Pulp are a British rock band formed in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

in 1978. At their critical and commercial peak, the band consisted of

Jarvis Cocker Jarvis Branson Cocker (born 19 September 1963) is an English musician. As the founder, frontman, lyricist and only consistent member of the band Pulp (band), Pulp, he became a reluctant figurehead of the Britpop genre of the mid-1990s. Cocker h ...

(vocals, guitar, keyboards), Russell Senior (guitar, violin), Candida Doyle (keyboards), Nick Banks (drums, percussion), Steve Mackey (bass) and Mark Webber (guitar, keyboards). The band's " kitchen sink drama" lyrics, coupled with its references to

British culture The culture of the United Kingdom is influenced by its History of the United Kingdom, combined nations' history, its interaction with the cultures of Europe, the individual diverse cultures of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and ...

, led to Cocker and Pulp becoming reluctant figureheads of the

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. B ...

movement. The band struggled to find success during the 1980s, but gained UK prominence in the mid-1990s first with '' His 'n' Hers'' (1994), which was nominated for the

Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...

. Its follow-up, '' Different Class'' (1995), won the Mercury Prize, reached number one on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

and spawned four top ten singles, including the number two hits "

Common People A commoner, also known as the ''common man'', ''commoners'', the ''common people'' or the ''masses'', was in earlier use an ordinary person in a community or nation who did not have any significant social status, especially a member of neithe ...

" and " Mis-Shapes/ Sorted for E's & Wizz". The band's sixth album, '' This Is Hardcore'' (1998), also debuted at number one in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize. At their peak, Pulp headlined the Pyramid Stage of the

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

twice and were regarded among the Britpop "big four", along with Blur,

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentSuede. The band released '' We Love Life'' in 2001 and then took a decade-long break, having sold more than 10 million records. Pulp reunited in 2011 to play multiple festivals and released " After You" in 2013, their first song in 12 years. The band reunited a second time in 2022 to tour once again, and later released their eighth album '' More'' in June 2025.

History

Early years: 1978–1983

Pulp were formed in 1978 at The City School in Sheffield by Jarvis Cocker, then 15 years old, and Peter Dalton, then 14. Cocker's original preference was to name the band after the film '' Pulp'' starring

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...

, though it was decided that this was too short. Instead, the two took inspiration from a copy of the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' which listed the Arabicas coffee bean in its commodity index. Cocker and Dalton used this, with a slight spelling change, and the band became "Arabicus". Early rehearsals took place in Cocker's house and featured Cocker, Dalton and Dalton's younger brother Ian. After finally deciding on "Arabicus Pulp", a fixed line-up was then established: Cocker, Dalton and two friends of theirs, David "Fungus" Lockwood and Mark Swift. The band played their first public gig at Rotherham Arts Centre in July 1980.Reed, John. "The Complete History of Pulp". ''Record Collector''. December 1994. Later that year, Cocker met future member Russell Senior, who recognised Cocker from his charismatic sales techniques in his part-time job at the local

fish market A fish market is a marketplace for selling Fish as food, fish and fish products. It can be dedicated to wholesale trade between Fisherman, fishermen and fish merchants, or to the sale of seafood to individual consumers, or to both. Retail fish ma ...

. Pulp's musical style at this time was varied, approximately described as "a cross between

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

and the Fall". A local fanzine also noted this eclecticism, describing them as sounding "as if they listen to the John Peel show every night in an endless quest for influences". Indeed, in October 1981, they gave a demo tape to Peel, who granted them a Peel Session. The session was a giant leap forward for the young band, who became well known on the local music scene as a result. The tracks recorded were in the typical Sheffield sound of the time (cf.

the Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic music, electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their t ...

and Comsat Angels): electronic new wave and

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

. These tracks were released in 2006 on '' The Peel Sessions'' compilation. Despite their exposure on national radio, success was not forthcoming and, apart from Cocker, most of the core line-up left for university. Soon, a new set of musicians were gathered: Simon Hinkler (who later joined the Mission), David Hinkler, Wayne Furniss (who switched to guitar after playing drums in the previous lineup), Peter Boam, Gary Wilson, and Cocker's sister, Saskia. They managed to get enough local backing to record a mini-album in late 1982, entitled '' It'' (the title was a pun on

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

, as if the band were preaching to the audience), which was released in April 1983 by Red Rhino Records. This largely consisted of folkish, romantic pop songs influenced by

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

and was a change of direction from the Peel Sessions two years earlier. The album was later released by Cherry Red Records. Though ''It'' failed commercially and fame was still elusive, the band continued to seek commercial success even to the point of recording a single, "Everybody's Problem"/"There Was". The single demonstrated a style shift advised by Red Rhino's Tony Perrin who had convinced Cocker that he "could write commercial songs like

Wham! Wham! were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981 consisting of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They were one of the most successful pop acts during the 1980s, selling more than 30 million certified records worldwide from 1982 to ...

". This approach also failed and the ''It'' lineup soon dissolved.

Fire Records era: 1983–1992

Around this time, Cocker had become involved in an

experimental theatre Experimental theatre (also known as avant-garde theatre), inspired largely by Richard Wagner, Wagner's concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, began in Western theatre in the late 19th century with Alfred Jarry and his Ubu Roi, Ubu plays as a rejection of bot ...

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

company organised by Russell Senior; the two soon began writing and rehearsing music together, eventually enlisting fellow performance artist Magnus Doyle to play drums. As Senior recounted, this was for all intents and purposes a new project, related to Cocker's previous band in name only:

We had a discussion on what to call the new band, Jarvis didn't like the name of my previous
psychobilly Psychobilly (or punkabilly) is a rock music fusion genre that fuses elements of rockabilly and punk rock. It has been defined as "loud frantic rockabilly music", it has also been said that it "takes the traditional country rock, countrified rock ...
band the Nightmares, and I quite liked the name Pulp but didn't particularly want to be associated with it. We tried sticking a pin in a dictionary but all the names were rubbish and he persuaded me that keeping the name Pulp would bring a few people in, so it stuck.

With the eventual addition of bassist Peter "Manners" Mansell and occasional keyboardist/engineer Tim Allcard, this new incarnation of Pulp survived a number of ill-fated gigs (including one at a rugby club at Brunel University which ended in a riot) before Allcard left to be replaced on keyboards by Doyle's sister Candida in 1984. At her first gig with the band, in a London pub, Pulp were scouted by their soon-to-be label, the fledgling indie Fire Records. Soon after signing, in November 1985, Cocker fell out of a window while trying to impress a girl with a

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

impression and ended up in hospital, temporarily requiring the use of a wheelchair in which he appeared during concerts. Fire released the singles " Little Girl" (1985), " Dogs Are Everywhere" (1986), and "They Suffocate at Night" (1987) before finally releasing the band's next LP '' Freaks'' (1987), recorded in one week on a budget of £600 due to record label pressure. Cocker was irritated, and remarked that "the songs could've been done a lot better if we'd have had a bit more time...".Sturdy, p. 138. The release of ''Freaks'' had been delayed for a year, in which time the band's lineup had largely destabilised, the most notable fluctuations being the departures of Mansell and both Doyles and the addition of drummer Nick Banks (though Candida Doyle would soon rejoin the band on a long-term basis after a couple of brief absences). With the album emerging to minimal label promotion and only moving a few hundred copies, and the initial Fire contract having wound down, Pulp recorded demos of newer, more pop-oriented material with Chakk's label FON in Sheffield. A single called "Death Comes To Town" was due to be released by FON in early 1988, but this relationship disintegrated and the release was cancelled. Pulp would play two notable gigs in Sheffield that year, including the high-concept "Day That Never Happened" show at The Leadmill in August; the same night of this event, however, Cocker informed Senior that he was leaving for London to study film, having been accepted to Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and had his fill of struggling to move the band's career forward. Though Cocker's relocation and frustrated attitude seemed to spell a natural endpoint for Pulp, Senior encouraged him that the time had not yet come to disband. Banks, too, recalled that the situation was discouraging but not final:

Pulp was in bits. Scattered. But, we never sat down and said, "That's it, the end, see you later." There was still a dimly flickering ember under the rubble. There was still a desire to try and keep things going - somehow. We didn't know how this was going to happen, we just thought the songs we had were too vital to let die.

Steve Mackey, a fellow Sheffielder and supportive fan, was also studying in London by this time and was asked to join as a bass player. In 1989, Fire Records approached Cocker about re-signing Pulp, promising a £10,000 recording budget; still wary from their prior experience with the label, the band booked FON's studio and producer Alan Smyth once again in hopes that they could use Fire's studio advance without actually formalising a new deal. Under this arrangement, Pulp commenced work on what would ultimately become their next LP '' Separations''. Upon completing the album, with no discernible interest from any other label, the band reluctantly agreed to re-sign with Fire Records. As with ''Freaks'', the label would delay the release of ''Separations'' considerably, sitting on the album until 1992. In the meantime, however, in 1991, the " My Legendary Girlfriend" 12-inch became ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

''s single of the week. Stuart Maconie described it in his review as "a throbbing ferment of nightclub soul and teen opera". Another 1991 single, " Countdown," began to be mentioned in the mainstream press,Robinson, N. ''The Courier Mail and The Sunday Mail''. 15 August 1991.Gallivan, Joseph. "Rock/gig guide". ''The Independent''. 29 August 1991. and in October of that year, the band played its first overseas gig, a concert organised by French magazine '' Les Inrockuptibles''. Frustrated by what they viewed as a still intractable situation with Fire, Pulp worked with their new manager Suzanne Catty to drum up interest from major-label A&Rs in London; an arrangement was reached for interested suitor

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

to informally fund a few singles on Warp Records imprint Gift in order to bolster Pulp's indie profile while testing the commercial waters with a larger production budget. "O.U." was thus released by Gift in June 1992 (the same month ''Separations'' would finally see release on Fire); when Island learned of the band's heretofore unrevealed contractual obligation to Fire Records, however, further funding was withheld for fear of legal action, causing Cocker to seek a £5,000 loan from his family in order to keep Gift's planned release of " Babies" on schedule for October. Amid the stress and ambiguity of this episode, the band severed ties with Catty and soon took on the services of Rough Trade's management arm, who would successfully negotiate Pulp's release from Fire to Island Records under condition of the smaller label receiving a portion of the band's future major-label earnings. The band would later look back on its experiences with Fire Records as a disillusioning time, citing problems like poor promotion, lack of adequate distribution, and a failure to coordinate release schedules with Pulp's live activity; both Cocker and Senior confessed after the fact that the band agreed to the initial Fire deal because it "was the only offer on the table." Upon his own reflection, Banks took a slightly more equivocal stance on the label situation during this period:

iredid put out Pulp records when nobody else wanted to. OK, they were often months and years after they were recorded and almost all of them garnered zero sales, airplay, or interest but they were the only people to invest any money in Pulp for a long time. It is very easy to see that Pulp could have foundered in the mid and late eighties due to lack of interest. Is a band even a band without being able to release music? At least with Fire something was coming out. Just.

Commercial height: 1993–1996

After one final Gift single in February 1993 with "Razzmatazz," Island would fully take over releasing, with " Lipgloss" and the band's first UK top 40 hit " Do You Remember the First Time?"Roberts, David (editor) (2006) 977 '' British Hit Singles & Albums'' (19th edition). London:

HiT Entertainment HIT Entertainment Limited (stylised as HiT) was a British-American entertainment company founded in 1982 as Henson International Television, the international distribution arm of The Jim Henson Company, by Jim Henson, Peter Orton, and Sophie Turn ...

. p. 442. . These singles were followed by the Ed Buller-produced album '' His 'n' Hers'' (1994), which reached number nine on the

and was nominated for the

. This sudden increase in popularity was helped by the massive media interest in

alongside acts such as Suede,

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentBlur, with Pulp supporting the latter in a 1994 tour of the United States. 1995 saw the peak of Pulp's fame, with the release of their number two single on the UK Singles Chart, "

", in May 1995 and their performance in June at the

(standing in for

The Stone Roses The Stone Roses were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band's classic and most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist I ...

at the last minute). A double A-side single, " Sorted for E's & Wizz/Mis-Shapes", was to precede the release of their next album, '' Different Class'' (1995). Upon the release of "Sorted for E's and Wizz", the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...

'' 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. The single had an inlay which showed how to conceal amphetamines in a DIY 'wrap'. 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 don't think anyone who listens to 'Sorted' would come away thinking it had a pro-drugs message." The single reached number two on the UK Singles Charts. Released in October 1995, ''Different Class'' garnered significant critical praise and debuted at the top of the UK Album Chart. This was the first album featuring Pulp fan-club president Mark Webber, who became a permanent member of the band on guitar and keyboards. The album followed similar themes to their previous work with observations of life expressed through Cocker's sexualised, sometimes dark and witty lyrics. Other singles released from ''Different Class'' were " Disco 2000" and " Something Changed", which reached numbers seven and ten respectively in the UK. In September 1996, ''Different Class'' won the Mercury Music Prize. It was at this time that Cocker gained significant media exposure due to a notorious prank at the 1996 BRIT Awards, where he invaded the stage in protest during pop singer

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

's performance of " Earth Song" and "wiggled his backside" at the audience. After complaints by Jackson and his entourage, Cocker spent the night in Kensington Police Station, having been arrested on suspicion of actual bodily harm and assaulting the child performers. However, with British comedian and former solicitor Bob Mortimer acting as legal representation, he was released without charge. This incident propelled Cocker into great controversy in the UK and elsewhere, and Pulp's record sales soared as a result. The event also coincided with the beginning of their first arena tour and the ''Daily Mirror'', who had attacked the band months earlier, set up a "Justice for Jarvis" campaign backing his actions and carried out a stunt at Pulp's Sheffield Arena gig on 29 February, handing out free T-shirts. The ''NME'' described Cocker's actions as a "great publicity stunt" which was "creative, subversive and very, very funny",Mulvey, John. "Fiasco 2000!". ''NME''. 2 March 1996. while ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' described Cocker as, "arguably the Fifth Most Famous Man in Britain"Simpson, Dave. "Fame Fatale". ''Melody Maker''. 30 March 1996. and suggested he should be knighted. In March 1996, a compilation of Pulp's early recordings on Fire Records entitled '' Countdown 1992–1983'' was released on the Nectar Masters label. It received largely negative reviews, but due to the band's popularity at the time it reached the top 10 of the UK charts. Cocker, whose permission was not sought before release, urged fans not to purchase the album, comparing it to "a garish old family photograph album". Later in 1996, Pulp gained minor international recognition on the back of the inclusion of the track "Mile End" on the ''Trainspotting'' soundtrack. In August, the band played their last public performance for almost two years as headliners of the 1996

V Festival V Festival, often referred to as V Fest or simply V, was an annual music festival held in the United Kingdom during the third weekend in August. The event was held at two parks simultaneously which shared the same bill; artists performed at one ...

Until break-up: 1996–2002

It was during this period of intense fame and tabloid scrutiny that longtime member and major innovator in the band's sound Russell Senior decided to leave the band, saying, "it wasn't creatively rewarding to be in Pulp anymore".Barber, Lynn. "Puppy Love". ''The Observer''. 5 April 1998. The band were due to begin working on a new album in late 1996. However, Cocker was having difficulty with the celebrity lifestyle, battling

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

addiction and a break-up of a long-term relationship. When the band came to begin work on the next album, they had only one song – " Help the Aged". This creative inertia meant the band took over a year to finish the next record. Indeed, it was Cocker's disillusionment with his long-desired wish for fame that made up much of the subject matter of '' This Is Hardcore'', which was released in March 1998. The album took a darker and more challenging tone than that of ''Different Class'' and lyrical topics – pornography (the title track), fame ("Glory Days") and the after effects of drugs ("The Fear") – were dealt with more earnestly than on previous records. Also in 1998, Pulp collaborated with Patrick Doyle on the song "Like A Friend" for the soundtrack to the film '' Great Expectations''. The song was also used in the

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

cartoon '' The Venture Bros.'' season 4 finale " Operation: P.R.O.M." Pulp then spent a few years "in the wilderness" before reappearing in 2001 with a new album, '' We Love Life''. The extended period between the release of ''This is Hardcore'' and ''We Love Life'' is partly attributed to having initially recorded the songs which comprise the album and being dissatisfied with the results. Subsequent interviews also suggested interpersonal and artistic differences, including managing the fallout of the Britpop/''Different Class'' era. Singer/songwriter Scott Walker agreed to produce the record and this symbolised a new phase in Pulp's development. This new effort fell short of expectations and was to be Pulp's last album for 24 years. Pulp subsequently undertook a tour of the National Parks in the UK, even playing a show as far north as Elgin in Scotland. Richard Hawley, the Sheffield-based singer/songwriter, was also present on various dates on this tour. He later described it as "very much pink feather boas and glamour which was great and brilliant. That was about trying to find glamour among all the shit and I loved all that". In 2002 the band announced that they were leaving their label, Island. A greatest hits package was released: '' Hits'', with one new track. It is unclear whether this was the band's decision or released to satisfy contractual agreements. A music festival, Auto, was organised (held at Rotherham's Magna centre) where they played their last gig before embarking on a 9-year hiatus.

After break-up: 2003–2010

Cocker was involved in a number of one-offs and side projects, including the group Relaxed Muscle with Jason Buckle and the film '' Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'', where he fronted a group which included Steve Mackey and members of

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

. In 2006 he collaborated with Air, Neil Hannon and Charlotte Gainsbourg on her album entitled ''5:55''. In 2007 he appeared on

Air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

's album '' Pocket Symphony'', co-writing and giving vocals to the tracks "One Hell of a Party" and "The Duelist". His first solo album, '' Jarvis'', with the participation of Mackey, was released to critical acclaim in November 2006. Candida Doyle has performed live with Cocker on his solo tours. Mackey produced tracks on the debut album by M.I.A., '' Arular'', and on '' Someone to Drive You Home'' by

the Long Blondes The Long Blondes were an English indie rock band formed in Sheffield in 2003 by Dorian Cox (lead guitar and keyboards), Reenie Hollis (real name Kathryn Hollis) (bass guitar and backing vocals), Emma Chaplin (rhythm guitar, keyboards and backin ...

, both of which were critically well received. He has also produced tracks for Bromheads Jacket and Florence + The Machine. On 11 September 2006 the band re-released three of their albums (''His 'n' Hers'', ''Different Class'', and ''This Is Hardcore''), each with a bonus disc of B-sides, demos and rarities. On 23 October 2006 a 2-CD set compiling all of Pulp's John Peel Sessions from 1982 to 2001 was released.

First reunion: 2011–2013

Pulp performing at Isle of Wight Festival 2011 3

In November 2010 it was announced that the ''Different Class'' line-up (Cocker, Banks, Doyle, Mackey, Senior and Webber) would be playing at the Wireless festival in London's Hyde Park and a Saturday slot at the

Isle of Wight Festival The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport, Isle of Wight, Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a Counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970. Th ...

in 2011. In a message sent to the band's official mailing list on 1 January 2011, Cocker said the large amount of interest in the band's reunion had been "an inspiration," and that he was pleased with how rehearsals were going. The band announced 22 concerts between May and September 2011, taking place in Europe and Australia. Pulp were one of the surprise special guests at Glastonbury Festival 2011 in June where they played on The Park stage on Saturday evening. They performed at the Sziget Festival in Hungary on 10 August, Way Out West Festival in Sweden on 13 August, and played as co-headliners to

The Strokes The Strokes are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1998. The band is composed of lead singer and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr., Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikola ...

at the

Reading Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading, Berkshire, Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend ...

and the Leeds Festival during the final weekend of August 2011. They headlined the Electric Picnic on 4 September, their last festival of the year. On 9 January 2012, the Coachella festival line-up was released, with Pulp listed as part of the line-up. Further dates were announced, including North and South America and a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in support of the Teenage Cancer Trust. Senior did not take part in the 2012 gigs. In February 2012, ''It'', ''Freaks'' and ''Separations'' (the albums released by Fire Records) were re-issued. These editions came with bonus tracks, including "Death Goes to the Disco", "Dogs Are Everywhere" and "Sink or Swim". Cocker told '' ShortList'' magazine in April 2012 that he was working on ideas for new Pulp songs, but in November he told '' Q'' that the band had no plans to release new material and would be "cruising off into the sunset" at the end of the year, signalling a possible end to the reunion. The band played a one-off concert in their hometown of Sheffield in December that year, at the 13,500 capacity Motorpoint Arena and made a previously unreleased track, " After You", available for download to those who had attended the concert. It was subsequently released to the general public in January 2013 via digital download. The song had previously only existed in demo form. Their last performance was to promote the song on '' The Jonathan Ross Show'' on 9 February 2013. In May 2015, a music heritage plaque was unveiled at the venue of the band's first gig, The Leadmill, Sheffield. Band members Jarvis Cocker, Nick Banks, Steve Mackey, Candida Doyle and Mark Webber were present at the ceremony.

Second reunion: 2022–present

In July 2022, following speculation from a cryptic Instagram post, Cocker announced that the band would reunite for a series of concerts in 2023. Nick Banks also tweeted confirming the announcement by saying "Hey folks, unsurprisingly it's has all gone a bit mental on here. Gig details will be revealed as and when. Stay calm, hug your #pulp records and dream of going mental sometime in 2023." The reunion was officially confirmed on 28 October 2022, with dates announced at Finsbury Park, TRNSMT,

Latitude Festival Latitude Festival is an annual music and arts festival set within the grounds of Henham Park, near Southwold, Suffolk, England. The first edition of the festival took place in 2006 and has continued annually (apart from 2020 when it was cancel ...

as well as two homecoming shows at Sheffield Arena. Steve Mackey announced on his Instagram that he would not be taking part in the tour but stated; "Wishing Candy, Nick, Mark and Jarvis the very best with forthcoming performances in the UK and also an enormous thanks to Pulp's amazing fanbase, many of whom have sent me lovely messages today". On 2 March 2023, the band announced that Mackey had died at the age of 56. For the reunion tour, the band were joined by Andrew McKinney on bass, Emma Smith on guitar and violin, and Adam Betts on keyboards, guitar, and percussion. The tour also featured a ten-piece string section called the Elysian Collective. During this tour they also debuted two new songs; "Hymn of the North" and "Background Noise". The reunion continued into 2024 with a North America tour which began in September. During this leg they debuted three more new songs: "Spike Island", "My Sex" and "Farmer's Market". On 12 December 2024, the band announced that they had signed with

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis, who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. It is currently run by co-managing directors Travis and Jeannette Lee and ...

, which had managed the band previously. Pulp released '' More'', their first album since 2001, on 6 June 2025. "Spike Island", the album's first single, was released on 10 April, and the second single 'Got to Have Love' was released on 22 May.

Band members

Current members *

– lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, drums (1978–2002, 2011–2013, 2022–present) * Candida Doyle – keyboards, organ, backing vocals (1984–1986, 1987–2002, 2011–2013, 2022–present) * Nick Banks – drums, percussion (1986–2002, 2011–2013, 2022–present) * Mark Webber – guitar, keyboards (1995–2002, 2011–2013, 2022–present; touring musician 1991–1995) Touring musicians * Andrew McKinney – bass (2023–present) * Emma Smith – violin, guitar (2023–present) * Adam Betts – percussion, guitar, keyboards (2023–present) * Richard Jones – viola, keyboards, backing vocals (2023–present) Former members * Steve Mackey – bass (1988–2002, 2011–2013, died 2023) * Russell Senior – guitar, violin, vocals (1983–1997, 2011) * Peter Dalton – guitar, keyboards, vocals (1978–1982) * Ian Dalton – percussion (1978–1979) * David "Fungus" Lockwood – bass (1979) * Mark Swift – drums, percussion (1979–1980) * Philip Thompson – bass (1979–1980) * Jimmy Sellars – drums (1980–1981) * Jamie Pinchbeck – bass (1980–1982) * Wayne Furniss – drums, guitar, bass (1981–1982) * David Hinkler – keyboards, organ, trombone, guitar (1982–1983) * Simon Hinkler – bass, guitar, keyboards, piano (1982–1983), drums (1986) * Peter Boam – bass, guitar, drums, keyboards (1982–1983, died 2006) * Magnus Doyle – drums, keyboards, guitar (1983–1986) * Peter Mansell – bass, backing vocals (1983–1986) * Tim Allcard – keyboards, saxophone, poetry, drums (1983–1984) * Michael Paramore – drums, percussion (1983) * Steven Havenhand – bass (1986–1988) * Captain Sleep – keyboards (1986–1987) * Antony Genn – bass (1988) Former touring musicians * Saskia Cocker – backing vocals (1982–1983, 2012) * Jill Taylor – backing vocals (1982–1983, 2012) * Garry Wilson – drums (1982–1983) * Richard Hawley – guitar (1998–2002, 2011–2012; guest 2023) *

Leo Abrahams Leo Matthew Abrahams (born 28 November 1977) is an English musician, composer and producer. He has collaborated with Brian Eno, Katie Melua, Imogen Heap, Jarvis Cocker, Carl Barât, Regina Spektor, Jon Hopkins and Paul Simon. After attending th ...

– guitar (2011–2013) * Jean Cook – violin (2012)

Timeline

Discography

* '' It'' (1983) * '' Freaks'' (1987) * '' Separations'' (1992) * '' His 'n' Hers'' (1994) * '' Different Class'' (1995) * '' This Is Hardcore'' (1998) * '' We Love Life'' (2001) * '' More'' (2025)

Awards and nominations

{, class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" , - ! scope="col" , Award ! scope="col" , Year ! scope="col" , Category ! scope="col" , Nominee(s) ! scope="col" , Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable", , - ! scope="row" rowspan=4, Brit Awards , rowspan=4,

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, British Group , Themselves , , rowspan=4, , - , British Album of the Year , '' Different Class'' , , - , British Single of the Year , rowspan=2, "

" , , - , British Video of the Year , , - ! scope="row", D&AD Awards , 1996 , Pop Promo Videos: Direction , " Disco 2000" , , , - ! scope="row" rowspan=3,

Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

, 1996 , rowspan=2, Best Song Musically and Lyrically , "

" , , , - , 1999 , " A Little Soul" , , , - , 2017 , Outstanding Song Collection , Themselves , , , - ! scope="row" rowspan=3,

MTV Europe Music Awards The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an al ...

, rowspan=3,

, Best Song , " Disco 2000" , , rowspan=3, , - , Best Group , rowspan=2, Themselves , , - , Best New Act , , - ! scope="row", MVPA Awards , 1998 , Best International Video , " Help the Aged" , , , - ! scope="row" rowspan=3,

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...

, 1994 , rowspan=3, Album of the Year , '' His 'n' Hers'' , , rowspan=3, , - , 1996 , '' Different Class'' , , - , 1998 , '' This Is Hardcore'' , , - ! scope="row" rowspan=14, NME Awards , rowspan=6, 1996 , Best Band , rowspan=2, Themselves , , rowspan=7, , - , Best Live Act , , - , Best Video , rowspan=2, "

" , , - , rowspan=2, Best Single , , - , " Sorted for E's & Wizz" , , - , Best Album , '' Different Class'' , , - , 1997 , rowspan=2, Best Band , rowspan=2, Themselves , , - , rowspan=3, 1999 , , rowspan=3, , - , Best Album , '' This Is Hardcore'' , , - , Best Single , " This is Hardcore" , , - , rowspan=3, 2012 , Outstanding Contribution to Music , rowspan=3, Themselves , , , - , Best Live Band , , rowspan=2, , - , Greatest Music Moment of the Year , , - , 2015 , Best Music Film , '' A Film About Life, Death And Supermarkets'' , , , - ! scope="row" rowspan=4, Q Awards , 1996 , rowspan=2, Best Live Act , rowspan=2, Themselves , , rowspan=3, , - , rowspan=2, 1998 , , - , Best Album , '' This Is Hardcore'' , , - , 2012 , Inspiration Award , rowspan=2, Themselves , , , - ! scope="row", Smash Hits Poll Winners Party , 1996 , Best Indie-Type Band , ,

Notes

References

* Mark Sturdy, ''Truth & Beauty: The Story of Pulp'' (Omnibus Press, 2003) – comprehensive biography * Jean-Marie Pottier, ''Brit Pulp. La britpop selon Pulp, de Thatcher à Blair'' (Autour du Livre, 2009) – a French essay about the connections between Pulp and English popular culture of its time * Russell Senior. ''Freak Out the Squares: Life in a Band Called Pulp''. (Aurum Press, 2015) - memoir regarding Senior's initial tenure and subsequent reunion with the band * Nick Banks. ''So It Started There: From Punk to Pulp.'' (Omnibus Press, 2023) - memoir by longtime Pulp drummer * Mark Webber. ''I’m with Pulp, Are You?'' (Hat & Beard Press, 2024) – annotated visual history by Pulp guitarist Mark Webber drawing from his extensive collection of Pulp ephemera, photographs and documents.

External links

*
Discography at acrylicafternoons.com

PulpWiki
– a comprehensive user-generated resource for everything related to Pulp
Bar Italia
– active discussion forum for Pulp fans worldwide
The Beat Is The Law – Fanfare For The Common People (2011)
– critically acclaimed music documentary about Pulp's rise to fame
''Pulp: a Film about Life, Death & Supermarkets''
– Florian Habicht's film that launched at SXSW in March 2014 * * {{Authority control Britpop groups English alternative rock groups English indie pop groups Musical groups from Sheffield Musical groups established in 1978 Musical groups disestablished in 2002 Musical groups reestablished in 2010 Musical groups reestablished in 2023 English art rock groups NME Awards winners