Pulp
6th December
15 August 2023
13 July 2023
A Pulp-themed bus has been unveiled by First South Yorkshire ahead of the two concerts at Sheffield Utilita Arena on 14/15 July and will be serving "random" Sheffield bus routes in the near future.
In other news, Nick Banks will be appearing at Waterstones Deangate in Manchester on Friday 22nd September at 6.30pm to promote his forthcoming memoir So It Started There published by Omnibus Press. General admission tickets are £5, or £22 with a paperback copy of the book. The evening will consist of a talk, followed by an audience Q&A and signing.
27 June 2023
The special edition hardback of Nick Banks' upcoming autobiography So It Started There is now available to pre-order from Omnibus Press. Priced £25 and limited to 1,000 copies, it features an alternative cover and includes entry into a special draw to win an original supermarket prop from the Common People music video. The regular paperback edition is also available, priced £20. The 432 page memoir features an introduction from Richard Hawley.
The press release in full:
So It Started There chronicles the life and career of drummer Nick Banks, and how he came to be in one of the UK’s most iconic and beloved bands: Pulp.
Beginning with his childhood in Rotherham, Nick recounts his personal and musical journey through the genres, first as a punk, then as a goth; how it all started when he was first inspired to pick up the sticks by Sex Pistols drummer, Paul Cook.
Flash forward to the eighties, Nick has been playing in a handful of Sheffield groups and spies an ad from his favourite band, Pulp, in a local club. He pays Jarvis and the gang a visit and the rest is history.
From there, Nick describes his growth as a professional drummer and musician, the trials and tribulations of chasing success in the music industry, touring triumphs and horrors, the band’s journey from relative obscurity to becoming a global sensation, and the process of writing and recording their most famous albums.
Written with warmth, humour and inimitable northern charm, Nick tells all. And with it, tells the story of a band that defined a generation.
‘Nick Banks is the time-keeper of Pulp, and within these covers are the early times, the good times, the not-so-good times and the WTF times. Do You Remember the First Time? Nick does. Great stuff.’ – Jarvis Cocker
17 June 2023
The summer of Pulp continued this weekend with a headlining appearance on the Main Stage at the Barclaycard Isle Of Wight Festival on Friday 16th June.
Three songs from the set were televised by Sky Arts late in the evening, repeated on Saturday 17th June at 7pm, with Common People available to watch in full via Sky TV's official YouTube channel for a limited time. Digital radio station Absolute Radio carried the same performances in their Saturday evening programme from 6.55-10pm.
The Isle Of Wight County Press reported how the band had soundchecked at the nearby Medina College, on the outskirts of Newport, in between GCSE exams.
Meanwhile, the classic Island-era Pulp singles from Lipgloss onwards are finally being made available via streaming platforms on a weekly schedule, along with 'remastered' promo videos. Unfortunately it appears, however, that not all songs are as they were initially presented on those original releases, with the The Sisters E.P. very clearly using edits/versions that were later included on the His 'n' Hers deluxe album. It's to be hoped that these will be corrected at a later date.
1 June 2023
After two highly praised appearances in Bridlington and Warrington, Pulp have added three further UK dates to their expanding 2023 reunion tour.
A huge outdoor show at Manchester's Castlefield Bowl (8,450 capacity) will take place on Tuesday 4th July with support from Baxter Dury. Two further nights at London’s Eventim Apollo Hammersmith with special guest Lisa O'Neill are confirmed for Friday 28th and Saturday 29th July, with the latter seemingly being filmed by the band (hopefully for commercial release).
Tickets for all three dates go on sale at 9am on Friday 2nd June.
In exciting news, the band have also confirmed a return to South America later in the year, performing at Fauna Primavera in Santiago, Chile on the weekend of 24/25 November, exactly eleven years after their last appearance - surely paving the way for more appearances across the globe in the coming months.
1 June 2023
An official merchandise store has been launched to coincide with the band's live return.
Pulp Official sells all manner of items from t-shirts to tea bags, tea towels to beach towels and for the particularly flash, Tatty Devine jewellery and a wall mirror. Certain items are online exclusives many are also be available to buy at concerts from the merchandise stall.
24 April 2023
In news that will delight diehard Pulp fans everywhere, Omnibus Press have announced the memoirs of long-serving drummer Nick Banks are due for publication in September 2023.
'And It Started There: From Punk To Pulp' "will trace the musician’s life from childhood through to the success of Pulp, which helped define the Britpop era".
Nick (pictured right with Omnibus editor Claire Browne) shared the news via Twitter, commenting: "Guess I might as well tell you lot. The memoir is in the can and out Sept this year - timing or what... Let you know more as we know it. Ok?”
25 March 2023
Beloved Pulp bassist Steve Mackey was laid to rest at Highgate Cemetery in North London on Saturday 25th March.
The Sun reported "A brass band and 25 speakers boomed out funk hits as a host of stars followed his flower-bedecked coffin carried on a vintage Land Rover. The Joubert Singers’ 1982 hit Stand On The Word rang out as celebs gathered at Highgate Cemetery, North London, to pay their respects."
In attendance alongside family, friends and bandmates were Peter Crouch, Abbey Clancy, Noel Gallagher, Patsy Kensit, Daisy Lowe, Courtney Love and Marc Jacobs.
A short memorial video featuring audio with Steve and highlights of his work was posted on his Instagram page.
20 March 2023
Twelve years since BBC Four rewound Top Of The Pops back to 1976, repeats of the classic music chart programme have reached June 1994 and, at last, the arrival of Pulp!
The first of fifteen appearances on the programme, Pulp performed Babies, the lead track on The Sisters EP (released 23rd May 1994) on the 2nd June 1995 edition, due for broadcast this Friday 24th March at 7.30pm GMT. It was particularly notable for Jarvis unexpectedly opening his jacket to reveal a sign saying "I HATE WET WET WET". He took advantage of the fact that unusually the show was going out live. Wet Wet Wet were just beginning fifteen long, long, long weeks at the top with a cover of The Troggs's 'Love Is All Around'.
It'll be a little while before Pulp return to BBC Four, with Common People heralding major chart success in May 1995, but the majority of their appearances should be broadcast over the next few years; one confirmed casualty though is the 7th December 1995 edition featuring Disco 2000 (via satellite), being skipped due to the prescence of guest presenter Gary Glitter.
13 March 2023
A new four-part Channel 5 series documenting the story of the Britpop scene in the mid-90s will feature new interviews with Pulp keyboardist Candida Doyle and drummer Nick Banks, plus insights from long-time Pulp fan/expert and Bar Italia regular Mark Sturdy.
The opening episode focused on the origins of Britpop and the key rivalries of Blur, Oasis, Suede and Elastica, with Pulp and other emerging bands due to feature in part two, scheduled at 10pm on Sunday 19th March.
All episodes will be available to view free for a month from broadcast on the My5 catch-up service.