wedding anniversary when they accidentally became part of album cover history in 1995 in Molesey, Surrey.
The couple, who had just tied the knot, were captured by a photographer friend of the bride’s brother along with his assistant – a pre-famous Rankin – who posed with clippings of the Britpop band members at their wedding reception.
Not knowing what the image was going to be used for, they didn’t realize they were on the cover until Sharon’s parents spotted them in the HMV window.
A quarter of a century later, the two are still together, revealing the unusual story of how they ended up on one of the most famous Britpop albums in history.
Sharon, 50, and Dominic O’Connor, 53, who met in Haymarket, featured on the cover of Britpop band Pulp’s 1995 album Different Classes on their wedding day
Dominic and Sharon, who are still together, said they had no idea the picture would be used on an album cover
“My brother Ben went to Edinburgh Art School and befriended a student photographer named Donald Milne,” said Dominic.
‘Donald was a fan of photos for Britpop bands, as well as fashion and art.
I met Sharon at the Haymarket Publishing Christmas party in December 1991. I bought her a pint of white wine and we never looked back!
“Sharon and I paid for our wedding ourselves, so we bragged it all. Shaz made the invitations, the printers at work printed them for free, we borrowed the wedding car from work, and my buddy drove it.
The couple met at a Christmas party in 1991 and soon became an item that tied the knot four years later
The wedding reception at Dominic and Sharon’s wedding without the famous pulp clipping on the album
“We asked my brother Ben if his photographer Donald could take the wedding photos, but he couldn’t at the time.
Two weeks before the wedding, Donald called my brother and said he could take the photos – but there was a catch.
‘He told us that for this band called Pulp he had to take some pictures of “ordinary” scenes, including a wedding.
“He said we just have to pose with life-size clippings from the band and once he’s got these he’ll do some nice wedding clippings for us.
On their big day, the couple, who knew the photographer through a friend, were asked to pose with clippings from Jarvis Cocker and the other Pulp members
Sharon and Dominic are still very much in love. They said they only heard that Pulp used their pictures on an album when Dominic’s parents saw the album on HMV
“Of course we said yes, of course. Nobody told us what the photos would be used for, just for some sort of “future” use.
On the wedding day, Donald arrived with his assistant (now famous photographer named Rankin!) And these large, cut-out figures of the band members.
“We took the silly pictures and then Donald did some nice ones too.”
But while the O’Connors knew these images were for Pulp, they had no idea that their wedding would forever be immortalized in music.
He said, “The first thing we heard about it after the wedding was when my parents saw the album cover blown up in an HMV window!
The couple in 1996, a year after their wedding. They stated that the original album had eight different images, but that Pulp eventually reused theirs
The couple agreed that the band should reuse their wedding photo at the Pulp reunion in 2011-2013
The playful couple, pictured in 2007. Dominic ironically said he knew about Pulp early on because he is from Sheffield, where the band was formed
‘The original album had eight different photos on cards that you could slide in and out of the cover and change the’ shared ‘scene on the front.
“But at some point they just kept printing our wedding photo – it seems the band liked this one the best!”
“The first time Sharon and I saw the artwork on the go was when we drove to IKEA – it was on a giant poster and we almost broke the car!”
The couple did not originally sign a release form for the image to be used on the album cover, but the record label and photographer got back in touch about seven years ago.
While starring on Pulp’s Different Classes album, Dominic (pictured with Sharon in 1996) admitted he didn’t like her music
Rock on, mom and dad! Sharon and Dominic with their children Ellie (23) and Joe (20) in Glastonbury in 2019
The couple received pulp merchandise from CDs to mugs in 2013 and signed a Jarvis Cocker poster
He said, “Donald reached out to my brother Ben around the time of the Pulp Reformation and said they wanted to use the images with proper consent this time.
“In the end, I negotiated with the Rough Trade label and we duly deregistered it.
“I have some of the goods they created. They didn’t give us a lot of money for it, but they sent me a ton of CDs and mugs, etc.
“They also sent in a signed poster of singer Jarvis Cocker that said,” Thank you for crashing your wedding again. “
Although both are now proud of their contribution to music history, Dominic admitted that he wasn’t a huge fan of Pulp at the time.
A card with a picture of the wedding signed by Jarvis Cocker that reads, “Sharon and Dominic, thank you for crashing your wedding”.
The couple were pictured at Glastonbury in 2019. Dominic admitted that he wasn’t a huge fan of Pulp at the time of the wedding
He said, “I knew who Pulp was because I went to Sheffield University – where the band came from.
“I saw them live many times by mistake as they often played support for bands that I really liked. I didn’t like her very much and I actually prefer her previous album!
“I listen to Different Class occasionally and was a fan of Jarvis’ show on Radio 6 Music – he has a good taste in music.”
Although the O’Connors made up a large part of Pulp’s fame, they never really met the band members.
“My parents visited her at Middlesbrough Town Hall and were invited behind the scenes. My parents said they were very nice and pretty excited, since they can of course also be seen in the wedding photo. ‘
Dominic says he appreciates seeing such a meaningful photo on a regular basis.
He said, “It’s nice to be connected and to see your wedding photo everywhere all the time.”
The couple currently resides in Surrey with their two children and are still very happily married.
What are you doing for the 25th anniversary?
Dominic says: “Of course, chill out together at home!”
