Pulp: Pulp People Newsletter 14

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

It was going to read "Happy Christmas", but those of you who have been pulp people for any length of time will be used to, indeed you will have come to expect, our laid back style of service, I know, it's part of our charm. There are, naturally, genuine reasons for the delay:

1. Christmas.
2. Pulp HQ has moved house. We now have the luxury of a real desk. Instead of one constructed out of cardboard boxes, a real chair, in fact a whole room! And we still can't get a newsletter together.
3. The tour. Things got a bit behind due to my drunken galavanting, for which I have no excuse.
4. There is no number 4. General hecticness.

However, we are determined to get this to you, our very important pulp people, before the February dates. This would be impossible, were it not for my glamorous new assistant Doug, who in return gets, well, anything he wants really, I'm that grateful.

So, welcome to newsletter number 14. Yet again there's hot off the press news, competitions, Dr Pulp, exclusive interviews, classified pulp ads, and the predictable homage to J.C. that is the pulp art gallery. PLEASE! No more pictures of Jarvis, in fact, I'm not going to print a single one in the next newsletter, there are five other members of pulp in case you'd forgotten.

In a futile attempt to make up for the long wait, every pulp person will receive a unique new postcard. There was going to be another, more exciting free gift, but that fell through and has been put on hold until next time.

Pulp people who get special thanks from me for cheering me up through the hell of the last four months, are top boy Sebastien B., top girl Dympna, Nick K., Reubs, Damo Suzuki, Arthur Beattle, Eve and Valentina. And Pru, for being great.

Thanks to everyone who sent in pictures, sadly we haven't been able to include as many as we we'd like but never fear, they'll turn up somewhere in a future newsletter.

Love, Alex x

NEW RELEASES

New Single
As we go to press, Pulp still can't decide whether to release "Something Changed" or F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E.. Whatever, it's gonna hit the shops in mid-March in the usual and extremely annoying two cd / cassette format.

Trainspotting soundtrack
However, we don't have to wait until March for a new Pulp song. "Mile End" is released on the soundtrack to "Trainspotting" on the 19th February and thanks to our friends at EMI we have 10 copies of the album to give away. The full track listing is as follows:
Iggy Pop - Lust For Life
Brian Eno - Deep Blue Day
Primal Scream - Trainspotting
Sleeper - Atomic
New Order - Temptation
Iggy Pop - Nightclubbing
Blur - Sing
Lou Reed - Perfect Day
Pulp - Mile End
Bedrock - For What You Dream Of
Elastica - 2:1
Leftfield - A Final Hit
Underworld - Born Slippy
Damon Albarn - Closet Romantic

What you have to do to win yourself a copy of this fantastic album is tell us the author of "Trainspotting" and name any one of his other novels. Piece of cake! Answers on a postcard (those not on a postcard will be binned) please to the usual address.

Duet horror
Lush chanteuse Miki Berenyi has somehow conned Jarvis into recording vocals for the next Lush single. It's called, appropriately, "Ciao", and is out in March. For hardcore fans only, I'd say.

WEBBER EXCLUSIVE

Despite the comparatively short time Mark has been a full time member of Pulp, he has successfully established himself as by far the group's most miserable, most Andy Warhol obsessed individual, despite futile attempts to prove otherwise. We decided to delve deep into his past and find out just what made Mark the way he is today.

Perhaps his mother could shed some light on the mystery. We paid her a visit...

Mrs Webber opened the lift door and invited me into the lofty warehouse they had made their home; wearing her stripey T-Shirt, black Jeans and silver wig, she put down the super-8 camera in her hand, and waved at the couple on the couch to get dressed and make themselves scarce. Could hear Tin Machine playing in the background, one of the CD's Mark left behind, apparently. I started by asking about Mark, whether his lifestyle is a source of worry?

MW: "Uh. no."

PP: Did you think he would end up in the gutter?

MW: "Uh, yes."

PP: Doesn't his alcohol and drug intake worry you at all?

MW: Uh....no."

PP: Don't you ever miss his happy smiling face, you know, helping you with the silk screens and stuff or his constant joking around and playfulness?

MW: "Uh, no."

PP: Do you miss tidying up after him, doing his washing, ironing his tiny clothes, and brushing his wig before school?

MW: "Uh.... (Looks sad) yeah."

I was very excited at the way that Mrs Webber was opening up to me, this was going really well. We had some tea, well she just had a couple of pills I think. Mr. Webber came home at that point so we had to call it a day, he had this great idea for a new film, something about the Empire State Building.

PULP ON THE ROAD

The next few months sees Pulp working their collective bollocks off in search of fame and fortune abroad. They go to Japan for the first time, Germany, Italy, Denmark and Sweden. Here's where to find them:

January 16th - 18th: Jarvis + and Mark hit Germany to promote the album, visiting Cologne, Stuttgart and Munich. The 18th sees them appearing on the German TV equivalent of The David Letterman Show, "The Harald Schmidt Show."

January 19th: Russell and Candida travel to Copenhagen to see the sights.

January 20th: Fly to Milan from where they drive to Bologna, for the "Red Ronnie TV Show". (Sounds a bit dodgy).

January 23rd: NME Brats Awards.

January 27th: Japan dates kick off in Osaka: Club Quattro. (cap. 700)
January 28th: Nagoya: Club Quattro. (cap. 550)
January 30th to February 1st: Tokyo:On AirEast (cap. 1000)

February 6th: Stockholm
February 7th: Oslo
February 9th: Gothenberg
February 10th: Lund
February 11th: Copenhagen

After a week's rest (Rehearsals), they embark on the biggest tour ever in terms of venues, selling out at:
February 20th: Brighton Arena (cap 4500)
February 21st: Cardiff Arena (cap 6500)
February 22nd: Birmingham NEC (cap 11300)
February 23rd: Manchester Arena (cap 13000)
February 25th: Edinburgh Ingleston RHC (cap 6000)
February 26th: Newcastle Arena (cap 9000)
February 28th: Hull Humberside Ice Arena (cap 3750)
February 29th: Sheffield Arena (cap 10972)
March 1st: London Wembley Arena (cap 10938)

STOP PRESS: Extra date March 2nd - Wembley Arena

Ask Dr. Pulp

In this section Dr. Pulp will attempt to answer questions put to him by you - The People. Specialist subjects are Pulp and..... Pulp.
The Doctor is in... Normal surgery is in session. Nurse Dexter, give me my first question.

• Steve is from Widnes and he's interested to find out just what Jarvis is going on about in "Common People" in the "Dog lying in a corner" bit. Is it too obscene to publish, he asks?
The Doc says, whilst recording the acoustic guitar track, Jarvis' headphone level was too loud, and he was asking for it to be turned down. The "Dog lying in the corner" bit is Jarvis wittering on as only he can, while the levels were corrected. The group thought it sounded good anyway and kept it.

• Another question from Steve: On the St. Etienne fanclub-only CD, the notes on the inlay sleeve say "Photo's by...... and Jarvis Cocker". Is it the photo on the front
that Jarvis took, and if it is, is that Kelvin Flats as in "Deep Fried In Kelvin"?
Yes and no Steve, it is Jarvis' photograph but he didn't take it - he found it, and passed it on to Bob (Stanley). It isn't Kelvin Flats, but it's a nice idea.

• James from Purley, asks, which charity shops are best for clothes, and does Jarvis still use them?
These days Jarvis' clothes may look like they're from Help the Aged but infact he has become a charity case himself, regulary receiving donations and food parcels from Katherine Hamnett. "Designer labels are the new charity shops". Yeah, right.

• Lucy wants to know if the girl who steals the two drinks in the "Mis-Shapes" video is the actress who played Zammo's girlfriend Jackie in Grange Hill?
Yes it is Lucy, she's certainly come along way since the heady days of "Just Say No".

• Paul from Dumfries wants to know, which song from His 'n' Hers is it that Nick plays fire extinguisher on? C'mon Nicky, spill the beans.
It's "David's Last Summer", Paul, but Nick doesn't actually play it saxaphone style as you might have imagined, but merely taps the casing. He had planned to let it off in the studio but health & safety regulations prevented him from doing so.

• Mark is from Shropshire and asks the Doctor to ask the group, what is their most treasured possession?
Mark was the only member of Pulp around when I put this question to him, and he confessed that he is very attached to his "collection of misprinted postcards". Thought it might be, Mark.

• Emma of Margate needs advice: She has recently begun a Media Studies course and is finding it really boring, apart from Fridays when they do Film Studies. What she wants to know is, should she chuck in the course and do something else, or should she do the course just so she can come in on Fridays and do film?
Well, Emma, far be it from me to decide the course your life should take, but my advice to you is, go and get on a proper film course and stop mucking about with the media shit.

• Becky, over there is the US of Stateside, simply wants to know what brands of cigarettes do the band smoke?
Smoking is not a habit I would recommend to Pulp People but the band lead stressful lives so I suppose I'll make an exception in their case. Jarvis and Steve both smoke Silk Cut, whilst Russell prefers Silk Cut Ultra Low to the usual full strength variety.

• Pip, from Beverley, is having trouble deciphering Jarvis' ramblings: What the fuck is he on about in "P.T.A." when all you can hear is a girl giggling?
After listening to the track, I can honestly say I don't know. We asked Mark if he could shed any light on the matter: "Jarvis wanted to make Candida giggle and took her behind a screen in the studio, as soon as you could say PTA Candida was giggling uncontrollably! Yet, to this day, nobody knows what went on behind that screen."

THIS IS THE NEWS

fact! Pulp are not, never were, or have the slightest notion of decamping to america. this was a lie cooked up by the gutter press and was denounced by my informant as 'Complete bollocks".

fact! The Michel Polnaraff tribute album as reported in a previous newsletter has been recorded but due to record company wrangles has yet to be released. Will the genius of "Le Roi des Fourmis" ever make it into the shops?

fact! Record sales for Different Class reached a staggering 295,738 in its first week of release, not including over the counter sales.

fact! INTERNET PULP. Various people have set up sites on the 'net. Here's a list of addresses to 'log on' to: Island Records' Site: http://www.island.co.uk. Or try Anthony Bailey's Manchester based site at: http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/baileya/Pulp/Index.html; Or try fans in Liverpool http://ns.ph.liv.ac.uk:80/mbs/pulp/
A new and exclusive web site officially developed for pulp is on its way and will act as an online newsletter, updated every few days - unlike this one. More details in tha next newsletter. (Ha, Ha).

Tour info
This piece was going to be entitled "Support Acts Better Than Main Band Horror", but I like my job too much to risk it. It doesn't come much better than these guys though. First up we have DENIM. I'm not sure if it's going to be the much vaunted Denim On Ice Extravaganza, frankly I think that would be just too much to take - and as if having Lawrence in the house isn't enough, next up is The King Of Rockers, the godlike genius of Mr EDWYN COLLINS. One naive Pulp Person was foolish enough to say in a letter that "he's crap" (Oooh, be careful Pulp Person, whoever you are. This carries the death penalty in Alex's house - Typeset ed). Edwyn, (wait for it -TS ed) is not crap in any way whatsoever, and that person has since been eliminated from the Pulp files using my Death Ray. (Told you - TSed) So kids, get ready to be majorly fucking impressed...

Black Session
Pulp recorded their third Black Session on the 30th of October of last year in studio 105 of Radio France Inter. The set, played to an audience of Pulp People and assorted luminaries was as follows: Sorted for E's and Wizz, Something Changed, Whiskey in a Jar, Lyndhurst Grove, I SPY, Disco 2000, Live Bed Show, Underwear and Common People. Whiskey in a Jar is a Thin Lizzy song and continues the tradition of doing covers in foreign countries.

Toplive!
Toplive is a French TV programme on Europe 1. Pulp recorded a set on 13th November which was broadcast on the 26th November: Set list on this occasion reads; Common People; Sorted for E's and Wizz; Little Girl (Troggs cover not With Blue Eyes) ; Bar Italia; I SPY, and Disco 2000.

PULP LONELY HEARTS

In a new seasonal feature we attempt to unite Pulp People from across the globe. This time we have two young hopefuls who are absolutely gagging for It...

♥ Lovely ANNETTE [...] of [...] Oschersleben, Germany, met Oliver at MTV's Most Wanted. Too shy to ask for his address, she is now very keen to get in touch with him again. Oliver from Brighton, if you're out there, please get in touch with Annette and make her the happiest Pulp Person in Oschersleben.

♥ Lonely Nick [...] of [...] Norfolk has succumbed to the magical beauty of Candida. He wants to know if there are any major Pulp fans in Wolverhampton as he is looking for a companion to share gigs/excitement/pulp facts with. Candida lookalikes welcome, sweet small girls or girls with cute faces will do... (Had to cut you off Nick, this is a family show).

COMPETITION TIME

The answer to the Russell's Shades Competition we printed last time was: 69 (surprise). As usual we had a phenomenal response, and I've only just finished wading through the postcards. The adjudicating panel (consisting of The Electric Sound Of Joy) has just, literally, passed me the winning postcard: Congratulations to Azalee from Boussay, France. You win Russell's shades and a note from him proving their authenticity. Lucky girl, you deserve them.

☆

This time we have 10, yes 10 signed Pulp Calenders to be won. All you have to do is tell us: When is Mark's birthday. Couldn't be easier huh? Answers on a postcard please, to the usual address. The lucky winners will be announced in the next newsletter; the calenders should reach the winners by the end of the year...

PULP CARTOON COMPETITION

Island records have given us a copy of the ultra-rare Common People cartoon book. It's a six page comic strip based on the lyrics to Common People. It's designed by famous cult cartoonist Jamie Hewlett - all you have to do to win this magnificent signed piece of Pulp memorabilia is tell us which comic strip is Jamie Hewlett most famous for? Answers on a postcard please...

Fanzines

Other Pulp Publications received over the last few months are the fanzines. Here's what we've had through the Pulp-o-box.

★ TOURNICO... PULP #3. 10ff + A4 to [...] Boussay, FRANCE. As usual a stunning effort from the Tournico team. Christmas issue features an unbelievable Pulp 'Game Of Life' Board Game, and full text translation. Crazy.

★ HARRY PYE'S CHRISTMAS FRANK #3. A5 sae to... [...] London [...]. Features ace interview with Russell, Nick and Candida. He reckons its produced monthly but we know that to be an impossible task.

★ SUICIDAL LEMONS #3. £1.20 + A5 sae from [...] Middlesbrough, Cleveland [...]. Indie fanzine featuring Pulp at Glastonbury and the Heineken Festival.

★ PULP FRICTION #3. £1 + A5 sae to [...] Nottingham [...]. Apparently you get a free badge with this (though I have yet to find mine). Reviews, competitions, adverts (all sounds a bit familiar) - an all round pulp frenzy.

★ IROC (Irish Rock News) (no I'm not joking) 50p + A5 sae from [...] London [...]. Features a transcription of the John Peel / Jarvis / Nick extravaganza broadcast as part of Peel's show last year.

★ SYNTHETIC FLUFF, I'm not sure if this is actually in existence yet, but write to [...] USA to find out. It's purely a pulp fanzine, "filled with fun stuff including your very own cut-out-and-keep Jarvis dress up paper doll complete with interchangable wardrobe". The mind boggles.

★ Lastly, not strictly a fanzine, more of a proper magazine, ULTRAMOTIVE (£1.50) is available from [...] Liverpool, L5 [...]. BIG Pulp feature, great pictures of Nick and Jarv.

PULP PENPALS

♦ LAURE [...] OLIVET, France. She wants penpals "to write about Pulp and about whatever.... to form like an international nice persons group". I wish you luck Laure, you'll need it.

♦ REBECCA [...] Co. Armagh, N. Ireland, [...]. She's apparently a "social outcast who likes Pulp, Cockney Rebel and Mott the Hoople & would like to talk to Wet Wet Wet fans... maybe not, but write and cheer me up please". Do It.

♦ RUTH [...] Wednesbury, W.Midlands, [...]. She'd like to write to anyone at all, and like Pulp (no, really). Supergrass, Ash, Oasis, Menswear... She'd also like to hear from anyone who has an unhealthy Jarvis obsession.

♦ LOUISE [...], Bedford, [...]. Louise is looking for Pulp contacts everywhere, and likes (grits teeth) Gene, Blur, Sleeper, Elastlca, Supergrass, Boo Radleys.... She's after videos of Jarv on Mondo Rosso (Me too, I was out) and the group on Sean's Show, which was repeated on October 7th.

♦ LISA [...], Ontario, Canada [...] would like to hear from Pulp boys who are in love with Jarvis. "Will answer everyone who writes. Sleeper fans need not write". Nice one Lisa.

♦ CLAIR [...], London [...], tells me "I'm a misfit, loves getting drunk, vandalising stuff and pop, and would like to write to all young MisShapes out there". Sounds charming. Clair also does a fanzine, send SAE for details.

♦ DYLAN, [...], Stockport, [...]. Dylan would especially like to hear from anyone who knows how long Jarvis' fingers are, and anyone with purple hair, curiously. Unfortunately Dylans' into Carter, Garbage, Suede, Elastica and Supergrass. Oh Well.

♦ JULIE [...], Redcar, Cleveland, [...]. "I will answer anyone who likes anything, I like lots of bands like, Pulp, Blur, Out of my hair (!?) etc. I love Jarvis and drawing, any age sex and colour."

♦ KERRY [...], Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, [...]. She wants to write to anyone with a passing interest in Pulp, Cast, Menswear, Supergrass and Blur.

♦ SANDRA [...], Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, [...]. Sandra couldn't think of anything interesting to say on her Pen Pal request form, so just write to her anyway.

WANTS

♦ DAVID [...], on the other hand, has videos of Pulp TV appearances from April '93 to present day. For a list write to him at: [...].

♦ NANCY [...] wants a video of the Heineken Festival. So do I, if anyone has one, write to me here or Nancy at [...].

♦ LUCY [...] is after any Pulp videos, although presumably by now she'll have "Sorted For..." so won't want those. She's also keen to find "any real photos of the band, and does anyone have Glastonbury 95/TOTP (Common People) on tape, or Pop Quiz. Pen friends too. Singles." Not sure if she's refering to people or records there.

♦ PATRICK [...], London [...], wants to get his hands on the cassette single of "Lipgloss" and any pre-"Countdown" singles.

♦ LEWIS [...] wants a copy of Jarvis on Pop Quiz and TOTP. Is even offering a promo of "Do You Remember The First Time" in exchange. Sounds like a good deal to me. [...]

♦ GULLU [...] lives in the frozen north, no not Sheffield, Iceland, at this unfeasible address: [...], Iceland, and she's after practically anything to do with Pulp (Singles, Videos, Bootlegs, Posters etc..) Obviously the Icelandic media are a bit slow on the uptake.

♦ COLIN [...] is much more specific: Just wants these three cd singles: (Original) Babies; Razzmatazz; and Lipgloss. [...]

♦ JEAN [...] wants tapes of Peel Sessions, Black Sessions, and any demos. [...]

♦ BRIEGE [...]. She "would like to hear from anyone who has grown out of Pulp and would like to sell anything really to do with them like, Posters, Live Tape Recordings of Radio or TV, or videos of them, or information/booklets. Anything to do with them really. " Doesn't want much does she?

♦ VEENA, [...]. Is after a copy of Pulp on "This Morning" and 'Big Breakfast".

♦ ELVIS [...], No Address. Wants a copy of 'Lipgloss' - any format.

Alright, it's the last page (thank god), just a few loose ends to tie up before we say goodbye. Pulp's fame has reached such proportions that letters marked "Jarvis Cocker, Sheffield" are regulary delivered to Pulp HQ by our long suffering postman, who's toil has been rewarded by free tickets to the Arena concert.

Rare Pulp
We get alot of letters asking where to look for past & unusual Pulp releases. I can recommend Esprit Mail Order, [...]. They advertise regularly in Record Collector Magazine, the last issue of which has a big Pulp feature and who's classified ads are always worth checking out. We got [a] letter from Amusement Caterers (Sheffield) Ltd about a 7" pressing of "Sorted" which was pressed up for the UK jukebox market. (V. Rare indeed).

Bootleg
"Get Frisky with Pulp" is a compilation CD of TV, Radio sessions & live recordings (Butt Naked '94, Glasto '94, White Room etc) copies have been seen in Camden Market for £10 - £15.

Piracy
If you don't fancy paying a tenner for this piece of tat then send a C90 or £2 to Louise [...]. Don't tell anyone who sent you...

Richard
I got a phone call the other day from daytime TV's Richard and Judy, literally begging me to appear on live TV - no way I said but what about a Pulp Person?

Judy
I've not yet decided which of you to volunteer but it's for a feature on teenagers and their parents. Full write up in next newsletter.

Daddy
Steve's gonna be one in March.

Telly
It used to be a rare thing to hear your favorite band on the radio in Eastenders or Corry but now you regularly see Bianca and Ricky supping to Common People or Disco 2000. Blind Date are jumping on the bandwagon by having guests wear Pulp T-Shirts - Who'd of thought it?

Foreigners
Obsessed by the Britpop explosion, the popular rock & pop music paper, "Rock & Pop" published in the Czech Republic recently printed a huge spread on Jarvis and Pulp, and quoted him as saying "Proboha! Proc si vsichni novinari libujou v otazkach tykajicich se drog..." We're behind you 100% on that one Jarvis.

Jarvis
Well, that's that boys and girls. As ever we'll try and get the next newsletter out within the next three months - but we're not promising anything. Feel free to write and send us things, (Alcohol, cigarettes etc.) until then, goodbye!!