Now that half a decade has elapsed since Pulp's last gig, presumably given the plethora of 'reunions' we've seen lately, any return from the band would fall into that category rather than a mere 'comeback'. Then again Portishead have been 'working on' their new lp for nigh on 10 years so it's all a matter of context I suppose. Pulp have been very much left dormant since December 2002, the only 'appearances' being in the guise of reissues and compilations. Thankfully Jarvis left well enough alone during the touring of his solo album this year with no crowd-pleasing concessions thrown into the set; it was strictly Jarvis material.
With all of us guessing his next move, surely a Pulp return, if only in the form of a handful of live shows, is not too far away. Whilst 5 years isn't that long a period of time - they did only release 7 albums in 18 years after all; they're not exactly spring chickens either.
And on the Auto gig itself, which I'll always curse myself for not attending, it's a shame that Lyndhurst Grove never made it onto the BBC live broadcast.
I'm not exactly holding my breath for a reunion, but five years is a pretty scary thought. It really doesn't seem that long ago... not least because that must also mean it's now more or less five years since I finished writing my book. Yikes.
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"Yes I saw her in the chip shop / so I said get yer top off"
Look at it this way....Shed Seven has just done their comeback tour, and that was a sell out most gigs. Im certain that if pulp were to do this, the reaction would be phenominal in regard to ticket sales and promotion.
Personally, I would rather Pulp only reformed if there was a real point to it, and not simply a greatest hits tour. I can't really imagine that Jarvis would want to tour for that reason either...unless they all end up really low on cash that is!
Although, if they did, I'm sure I would snap up a ticket as soon as anyone else! Heh.
scottfrazer wrote:Im certain that if pulp were to do this, the reaction would be phenominal in regard to ticket sales and promotion.
Pulp were doing pretty well in selling out gigs when they called it a day, and Jarvis had no problems selling out his solo gigs. The problem was low sales, but as now that affects everyone and acts release their own tracks on the internet for free, the only way to make money is playing live, which should suit Pulp down to the ground.
Reunion tours are always more exciting to imagine than they are in actuality. I have no desire to see Pulp roll out the predictable hits setlist once again, not when I can live in my memories. On the other hand, if Russell were to get involved, I'd probably pay anything to see them. I've never seen Russell perform with Pulp, and he would no doubt lend some warm blood to the old songs... violin solo in This is Hardcore maybe???
I would love to see them perform a true career-spanning setlist...finally seeing Jarvis overcome his resentment of his work of earlier years which he seems to be getting over now, judging by his liner notes in the Peel Sessions CD.
Or...even better...a nightly residency at a venue where they perform each one of their albums in their entirity every nite...like Sparks are doing in May and June next year (which I think is one of the most amazing feats I have ever heard of in live music...considering they have 21 albums!!!)
Pulp never struck me as nostaligic. They always favoured new songs over old in most of theier live sets over their long career. I think Jarvis is enjoying being a cult icon atm and don't see anything on the cards.
Saying that, these things normally come as a suprise when they happen.
As for Jarvis solo playing Pulp songs live - I'd imagine he's drawing a line in his life and would like people to think of him as an artist in his own right rather than "That bloke who did 'Common People' and waved his arse at Jacko"
It was a few years before Morrissey started playing Smiths songs in his solo career, simply because he didn't want to. Now he plays them all the time as he says "I think they're mine more than anyone else's, so I should be playing them more than anyone else".
I think i'd be hard for Jarv to do a Pulp song in his set without it being a bit cheesey, to be honest!
