A book by Sheffield's Jarvis Cocker will reveal his secrets to creativity - and this is when you can read it

According to information sent to retailers, Cocker’s 256-page work – called This Book Is A Song – is expected to be published on October 1, 2020.

Jonathan Cape secured the UK and Commonwealth rights to the book nearly three years ago in a six-figure deal, following an auction involving eight bidders.

At the time, The Guardian reported that literary sources had described the numbers as ‘scary’ for a volume that was ‘emphatically not a memoir’.

Instead the book will blend biography, essays, illustrations and photographs to investigate the subject of creativity.

Jonathan Cape’s publishing director, Michal Shavit, said in 2017: “We’re thrilled and excited to be publishing one of Britain’s greatest and most adored cultural and musical figures.

“In this unique and important book, Jarvis will be exploring how to quietly make amazing things happen in a world of noise.

“Whether it is from the stage, over the airwaves and now in print, he never fails to be interesting and brilliantly real. We’re thrilled to be part of this project and can’t wait for him to show us the path to everyday inspiration."

In 2011 Cocker compiled Mother, Brother, Lover, a collection of lyrics, for Faber & Faber, for whom he acted as an editor-at-large.

Born in the Sheffield suburb of Intake, he founded Pulp in 1978 and persevered through several line-ups before commercial success arrived in the 1990s, peaking with the album Different Class which included the hit anthem Common People. The band went on hiatus in 2002 but reunited in 2011 for live dates.

Pulp’s guitarist Russell Senior subsequently told the story of the group’s reunion in his 2015 autobiography Freak Out The Squares.

Cocker has diversified into broadcasting, including Wireless Nights and the Sunday Service on BBC radio, and is understood to be preparing a new album with his project JARV IS.

In recent weeks a campaign aimed to make his expletive-laden solo track Running The World – which bemoans global leaders’ lack of moral fibre – Christmas number one in the wake of the General Election.