About
This was the official Pulp fan club. It began in mid-1992 when an A5 sheet written by Russell Senior was sent out. Mark Webber was then in charge of running the club. He was at that time a general helper out to the band. This continued until 1995 when Mark's involvement in the band had grown to the extent that he no longer had time for the fan club and the day-to-day running was handed over to his friend Alex Deck who continued in this role until the band went into hibernation at the end of 2002.
The fan club dutifully performed all the functions expected of it: keeping fans up-to-date with news, running competitions, selling merchandise and so on. Some of the more interesting competitions and give-aways included: in 1993 a piece of Jarvis' trousers was sent to all 500 or so members, and in 1998 Jarvis' crushed Hillman Imp was given away in a competition.
Publications
Pulp People newsletters
There were 39 newsletters. The first was a single photocopied A5 sheet written by Russell Senior. They later grew into 20+ page booklets that were typically sent out three or four times a year.
1 - 8th July 1992
2 - Late July 1992
3 - October 1992
4 - December 1992
5 - February 1993
6 - May 1993
7 - Oct/Nov 1993
8 - January 1994
9 - April 1994
10 - September 1994
14 - Jan/Feb 96
15 - April 96
16 - Jul/Aug 96
17 - Autumn 96
18 - Christmas 96
19 - Spring 97
20 - Autumn 97
21 - Winter 97
22 - Spring 98
23 - Summer 98
24 - Autumn 98
25 - Winter 98
26 - Spring 99
27 - Summer 99
27 - Summer 2000
31 - Autumn 00
32 - Spring 01
33 - Summer 01
34 - September 01
35 - Autumn 01
36 - February 02
37 - Spring 02
38 - Summer 02
39 - Winter 02
Pulp Scrapbooks
Three Pulp Scrapbooks were issued. They contain a very extensive collection of press cuttings and other printed material running from 1980 until 1994.
Disco-very
This magazine was written by the band themselves. There were two issues: the first in October 92 and the second in January 95.
A few articles from Pulp People newletters
Issue 12, September 1995:
Russell's Guide to Swedish Suicide Victims Vol. 1
On the morning of July 30th Pulp flew to Stockholm for the Lollipop Festival - here's how it was for Russell...
5am. Rise. Dress in safari type suit which became the subject of much mirth to the people leaving the club situated below the accommodation. Enter the taxi humiliated.
7am. Board plane. Take sleeping tablets due to morbid fear of flying - survive journey alive. Met at airport and taken to hotel. Have an hour to kill so walk into Stockholm which is very pleasant, you can actually see loads of cod swimming in the middle of the city (in some type of watery environment I presume - fish Ed.) which makes me hungry and keen to sample local cuisine. Realise I have no Swedish money so return to hotel, late for an interview. Our guide asks if I need anything and I say, yes, I want some herring; The guide, who's obviously been doing his homework, thinks I am asking for "heroin" and looks at me incredulously and says "Are you serious, you want me to get some Heroin?". I say "Yes that's right, I need some herring right now and perhaps a cup of coffee"... Conversation continues in this vein for some time until the mistake is realised, much to the amusement of fellow group members.
We're taken to the festival site about 20 miles from Stockholm in the middle of a forest by a lake, where the gentle nordic folk are frolicking in a state of undress, like a cross between a Timotei advert and a German soft porn film - but without the dodgy moustaches. (Let's see just how many racial stereotypes Russell can fit into the next sentence eh kids?)
I am given to asking why the suicide rate is so high here. The answer, it seems, is S.A.D. (I don't know what it means either) so the land of the midnight sun becomes one long, long night in winter, so if you're feeling a bit down in your log cabin with the snow all around and the trolls howling in the forest, it just tips you over the edge. He also puts it down to the fact that the Swedish are very good at collecting statistics. Anyway, it gets dark for about 2 hours here and nobody, but nobody commits suicide in the summer.We go on in the evening and the reception is very pleasing - rapturous, in fact. "Common People" is a hit in Sweden, No one, not even the most deep and introspective of the audience, seems remotely suicidal.
[There now follows a highly unfeasible tale of picking up Scottish hitchhikers, anal pleasure, sodomy, eating cd's, which frankly I'm just not prepared to make public]
Plane back home - Vooom! Lands - ace - go to sleep for ages and wake up back in blighty, back to the studio and general boredom. Confirm next festival in Sweden.
Issue 39, Winter 2002:
Ultimate Pulp
Candida Doyle
- I Spy
- Common People
- Mile End
- 97 Lovers
- 59 Lyndhurst Grove
- Seductive Barry (live 1998)
- Live Bed Show (live 1996 with Russell)
- Inside Susan: A Story in Three Songs
- Snow
- We Are the Boyz
Nick Banks
- My Legendary Girlfriend
- Death Comes to Town
- Live Bed Show (extended live version)
- Little Girl (With Blue Eyes
- Common People
- Joyriders
- Sorted For E's & Wizz
- My Lighthouse
Jarvis Cocker
Steve Mackey
Mark Webber
Pulp HQ
Issue 25, Winter 98
Mark Webber's questionnaire first appeared in Guardian Weekend (17 October 98).
Mark Webber
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Being with the one I love
What is your greatest fear?
Loneliness
Which living person do you most admire?
This week, it's Elliot Smith - he writes the best songs
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Honesty - you're just going to hurt yourself if you tell the truth and no one else does
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Dishonesty and secrecy
What vehicles do you own?
Austin Maestro
What is your greatest extravagance?
Spending money
What objects do you always carry with you?
Video camera, book, credit card, tissues, Settlers, and DCT For Lips
Where would you like to live?
New York City
What makes you depressed?
Not having a girlfriend
What is your favourite smell?
Chanel No. 19
What is your favourite building?
Flat-Iron Building
What is your favourite book?
You can count on me liking any books about Andy Warhol
What is your favourite fantasy?
That I will be accepted and successful in the art world
Do you practice monogamy?
I always practise it myself, but I make exceptions for someone I really love if they're already with someone else
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
I can't tell you, but she knows who she is and I do really love her
What is your greatest regret?
That I'm 28 and I still haven't released the record I've been promising for ten years
When and where were you happiest?
Earlier this year at the Gramercy Park Hotel
How do you relax?
I work on projects not related to my real life job
How often do you have sex?
Right now it's not an option
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Sharing my life with someone who loves me as much as I love them
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Don't ever be satisfied
How would you like to be remembered?
For being really ace.
Jarvis Cocker
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Laughing at nothing
What is your greatest fear?
Too many - all equally scary
Which living person do you most admire?
David Attenborough
What is the trait you most deplore In yourself?
Indecision
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Can't decide
What vehicles do you own?
Raleigh Chiltern bicycle
What is your greatest extravagance?
Posh socks - £20 a throw
What objects do you always carry with you?
Plectrums, Australian money (it's waterproof), small knife, palmtop organiser
Where would you like to live?
Within sight of the sea
What makes you depressed?
Don't start me off
What is your favourite smell?
Clean hair
What is your favourite building?
Anything semi-derelict and too dangerous to explore
What is your favourite book?
Grimm's Fairy Tales (unabridged)
What is your favourite fantasy?
That I'll do something useful with all the shit I've collected in my life
Do you practice monogamy?
Recent convert
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
I don't share that kind of info,
What is your greatest regret?
C'mon, lighten up
When and where were you happiest?
River Don, Sheffield, May 1988
How do you relax?
Natracalm
How often do you have sex?
Loads
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
A freezer
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Don't hesitate
How would you like to be remembered?
As that prick who showed his arse to Michael Jackson
Candida Doyle
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Ho Ho ho
What is your greatest fear?
Actually physically puking
Which living person do you most admire?
Madonna
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Slowness
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Over speediness
What vehicles do you own?
Nil
What is your greatest extravagance?
Well, possibly my coat from Harrods
What objects do you always carry with you?
Purse, letters, keys, something to eat, address book, a pen, lipstick, Bach's Rescue Remedy, patchwork
Where would you like to live?
By the sea
What makes you depressed?
Insurmountable problems
What is your favourite smell?
A smoky peat fire
What is your favourite building?
Tower of London
What is your favourite book?
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Keseyl
What is your favourite fantasy?
A huge natural hot spring bath sunken in to my huge bathroom floor, with drinks on the side and good music on the radio and a box of good chocolates and something good to read and a few hours to kill
Do you practice monogamy?
Certainly do
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
P. Patrick M.
What is your greatest regret?
That in reality, I can't see myself living by the sea for a long time, I'd feel too cut off
When and where were you happiest?
I luckily have many happy moments, so couldn't possibly name them all, but some of our European dates, were very good, and French holidays are good and I love it when the heating's on but it's cold outside, and I love extreme weather
How do you relax?
With a Cadburys Caramel
How often do you have sex?
What?
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Silly question - and I feel I can say that because you didn't write it Alex (thankyou! Ed.) - No single thing would improve my life, unless every country became at least 50% more environmentally friendly
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
To take it with a pinch of salt (or sugar)
How would you like to be remembered?
As a real bastard. No, as a kind, friendly, warm person, with G.S.O.H.
Nick Banks
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Family health and peace
What is your greatest fear?
Wasps
Which living person do you most admire?
Des Lynam
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Anger at inanimate objects
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Litterbuginess
What vehicles do you own?
Lancia Fulvia 1300, Lancia Fulvia 1600, BMW 318i Touring
What is your greatest extravagance?
Vehicles & pinball
What objects do you always carry with you?
Car keys
Where would you like to live?
I can't imagine living anywhere but England
What makes you depressed?
Immobility
What is your favourite smell?
Nail varnish / petrol / baked beans on toast
What is your favourite building?
Empire State Building / Chrysler Building
Do you practice monogamy?
I prefer monopoly
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
The family Banks including dog Malcolm
What is your greatest regret?
Not being taken to the '66 World Cup Final (I was 1 year and one day old!)
When and where were you happiest?
Probably here & now
How do you relax?
Tinkering in the garage, playing on the pinball
How often do you have sex?
Let's say I've had it at least twice
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
A higher metabolic rate and a winning Lottery ticket
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Do it yourself
How would you like to be remembered?
Fondling (er, shouldn't that be fondly, Nick? Ed.)
Richard Hawley
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Only idiots dream of perfect happiness (or Prozac victims)
What is your greatest fear?
Death's quite a big one (call me old fashioned)
Which living person do you most admire?
It has to be the wife! The way she throws those sacks of coat about!
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Being ace!
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Hogging the limelight!
What vehicles do you own?
None. It's cheaper that way!
What is your greatest extravagance?
I have a growing collection of new and used Parkas!
What objects do you always carry with you?
A picture of Clement Atlee and a bust of Lee Majors!
Where would you like to live?
Clitheroe's quite nice at this time of year!
What makes you depressed?
Running out of "It" at the most inconvenient times!
What is your favourite smell?
Some of your readers are probably too young to know
What is your favourite building?
Are you serious? People should [?]
What is your favourite book?
The Life and Times of Wilfred Bramble, or "My Little Chickadee" by WC Fields (they are both very heavy and keep our front door open when it's hot)
What is your favourite fantasy?
It involves shaved and buttured hamsters and...no I just can't go on, it's too awful.
Do you practice monogamy?
Was he a mate of Jesus??
What or who is the greatest love of you life?
Mussolini
What is your greatest regret?
A difficult one that! I'll ask a grown up!
How do you relax?
By the slow ritual slaughter of my enemies!
How often do you have sex?
How dare you - I'm a priest and a virgin
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Not being a priest or a virgin
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
2 x 2 = 4
How would you like to be remembered?
As the spitting image of Elvis!
EATING OUT WITH RUSSELL !
Set menu for four at
THE HAPPY RAT CHINESE RESTAURANT
Three Entrail Soup
Tripes in Ginger
Braised Pigs Balls in Cream of Sum Yung Man
Delicious Boiled Octopus Lung
Ducks Wed in Black Bean Sauce
Fukein Eel
Crows Feet with Plum
Retching Toad Szechuan Style
Lucky Sausage in Wan King Sauce
EATING OUT WITH RUSSELL !
* UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP *
THE HAPPY RAT CHINESE RESTAURANT
presents it's new menu for your enjoyment
Chitzu in Chuchit Sauce
Savoury Pork Fluid
Shi Ni Boots Of Leather
Big Foot
5
Cho King Vic Tim
Grinning Bishop's Ear With Pong
Sweat Tsutsi Shitzanshines (From 7pm)
Shee Shitzanshines (All Day)
Shee Shinesan Tsits and Shitsan Shines (All Day)
Also see: Ask Doctor Pulp
Fanclub postcard (signed)
