'huge, queer and tawdry' but 'much admired by the public'

There was a period, mostly captured on the Freaks album, when Pulp themselves skirted goth, especially on the tracks which were more Senior than Cocker (Pulp's 'The Will to Power' in particular would still have fit right in with Saturday's Artery set). I can't really comment on the other comparisons, my love of goth was always deep but narrow; I never went further into the second division than a couple of songs each by Sex Gang Children and The Bolshoi.