Rocktrospectiva: The Underrated "We Love Life" Turns 25

Released on 22 October 2001, "We Love Life"—was the seventh and final album by the English band Pulp—officially hit the market. The record reached No. 6 in the United Kingdom, remaining there for three weeks—a result considered a success, especially given that the album was recorded as a form of catharsis following the tumultuous sessions for its predecessor, "This Is Hardcore." The album spawned the singles "Sunrise", "The Trees", & "Bad Cover Version."

The album was produced by Scott Walker, who stepped in to replace Chris Thomas. The thematic and sonic shift of the record was met with a more positive critical reception; it moved away from the disillusionment that defined the band's previous work toward a much more organic sound, placing a greater emphasis on the natural world. 

This direction was driven by Jarvis Cocker, who had begun to show an interest in this theme—viewing it as something inherently "dangerous"—while also believing it was appropriate to return to simpler, more fundamental elements, such as the natural environment. Cocker was quick to clarify, however, that this was by no means a "hippie" or "flower power" inspired record. It is worth noting that the decision to stop working with Thomas significantly shaped the sound of this record. 

Thomas brought a more rigid approach that clashed with the band’s own vision, which demoralized the members—including Candida Doyle, who considered leaving the group if the recordings for the new album were shelved once again. Ultimately, she had a change of heart and stayed on. Even before Scott Walker came into the picture, the primary goal was simply to finish the album; the band held a deep admiration for Walker, whom they had first met at the 2000 Meltdown Festival. 

The album was initially going to be titled "Pulp Love Life"—a nice name, though it was ultimately rejected for fear that it might confuse the audience. They then considered simply calling it "Pulp," but the September 11 attacks occurred, which influenced many aspects of the project. Consequently, they chose the title "We Love Life" as a way to share the universal sentiment of peace and love that was so desired at the time.  

The album cover, featured the band's name in capital letters, was designed by Peter Saville. Upon its release, three singles were chosen: "Sunrise/The Trees" and "Bad Cover Version." The music video for the latter served as a parody of Band Aid and even featured an appearance by Kurt Cobain as a tribute. Thanks to Cocker’s beautiful, less intensely personal lyrics. 

The album was well-received by both critics and audiences. It felt more moving and sincere, solidifying the band’s sound in a way that the contentious "This Is Hardcore" had not; it was even compared to their celebrated record "Different Class." Ultimately, this would be the final official studio album from this iconic band—a cornerstone of 1990s Britpop—and a few years later, Jarvis Cocker would go on to release a solo album.

We Love Life Track List:

1. Weeds

2. Weeds II

3. The Night That Minnie Timperley Died

4. The Trees

5. Wickerman

6. I Love Life 

7. The Birds In Your Garden

8. Bob Lind (The OnlyWas Is Down)

9. Bad Cover Version

10. Roadkill

11. Sunrise

Albums: Pulp Live!

Pulp will celebrate their triumphant comeback with Live!, their first live album, to be released in August.  

"A concert is an event where songs come back to life. That’s why this album is called Live!" says frontman Jarvis Cocker. “It’s both a statement of fact (it’s a recording of a live band) & a challenge (come on! Everyone come alive!).”

Live! was recorded during the band’s two shows at London's O2 Arena on 13 and 14 June 2025 – the week that the band returned to the top of the album charts with their eighth studio album, More. The 18-song set features songs from that chart-topping comeback (‘Spike Island’, ‘Slow Jam’, ‘Famers Market’, ‘Grown Up’, ‘Got To Have Love’ and ‘A Sunset’) alongside indie anthems such as ‘Common People’, ‘Disco 2000’, ‘Do You Remember The First Time?’ and ‘Babies’ and relative obscurity, 1992 single ‘O.U (Gone, Gone)’.

Live! will be available as a 2LP set (limited-edition blue pressing and a standard black vinyl) and as a double CD set. Tracklistings are the same across both formats.

Live! also serves as a soundtrack to the concert film, Pulp: What Do You Do For an Encore?, which will be on streaming service MUBI in Autumn. No plans have yet been announced for a physical or cinema release of the film, which is directed by Garth Jennings, who first worked with the band on the video for 1997 single ‘Help The Aged’ and has since directed films including Son Of Rambow, The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy and Sing. The songs included in the film have yet to be confirmed, though over the two nights at the O2, Pulp played a host of fan favourites not included on Live!, such as ‘Acrylic Afternoons’, ’59 Lyndhurst Grove’ and ‘Party Hard’ for the first time since 2012.

Live! will be released on 28 August 2026 via Rough Trade.

 

CD 1

1. Intro (feat Kelly Macdonald)

2. Spike Island

3. Slow Jam

4. Sorted for E’s & Wizz

5. Disco 2000

6. Help the Aged

7. Farmers Market

8. This is Hardcore

9. Sunrise

 

CD 2

1. Something Changed

2. Grown Ups

3. O.U. (Gone, Gone)

4. Do You Remember the First Time?

5. Mis-Shapes

6. Got to Have Love

7. Babies

8. Common People

9. A Sunset

New Music: Begging For Change

           

Pulp shares a new track "Begging for Change", which was recorded at Abbey Road and mixed by James Ford with backing support from Damon Albarn, comes from War Child's upcoming charity compilation record, Help(2), the follow-up to their initial 1995 compilation in aid of war-torn areas. Following contributions by Arctic Monkeys, Depeche Mode, Wet Leg, and more, Pulp’s ‘Begging for Change’ does exactly what it says on the tin – beckons you to straighten up and really think about the world around you. In keeping with this direct approach, Jarvis Cocker's accompanying remark on the track highlighted their previous efforts with War Child and what this new single means as a notable addition. Cocker said: "Thirty years ago, we gave our Mercury Prize (and the prize money) to War Child." "This year, we have given more. How much more? You’ll have to wait and see." The song was initially a throwaway from the band’s recent record, More. Well, not exactly – they'd worked on it during the sessions, but it wasn't immediately in the state they’d wanted to include it on the record. For War Child, they gave it another go, turning it into an anthemic rallying cry for change in today’' societally complacent world.

Rocktrospectiva: The Album That Defined An Era "Different Class" Turns 30

 

Released on 30 October 1995 "Different Class" was the 5th., studio album by English rock band Pulp, the album was a critical and commercial success, entering the UK Albums Chart at number one and winning the 1996 Mercury Music Prize. It included four top-ten singles in the UK, "Common People", "Sorted for E's & Wizz", "Disco 2000" and "Something Changed". Widely acclaimed as among the greatest albums of the Britpop era since then. 

When Pulp released Different Class in October 1995, it was at the peak of the Britpop era – less a cultural movement and more a label the music press had slapped on a collection of disparate (though mostly white, guitar-based) British bands infiltrating the charts in the mid-90s. What started as a celebration of the British music industry reasserting its influence after a few years dominated by the US grunge scene had morphed into something of a media bandwagon.

The year had already seen UK number one albums by Elastica, Supergrass, The Charlatans, Black Grape and The Boo Radleys. By that summer Britpop had reached – depending on your point of view – either its apex or nadir, when Blur and Oasis were involved in a chart battle that dominated newspapers and made the BBC’s Six O’Clock News. Blur won that first round and released their fifth album, The Great Escape, a few weeks later. Oasis followed with (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, which would go on to become the biggest-selling record of the decade in the UK.

Pulp had no interest in the Britpop tag, yet 30 years on, its Different Class not only feels like the most enduring snapshot of a mid-90s Britain on the cusp of a New (Labour) era, coming down from the acid-house boom and looking ahead to the millennium – but, with its tales of illegal raves, class divisions and uncertain futures – still feels the most relevant today.

To a casual music fan, it might have felt like Pulp appeared out of nowhere in 1995 – when within the space of weeks their single Common People hit number two in the charts, they played a triumphant Glastonbury headline set and frontman Jarvis Cocker became an unlikely tabloid fixture. It had actually been almost two decades in the making. Cocker formed the band in Sheffield in 1978, when he was just 15 years old. 

The album was released in the UK at the height of Britpop. It followed from the success of their breakthrough album His 'n' Hers the previous year. Two of the singles on the album – "Common People" (which reached number two on the UK Singles Chart) and "Disco 2000" (which reached number seven) – were especially notable, and helped propel Pulp to nationwide fame. 

The inspiration for the title came to frontman Jarvis Cocker in Smashing, a club night that ran during the early 1990s in Eve's Club on Regent Street in London. Cocker had a friend who used the phrase "different class" to describe something that was "in a class of its own". Cocker liked the double meaning, with its allusions to the British social class system, which was a theme of some of the songs on the album. A message on the back of the record also references this idea: "We don't want no trouble, we just want the right to be different. That's all." 

When the band went back into the studio to finish recording their fifth album, it was with the knowledge that they finally had the captive audience they’d waited so long for. “We felt that the next record was our chance, it was our time, it was our springboard into the public's consciousness, a chance to reach out to those people who hadn’t cottoned on to us yet,” says Banks. Pulp had been on the margins for so long. The idea that finally we were going to be exposed to a greater audience was a delicious sort of feeling.

Much of the writing for the record took place above a pottery warehouse owned by Banks' family. "We would set homework, where you'd have to come to the next rehearsal with some song idea – a word, a bit of a tune, a phrase, a scenario, anything, "says Banks. "We'd swap instruments so that no one was getting too big for their boots. It was a great time of everyone being together and having input. And, you know, thinking that we were on the cusp of something."

As on His 'n' Hers before, Different Class saw Cocker return to one of his favourite subjects, sex, on songs like Underwear and Pencil Skirt. But his observations also moved out of the bedroom to focus on the class divide, something that he and other band members had become increasingly aware of.

As part of the chart battle between Blur and Oasis, those two bands had seen not only their songs pitted against one another, but their class, often in the simplest and most patronising of ways. Oasis were the northern working-class lads who loved drinking beer and getting into scrapes. Blur were the middle-class art-school southerners whose lyrics quoted Balzac.

That these two versions of UK life were the only ones presented itself showed an inherent problem with Britpop. Blur v Oasis, that whole scene… it had no idea what was going on in black music, in Asian music. It was just oblivious. And if you were going to participate in the spirit of the 90s, you had to participate in that – in music that often you had no interest in or knowledge of, that often had nothing to do with the way you’d grown up, the records in your house.

Meanwhile Pulp – who confused those stoking the pantomime class war by having members that managed to be both northern, working class and go to art school in London – were too busy writing about class wars to participate in them. On Common People Cocker tore into class tourists, inspired by a well-to-do Greek girl he met at Central Saint Martins who wanted to try slumming it in Hackney for a while – "smoke some fags and play some pool, pretend she never went to school". Hidden underneath those irresistible pop hooks is a mounting anger not just at her but all those who co-opt a working-class identity as a shortcut to authenticity – without ever dealing with the fear, uncertainty and absence of choice that comes with having no money. 

His anger is even more palpable on I Spy, a song in which someone who has nothing observes those who have everything. Pulp had spent most of their lives on the outside looking in, making them the perfect champion of the disempowered

Pulp had spent most of their lives on the outside looking in, making them the perfect champion of the disempowered. “Being able to observe without being observed yourself, you get to see the real sort of underbelly or workings of what goes off in life,” says Banks. No detail passed Cocker by, from “the broken handle on the third drawer down of the dressing table” (F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E) to the “woodchip on the wall” in Disco 2000. His stories were specific, but reflected a wider society, too – as in Sorted for E’s and Whizz, a song inspired by Cocker attending raves in the late 80s. “Is this the way they say the future’s meant to feel, or just 20,000 people standing in a field?” With illegal raves now on the rise again in the UK, he could easily be talking about 2020, not 1988. In fact, aside from calls to “meet up in the year 2000”, so much of the album and its themes of being young and out of options feels pertinent in the current day.

The album reached number one and went on to win the Mercury Music Prize. A sell-out arena tour followed. Pulp were no longer the outsiders. It felt good – to begin with, at least. “When you’ve been in the desert so long and you reach the oasis you jump in and fill your boots,” says Banks.

The sleeve design was created by Blue Source. Initial copies of the CD and vinyl album came with six double-sided inserts of alternative cover art, depicting cardboard cutouts of the band photographed in various situations. A sticker invited the listener to "Choose your own front cover". In all standard copies thereafter these 12 individual covers made up the CD booklet, with the wedding photograph used as the actual cover.

Different Class received widespread acclaim from music critics in the UK. THe album was a deft, atmospheric, occasionally stealthy and frequently booming, confident record. Arguments about Blur versus Oasis are irrelevant. Pulp are in a different class. Different Class is the sound of Jarvis Cocker keeping score – with delicious accuracy." Different Class has aged very well, possessing that timeless quality that is present in all classic albums, but is still obviously a product of its time, a snapshot of mid-'90s life in the UK. Along with Blur's Parklife, it remains the high point of the Britpop era; music, lyrics, production, artwork, it's as perfect as it gets.

Different Class Track List: 

 

1. Mis-Shapes

2. Pencil Skirt

3. Common People

4. I Spy

5. Disco 2000

6. Live Bed Show

7. Something Changed

8. F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E

9. Underwear

10. Monday Morning

11. Bar Italia

News: The Mercury Prize Nominees For 2025 Shortlist Revealed

After more than 30 years, the Mercury Prize will take place outside London for the first time this year - at Newcastle's Utilita Arena on 16 October. 

 

This is a huge year for the event, which will take place outside London for the first time after more than 30 years - at Newcastle's Utilita Arena on 16 October. Last year, it was noted by winners English Teacher that they were the first act from outside London to pick up the prize in 10 years. 

 

This year's nominees include artists from Leeds, Sheffield, Gloucestershire, Coventry and Kent, as well as the capital, and more acts from, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

 

Ahead of the show, a week-long fringe festival will take place across Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Durham and Northumberland to spotlight the North East's music scene.

 

One of the biggest stars to emerge from that scene in recent years is of course Sam Fender, from North Shields. The indie-rock singer-songwriter was first nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2022, for his second album, Seventeen Going Under, and returns to the shortlist this year with his third chart-topper, People Watching. Pulp also shortlisted for their big comeback, and Wolf Alice breaking a record.

 

Other acts announced by judges today include the genre-bending FKA Twigs, indie-pop star CMAT and post-punk band Fontaines DC, who are all up for the award for the second time. Folk musician Martin Carthy is now believed to be the oldest ever nominee at 84 - and joins his daughter, Eliza Carthy, and late wife Norma Waterson, on the list of Mercury Prize shortlist alumni.

 

Other first-timers include Jacob Alon and Joe Webb, who are both nominated for debuts, as well as Emma-Jean Thackray, Pa Salieu and PinkPantheress.

 

Previous Mercury winners Pulp and Wolf Alice are both nominated for the fourth time. For Wolf Alice, who first made the cut with their debut My Love Is Cool in 2015 and won with their second album Visions Of A Life in 2018 before a third nod for Blue Weekend in 2021, this latest recognition for The Clearing means that every single one of the four albums they have ever released has been in the running.

 

Pulp were first nominated for their fourth album His'n'Hers in 1994 and won with Different Class, one of the most famous albums of the Britpop era, in 1996. A nomination for This Is Hardcore followed in 1998 - and now More, their first album in more than 20 years, has earned them a nod once again. 

 

And CMAT returns for the second year in a row, after being nominated for her second album, Crazymad, For Me, in 2024, and now Euro-Country.

 

The Mercury Prize launched in 1992, when Simply Red's Stars, U2's Achtung Baby, and The Jesus And Mary Chain's Honey's Dead were among the nominees - and Primal Scream's Screamadelica took the inaugural award.

 

It celebrates music by British and Irish acts and spans a huge range of different musical genres and artists throughout all stages of their careers, from newcomers to veterans.

The 2025 Mercury Prize nominees

• CMAT – Euro-Country
• Emma-Jean Thackray – Weirdo
• FKA Twigs – Eusexua
• Fontaines DC – Romance
• Jacob Alon – In Limerence
• Joe Webb – Hamstrings And Hurricanes
• Martin Carthy – Transform Me Then Into A Fish
• Pa Salieu – Afrikan Alien
• PinkPantheress – Fancy That
• Pulp – More
• Sam Fender – People Watching
• Wolf Alice - The Clearing

The Reissue: Different Class 30th., Anniversary Edition

Pulp are to reissue Different Class next month, 30 years to the week since the original album was released.

The new 2CD and 4LP edition adds Pulp’s full headline performance from Glastonbury in 1995, four months before the album was released. It’s the first time their entire Glastonbury show has been issued, with ‘Common People’ the only previously issued song from the performance.

Overseen by Jarvis Cocker and Mark Webber, the main album has been remastered by Geoff Pesche at Abbey Road, who mastered the original version in 1995. Although Different Class has been repressed on vinyl regularly since 2011, the new 4LP set is the first time the original studio album has been pressed on two LPs, rather than just one, despite its 53-minute runtime.

Cocker said of the new pressing: "This 45rpm double album version of Different Class will make it sound a whole lot better. We were obsessed with the fact that this was our ‘Pop’ album. (We had finally achieved some ‘popularity’ when ‘Common People’ was a hit.) As everyone knows, all pop albums have 12 songs on them: six tracks per side."

The only problem: this took the running time of the record to 53 minutes. We were told this would compromise the audio quality of the vinyl record – but we were more bothered about not compromising the quality of our Pop Dream. Now, 30 years later, we are finally ready for Different Class to be heard in all its glory. Different class indeed.

The vinyl and CD editions both include a 28-page booklet featuring new interviews with the band discussing the making of the album, plus previously unseen photos by original sleeve photographers Rankin and Donald Milne.

Housed in a slipcase, the 4LP set also recreates the original 1995  "Choose your own sleeve" design, featuring six double-sided sleeve inserts of alternative cover options.

Initially a B-side of ‘Mis-Shapes’/’Sorted For Es And Wizz’, the 1995 Glastonbury performance of Common People was also previously part of Different Class’ only previous expanded reissue, when a 2CD was released in 2006. Its second CD housed 11 additional tracks, including demos of four unreleased songs, plus Mile End from the soundtrack of Trainspotting, the B-sides PTA and Ansaphone, a cover of Whiskey In The Jar and Nick Cave's remix of Disco 2000.

Cocker’s statement on the reissue concluded: "The Glastonbury performance in June 1995 will always be the most significant concert of Pulp's career. Three weeks after Common People hit No 2 in the national charts, the band filled in for The Stone Roses at the last minute. We played Sorted For Es & Wizz, Mis-Shapes and Disco 2000 – all receiving their live debut. This is first time the whole concert (including the long, drone-based intro) has been made available. Your chance to relive an historical moment."

Different Class is released on 24 October 2025, via UMR/Island. 

CD 1: Different Class (remastered)

1.  Mis-Shapes

2. Pencil Skirt3) Common People

3. I Spy

4. Disco 2000

5. Live Bed Show

6. Something Changed

7. Sorted For Es And Wizz

8. F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E.

9. Underwear

10. Monday Morning

11. Bar Italia

 

CD 2:  Live from Glastonbury 1995

 

1. Common People (Drone Intro)

2. Do You Remember The First Time?

3. Razzamatazz

4. Monday Morning

5. Underwear

6. Sorted For Es And Wizz

7. Disco 2000

8. Joyriders

9. Acrylic Afternoons

10. Mis-Shapes

11. Pink Glove

12. Babies

13. Common People

 

LP 1: Different Class (remastered)

 

Side one

 

Mis-Shapes

Pencil Skirt

Common People

 

Side two

 

I Spy

Disco 2000

Live Bed Show

 

LP 2: Different Class (remastered)

 

Side one

 

1. Something Changed

2. Sorted For Es And Wizz

3. F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E

 

Side two

 

1. Underwear

2. Monday Morning

3. Bar Italia

 

LP 3:  Live from Glastonbury 1995

 

Side one

 

1. Common People (Drone Intro)

2. Do You Remember The First Time?

3. Razzamatazz

4. Monday Morning

 

Side two

 

1. Underwear

2. Sorted For Es And Wizz

3. Disco 2000

4. Joyriders

 

LP 4:  Live from Glastonbury 1995

 

Side one

 

1. Acrylic Afternoons

2. Mis-Shapes

3. Pink Glove

 

Side two

 

1. Babies

2. Common People

New Music: Tina

           

Pulp shares their new single and video for "Tina" taken from their acclaimed album "More",   The video created in collaboration with Austrian artist and graphic designer Julia Schimautz, from the Berlin-based studio DTAN Studio, & featuring lyric-animation by Gaussian Studio. The clip blends digital creation with the authentic, physical imperfections associated with traditional printmaking to capture the song's portrayal of uncomfortable human emotions using string-led, swooning melodies. As Jarvis explains, "Tina" was one of the last songs written for "More". It's about obsession & fantasy. You should feel like you need a shower after listening to it.

Albums: More

Released on 6 June 2025, "More" the 8th., studio album by English indie rock band Pulp, has been produced by James Ford and its the band's first solo album in nearly 24 years since their last "We Love Life" in 2001, and their first without beloved bass/guitarist Steve Mackey "Freaks" in 1987 who died in 2023, Mackey is credite as a songwriter on two songs. The album has spawned two singles so far "Spike Island" which was released on 10 April 2025, accompanied with a music video and reaching No. 32 on Billboard Adult Alternative Airplay this was the first time that a Pulp song had appeared on any radio airplay chart in the United States and the second single "Got To Have Love". 

The album debuted at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart, becoming the band's first number one album in over twenty-seven years, since the release of This is Hardcore in 1998. So the story was this: back in 2023 tour that the possibility of new music first presented itself, with the band practising new song "Hymn of the North" during soundchecks, eventually playing it for an audience at the end of their second night at Sheffield Arena. 

So one day, the band decided to unveiling a new song in front of a hometown crowd clearly unlocked something in the band: by the first half of 2024 they were writing new material and reviving old ideas, with a three-week recording stint following in the back half. Overseen by Arctic Monkeys producer James Ford, and featuring classic drummer Nick Banks, guitarist Mark Webber, and keyboardist Candida Doyle, as well as Cocker, of course, it was the quickest a Pulp album had ever been recorded.

The album opener "Spike Island", which feels as instantly classic as any of the band's 90s hits. Beginning with an addictive drum beat and bouncy bassline, the song settles into a deep disco-groove as Cocker drops the typically absurd anecdote "I was wrestling with the coat hanger, can you guess who won?", before the singalong chorus harks back to the band's anthemic Britpop days with an infectious melody ready-made for rowdy arenas and festival fields. The next track also extends a Pulp tradition, namely that their songs often feature women's names "Tina" lives up to the lineage. Boasting an earworm chorus amidst hushed verses of obsession, "Tina" is vintage Pulp, Cocker recalling "scenes from a marriage that never took place", lampooning his own delusions with a wink. "We're really good together/ Cos we never meet." The next song "Grown Ups" is a bit of a gamble, coming in at 5:56 seconds, making it the longest song on the album. Pulp are no stranger to long songs, however, and it pays off brilliantly, stabby keyboards bolstered by a driving riff, as Cocker’s vivid lyrics guide us through his experiences of ageing. In purposeful contrast is the following song "Slow Jam", which does exactly what it says on the tin, and slows things way, way down. Underpinned by a chilled, funky bassline, Cocker proposes that "instead of having us this Slow Death/ We should be having us a Slow Jam", in what appears to a thinly veiled plea for his lover to go to bed with him, instead of lamenting the inevitable demise of their relationship. 

"Farmers Market" welcomes the first light of a fresh one romance, full of delicate strings, dreamy synth lines, jazzy drums, and tender piano, the song is reminiscent of Arctic Monkeys' 2022 single "There’d Better Be A Mirrorball", perhaps not surprisingly given Ford's involvement, and the fact that both bands hail from Sheffield, with Cocker’s deep, northern croon almost certainly serving as an inspiration for Alex Turner as he embraced regional, easy listening-esque vocals. The next track "My Sex" serves as an audacious tonal shift, Cocker's sensual whisper marking a return to the awkward, smutty swagger which powered a considerable amount of Pulp's biggest hits. On second single "Got To Have Love", a disco-pop stomper containing a masterful build and release which will surely prove to be a dizzying highlight live. From here on in we're in full ballad territory, and while that might not be what Pulp are best known for, it's arguably the greatest strength of their current iteration. ‘Background Noise’ is a sweeping tale of post-breakup realisation, a melodic, heartfelt chorus which stands apart as one of the album's greatest moments. 

"Partial Eclipse" is nice if a little forgettable, though penultimate song "Hymn of the North" is anything but. Beginning with a simple piano refrain that will repeat and develop over the duration, the song slowly builds, Cocker advising those born in the North of England to “please stay in sight of the mainland”, before an intriguing section in which he repeats the line “there’s just one thing you ought to know” 

Critics has been praised the album so far, More is an elocuent affirmation of all the features that made of Pulp what it is now, they moved away britpop nostalgia and instead keep reaching new artistic summits in a time in which everybody seems to talk again about britpop, but Pulp don't appeal on that, they appeal for its place in music as a complete band in all senses.

 

More Track List: 

 

1. Spike Island

2. Tina 

3. Grown Ups

4. Slow Jam

5. Farmers Market

6. My Sex

7. Got To Have Love

8. Background Noise

9. Partial Eclipse

10. The Hymn Of The North (featuring Chilly Gonzales)

11. A Sunset

12. Open Strings

New Music: Got To Have Love

           

Pulp shares a new single, the disco banger "Got To Have Love" the second slice taken from their forthcoming new album "Spike Island", it's a slightly hysterical song that tries to talk about love as I see it now says Cocker, the video was directed by himself created with footage from the iconic 1977 Wigan Casino documentary directed by Tony Palmer.

Books: Studio Electrophonique "The Sheffield Space Age, From The Human League To Pulp"

This is the amazing story of the home studio that helped launch some of Britain’s most beloved bands.The Sheffield space age began in 1961, when local mechanic Ken Patten won a tape-recording competition by recreating the sound of a rocket launch using a pencil and a bicycle pump.

In the decades that followed, the makeshift home studio he constructed became the launch pad for a group of young musicians who would shape the futuristic sound of 1980s pop. The Human League, Heaven 17, Pulp, ABC and others made their early recordings with Ken, whose DIY ethic was the perfect fit for a city facing industrial decline but teeming with ideas.

Studio Electrophonique tells the story of a generation seeking new frontiers in music, using everything they could lay their hands on – from science fiction novels to glam rock, Dada art and cheap electronics – to get there. Drawing on original interviews with Jarvis Cocker, Martyn Ware, Mark White and others, it brings to light a world of humour, charm, creativity and unfounded yet undaunted self-belief.

Author: Jamie Taylor

Title: Studio Electrophonique "The Sheffiled Space Age From The Human League To Pulp"

Language: English

Publisher: Manchester University Press

Pages: 304 

New Music: Spike Island

           

The indie icons Pulp have announced a new album, "More," and it'll be out in June and shared their first single in almost 24 years,"Spike Island". The album it’s dedicated to the memory of bassist Steve Mackey, who passed away in 2023. Opening track "Spike Island," which Pulp debuted live in Chicago last September, is the LP's lead single. Jarvis Cocker co-wrote the song with Jason Buckle, his partner in the short-lived electro duo Relaxed Muscle. It’s inspired by the famous show that the Stone Roses played on the titular island in 1990. Buckle was there. Cocker was not, but he heard all the stories about the DJ who got on everybody’s nerves by repeatedly yelling, "Spike Island, come alive". The video is extremely funny. Cocker directed the clip, it features his attempts to use AI to reanimate the photos from Pulp's Different Class CD booklet. The results are nightmarish, and they effectively skewer the entire concept of the AI music video. Apparently, though, that skewering might've been unintentional.

Rocktrospectiva: El Icónico "His 'n' Hers" Cumple 30 Años

 

Lanzado el 18 de Abril de 1994, "His 'n' Hers" fue el 4to., álbum de estudio de la banda Inglesa Pulp, fue el disco que marcó la carrera de la banda en dos, y fue considerado clave en el éxito de la banda en cuanto a su  camino para la consagración  tras una carrera que ya tenía 15 años en el camino.

Era 1994, año marcado por la muerte de Kurt Cobain y el reinado del indie y la música grunge en los Estados Unidos, del otro lado del charco la fiebre del britpop por fin lograba alcanzar su cuota definitiva y Pulp fue una de las bandas clave dentro del movimiento, claro esta, que ellos en vez de buscar inspiración en sonidos de los 60's y 70's, se dedicaron a reinventarse así mismo y dejarlo plasmado en este su 4to., álbum de estudio, la apuesta les valió el anhelado reconocimiento, alcanzando el No, 9 en el chart de álbumes del Reino Unido.

El contexto y las letras del disco tienen que ver mucho con temas que la banda siempre utilizó, y que van desde los encuentros sexuales, las clases sociales y el vouyerismo, esto queda de manifiesto en el tema "Joyriders" que daba la entrada al disco y que buscaba darle tono al mismo marcando la idiosincrasia perturbadora de la banda, con "Lipgloss" uno de los singles del disco destacan el teclado de Doyle para aderezar cualquier tipo de deseos de adolescentes reprimidos, "She's A Lady" se inspira en el tema "I Will Survive" de Gloria Gaynor y un poco de Abba, y de corte muy nacionalista, el otro single "Babies" uno de las joyas registradas de la banda y desde el punto de vista de un vouyeur que se esconde para observar a la hermana de su novia, y por supuesto el otro y más conocido single "Do You Remember The First Time?" el hit clave que sirvió para impulsar el disco y considerarlo uno de los temas básicos en cualquier recopilación britpop que vino después, a pesar del sonido movido, el tema escondida una historia acerca del paso sexual de la infancia a la adolescencia en el Reino Unido, sin faltar la culpa y es que todo tenía que ver con la masturbación.

Pero el disco también tenía otros temas como "Acrylic Afternoons", para retratar a la clase media Británica de los 90's., con "Have You Seen Her Lately?" exponiendo historias guardadas sobre las decepciones amorosas en la adolescencia con las mujeres y que vaya sino abundan, con "Happy Endings", tema melódico  aderezado con sintetizadores para dejarnos una sensación positiva, "Pink Glove" ejercía de burla sobre la endogamia que adolecía el britpop y algunos de sus más ilustres personajes también con mucho sonido melódico y minimalismo electrónico.

Ya llegando a los últimos temas nos encontrábamos con "Someone Like The Moon" uno de sus más crudos temas pero convertido a la temática pop, "David's Last Summer", con influencias sonoras de Can para uno de los temas más largos del disco para terminar así una de las entregas más inesperadas pero a la vez frescas y positivas que pudieron haber emergido del britpop, en una época en la que todos querían copiar hasta el peinado de The Beatles y la agresividad sonora de The Kinks o Rolling Stones, aquí al menos se escuchaba un sonido diferente y quizás es por eso que Pulp tuvo su lugar especial dentro del género logrando trascender más allá de la época dorada del mismo.

His 'N' Hers Track List:

1. Joyrirders

2. Lipgloss

3. Acrylic Afternoons

4. Have You Seen Her Lately?

5. Babies

6. She's A Lady

7. Happy Endings

8. Do You Remember The First Time?

9. Pink Glove

10. Someone Like The moon

11. David's Last Summer

Rocktrospectiva: El Desolador "This Is Hardcore" Cumple 25 Años

Lanzado el 30 de Marzo de 1998, "This Is Hardcore" fue el 6to., álbum de estudio de la icónica banda Inglesa Pulp, aparecido en el momento en que el britpop había desaparecido, Pulp era el encargado de documentar el fallecimiento del mismo, quedaban resabios pero ya la fiesta había desaparecido, si bien un año antes, Blur y Oasis ya habían anticipado la caída del movimiento, fue Pulp el que le dio el golpe de gracia, con la que se considera su obra más exitosa y aclamada por la crítica, pero muy diferente a sus dos anteriores placas, ya que aquí predominaba un estilo más lúgubre y desolador. 

 

Del disco se lanzaron cuatro singles "Help The Aged", "This Is Hardcore", "A Little Soul", y "Party Hard", ya para ese entonces, el disco era uno de los más anticipados de ese año y de la banda por lo que se esperaba algo especial, ya que su disco anterior "Different Class" le valió el No. 1 en el Reino Unido, por lo que esta nueva entrega no podía ser de menos tanto por las audiencias como por la crítica especializada, al final de cuentas del álbum no decepcionó y le dio a la banda su 3era., nominación seguida para los Mercury Prize de 1998, llegó al No. 1 en el Reino Unido pero vendió menos que su antecesor.  

 

Una obra desoladora e inquietante, con un título que por momentos alude al porno, se notaba una desolación y tristeza a lo largo del disco, en donde contrastaba con los aires de progreso y felicidad que aparentemente se vivía en la Inglaterra de Tony Blair, por esos motivos, se le considera como su disco más logrado en su carrera, y eso quedo palpable desde que la banda dio a conocer el 1er., single "Help The Aged", incluso el mismo Cocker ya había dicho que el disco pudiera no gustarles a todos debido al tipo de mensaje opresivo que querían proyectar al respecto, luego saldría el inquietante "This Is Hardcore" con un clip inspirado en los filmes clásicos tipo Noir de los años 50's y que logro cierta rotación en la MTV y la naciente M2 de aquel entonces, mientras que "A Little Soul" era un poco más tranquilo pero que igual no perdía la sensación de molestia que era el enfoque principal del disco, para finalizar con el single "Party Hard" que hacía referencia en donde se aludían a los excesos de ser famosos y que desgraciadamente alimentaban por mal esa atmósfera de negativa que venía sobrellevando la banda desde que alcanzó el éxito.

 

Desde el primer track "The Fear", que era acerca de alguien que pretende estar bien antes los demás cuando en realidad le pasa todo lo contrario, la depresiva "Help The Aged" era otro claro ejemplo al respecto era la amenazante "Seductive Barry", dejando palpable ese aire a desolación al respecto, pero eso era lo que quería la banda que ya mostraba sintomas de cansancio y aburrimiento, pese a que la obra desde el punto de vista musical es la más lograda para la banda, lejos de la controversia del título y de los ataques que sufrieron los posters promocionales del disco en el metro de Londres que no pasaron de más.

 

El disco alcanzó el No. 1, nada mal para la banda, tremendo contraste con la placa anterior donde el ambiente era más festivo, pero quizás eso era lo que la banda quería para volverse a encontrar, sea lo que sea, los pocos resabios que quedaban del britpop fueron aniquilados por este disco.

This Is Hardcore Track List:

1. The Fear

2. Dishes

3. Party Hard

4. Help The Aged

5. This Is Hardcore

6. TV Movie

7. A Little Soul

8. I'm A Man

9. Seductive Barry

10. Sylvie

11. Glory Days

12. The Day After The Revolution

In Memoriam: Ha Muerto El Gran "Steve Mackey" Bajista Y Productor Musical

Steve Mackey, el otrora bajista de la banda Inglesa Pulp durante su época más exitosa, ha muerto a los 56 años, según comunicó su esposa, la estilista Katie Grand en un anuncio hecho en su página en Instagram. 

 

La declaración decía lo siguiente: "Tras tres meses en el hospital y de estar batallando con toda su fuerza y determinación, estamos tristes y devastados por haberle dicho adiós a mi brillante y hermoso esposo, Steve Mackey. Steve murió hoy dejándonos con un terrible perdida a mi misma y a su hijo Marley, sus padres Kath y Paul, su hermana Michelle y muchos amigos más. Steve fue una persona talentosa y un músico excepcional, productor, fotógrafo y cineasta, en vida fue amado por todos aquellos que se le cruzaron en su camino en las diferentes disciplinas que el domino, Me gustaría expresar mi gratitud a todos aquellos en el personal del hospital que trabajaron intensamente para Steve. El será extrañado". 

 

Mackey se unio a Pulp en 1989 y contribuyo en el disco "Separations", luego siguió tocando en los subsecuentes álbumes incluyendo los notables, "Different Class" & "His 'n' Hers" los cuales son considerados como puntos álgidos de la escena britpop de los 1990s. Pulp dejó de trabajar en el 2002 pero se reformó para ofrecer conciertos en todo el mundo entre el 2011 y 2012, lanzaron un ultimo corte que en realidad era una actualización del demo llamado "After You" en el 2013. 

 

El pasado mes de Octubre, Mackey anunció que no se uniría a Pulp para los conciertos de verano en el 2023, por atender proyectos personales de los cuales estaba muy metido. La banda publicó una declaración tras su muerte, describiéndolo como alguien leal y amado, junto a una imagen de Mackey escalando en los Andes durante la reunión del 2012, cosa que Steve sugirió y entonces lo hicieron todos, Steve hacía que las cosas pasaran en la vida y en la banda, así que le agradecemos por todas esas aventuras. 

 

Steve se vestía elegante y tenía un buen look, se miraba refinadamente cool e influyente, fue precisamente él, que trajo la influencia disco al grupo cuyos primeros discos fueron grabados con diferentes bajista entre 1983 y 1987, siendo una especia de culto en el Reino Unido. Nacido en Sheffield, asistió al colegio junto a otro grande, Richard Hawley y tocaron en varias bandas locales las cuales eran más ruidosas a diferencia de Pulp que era algo así como arte y por eso no eran muy queridos. Sin embargo, aceptó con entusiasmo unirseles en 1989 en parte por el asunto de la música bailable que la banda comenzaba abrazar, si bien fueron miserables durante 10 años, todo llegó en su momento con Mackey, el primero disco fue "Separations" y comenzó a traerles algo de éxito a la banda lo que ayudó que fueran contratados por Island Records, entonces vino "His 'n' Hers" y alcanzaron el top 10 en 1994 y con "Different Class" lanzaron el himno brit pop "Common People" que llegó al No. 1, igual manera pasó con el oscuro "This Is Hardcore", todavía alcanzó que lanzaran un disco más "We Love Life" en el 2001. 

 

Tras su paso por Pulp, Mackey siguió colaborando y produciendo para varios músicos, co-escribiendo y mezclando también, estuvo detrás del disco debut de Florence + The Machine "Lungs", así como en el single de MIA "Galang", le produjo a "The Horrors", y se unió al productor de Daft Punk, Thomas Bangalter para producir el disco de Arcade Fire "Everything Now" y trabajó con "Spiritualized", en los últimos años, Mackey trabajo con su esposa en su revista "Love", y ganó reputación como fotógrafo de moda y luego vendrían algunos encargos fílmicos para clientes como Miu Miu, Giorgio Armani, Moncler y Saint Laurent.

Rocktrospectiva: La Última Entrega De Pulp "We Love Life" Cumple 20 Años

Lanzado el 22 de Octubre del 2001, "We Love Life" el septimo y último disco de la banda Inglesa Pulp, fue lanzado oficialmente al mercado, el disco llegó al No. 6 en el Reino Unido por un espacio de tres semana, lo cual fue considerado una ganancia, y más si se toma en cuenta el hecho que el disco fue grabado a manera de liberación tras las tormentosas sesiones de grabación del anterior disco "This Is Hadrcore", el disco contó con la producción de Scoot Walker que terminó tomando el lugar de Chris Thomas. 

La tematica y cambio sonoró del disco resultó en algo más positivo para la crítica, ya que manejo un cambio de la desilución del sonido de su entrega anterior moviendose hacía un sonido mucho más organico dandole una mayor preponderancia a lo natural, a petición de Jarvis Cocker quien venía demostrando un interés en ese aspecto ya que lo consideraba como algo peligroso, aunque consideraba justo volver a cosas más simples y básicas como lo era de hecho el entorno natural, aunque advertía que para nada era un disco con influencias hippy y lleno de flower power. 

 

Cabe destacar que el hecho que hayan dejado de trabajar con Thomas ayudó en gran parte al sonido de este material, con Thomas traína un estilo más rigído lo cual entraba en conflicto con los intereses de la banda desmoralizando a los miembros entre ellos Candida Doyle que pensaba dejar la banda si se volvían a engavetar las grabaciones hechas para el nuevo disco, al final recapacitó y continuo aun sí no hubiera llegado a Walker, la premisa era terminar el disco, y es que había algo especial con Scott Walker a quien admiraban y lo habían conocido durante el Festival Meltdown del 2000.  

 

El disco se iba a llamar "Pulp Love Life" el cual resulta bonito, aunque no gustó mucho ya que podría confundir un poco a la audiencia, entonces se pasaron a "Pulp" pero vinieron los ataques del 11 de Septiembre y eso influyó en muchos aspectos, por lo que decidieron adoptar eese nombre, "We Love Life" a manera de compartir ese sentimiento universal de paz y amor que se deseaba en aquel entonces. luego la portada con el título de la banda en letras mayusculas a cargo de Peter Saville.  

Al momento de lanzarse, se escogieron tres singles "Sunrise/The Trees" y luego "Bad Cover Version" cuyo video era una como mofa al Band Aid y hasta salía Kurt Cobain entre los invitados como homenaje, gracias a las bellas letras menos personales de Cocker, el disco fue positivo para la crítica y audiencias, más emociona, sincero y que consolidaba el sonido de la banda que el conflictivo "This Is Hardcore", llegó a ser comparado con el célebre "Different Class", al final sería el último disco oficial de la iconica banda pilar del brit pop noventero, unos años después, Jarvis Cocker lanzaría su disco en solitario. 

We Love Life Track List:

1. Weeds

2. Weeds II

3. The Night That Minnie Timperley Died

4. The Trees

5. Wickerman

6. I Love Life 

7. The Birds In Your Garden

8. Bob Lind (The OnlyWas Is Down)

9. Bad Cover Version

10. Roadkill

11. Sunrise