My Chemical Romance are influenced by indie group Pulp.

The ‘Planetary (Go!)’ rockers said they related to the British group’s hit ‘Common People’ when they were growing up and desperate to leave their native New Jersey.

Guitarist Frank Iero – who is joined in the band by Gerard Way, Ray Toro and Mikey Way – said the song’s lyrics, which tell the story of a rich girl telling her working class boyfriend she wants to emulate his poor lifestyle, particularly struck a chord with the band.

He told the UK’s BBC Radio1: “This is a song that, growing up in New Jersey, it was very important to me and Mikey (Way) and anybody who heard it. It was very relevant to us, feeling like you were in a place you could never get out of, that you were never going to escape.”

“I remember pushing carts at a supermarket listening to this song on headphones on a cassette player and wondering whether the hell I was ever going to get out of New Jersey.”

The ‘Bulletproof Heart’ hitmaker went on to say the song, originally sung by Jarvis Cocker, stayed with him even after he had eventually left home.

He said: “Even when I went to art school I was able to relate to it in many ways. It speaks to regular people and that’s why it’s so great. And it’s an amazing band.”