Yeah, even Jarvis' intro was a bit insubstantial. I guess gushing about your colleague isn't the Sheff way. Mark's text is brilliant though and he's not afraid to give his opinion. I could have lived in tales and images of Pulpland 1991 to 1993.

Went for Chissick.

superchob wrote:

---

As well as classic posters, Id love a bound copy of all the Pulp People mags. I nearly bought a haul on eBay circa 2003 for a pittance, but I obviously didnt think it was pittance enough.

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I'm a bit, or a lot, of a geek for the old artefacts. I think I looked at a Pulp People lot on ebay about 2007, and had the same thought - ah, will come up cheaper later... never seen again. At the same time there was a hand made Pulp demo tape, with text melted / etched onto the case (can't remember what now), big regret not buying that one. I got a lot of my Pulp vinyl pretty cheaply from ebay in the hiatus years (I was a latecomer to Pulp), but never any of the really rare stuff, and that's all very pricey now. There was a copy of 'My Lighthouse' for sale in Steel Wheels (Newcastle) c.2004ish, they were asking £40 which seemed loads at the time, regretted missing that ever since. That's why I spent crazy money on 9 copies of More, which I probably could have got cheaper by waiting, but just, what's it called? FOMO.

Looked at the mylegendarymerch account on insta today - there's a Diff Class poster (from ebay) for £109! Original posters don't come up a lot, so maybe that's reasonable. Had a look at my old Pulp posters (in the attic) a couple of weeks ago. All tatty c.95/96 with pin-holes, blu-tack, and sellotape, but since they're my own pin holes, seems part of the charm. Might get some of them framed, and have them back out, as some of them are gorgeous. Will photograph them one of these days, as they aren't on the wiki or anywhere else I can find.

It'd be great to get some of those huge More promo displays / billboards and things, though I couldn't put them up anywhere. The only More poster I have is the listening party one, which is a bit dinky. Were there any proper posters for sale at the live dates? 

What's the ratio of new stuff to old in the paperback version, then? What's been added? What's unmissable?

I asked on IG if anyone had received their paperback copy yet, and got a reply from Hat & Beard:

"The book is on pre-order. Its en route to the US from the printer. Expecting it to arrive very soon and will begin shipping right away."

There must be have been a delay, was due for release 4th of July. Getting a lot of this in recent years - mergers and consolidations all over the place, especially with European LPs CDs, and if there's a small problem, lower volume things get knocked back, in favour of the big selling stuff. 

-- Edited by inspirit on Saturday 12th of July 2025 10:49:24 AM

"Out now" my backside! Finally got an email update from Hat & Beard (via music glue) on 16th of July - fully 12 days after the book was supposedly out - to say it has been delayed (no sh*t) until the 18th of July. Pretty lousy customer service. Miserably inefficient: why cause all your customers to worry about missing orders, and why cause yourself a load of nuisance enquiries, instead of just telling people in advance 'it's delayed'. Stuff gets delayed all the time, no big deal, but not telling people what's going on is crap.

Is anyone able to record Marks talk today? Hoping someone asks about whether, with the success of More and the tour, there is any renewed interest in the We Love Life special edition?

-- Edited by simmonel on Sunday 20th of July 2025 06:16:35 PM

A couple of other bits I remembered - PTA was brought up by the host who digs the song despite it being "about a paedophile". Mark, predictably, rather less-so. Dismissed it as something they quickly put together as they needed more material.

Oh and Glastonbury...Pulp approached them to see if they wanted the group to headline. The organisers, presumably Eavis and Daughter, said the best they could offer was the secret set. Mark didn't seem too pleased!

They rehearsed Dirty World! Bloody hell!

So is that a definite no on Sex City then? Shame if so.

Nothing too groundbreaking tonight.

Mark has missed the Tramlines rehearsal so claimed to not know the setlist.

Said they have very little contact with Island and Jarvis doesnt seem to be keen on WLL Deluxe.

Now the songs are out theyre finding it easier to rehearse deeper cuts, said he hoped more would be there in the future.

Gently slagged off Oasis.

Am in the queue now, dare I ask for a photo.

(He made a reference in the WLL answer to songs even certain people havent heard circulated which I did take meant he lurks on here haha)

Just to add Mark did say he had spoken to his contact at Universal about a WLL special edition and did seem enthusiastic about it but seems the label and Jarvis sadly dont feel the same way yet

I'll be seeing Mark do his book talk tomorrow in Chesterfield. Anyone else going?

And if not, any good questions to ask...?

Double post...

 

-- Edited by Stephen on Saturday 26th of July 2025 09:46:54 PM

Did I try and ask more questions than anyone else in the room?
Yes, yes I did.

I'll write about it in the next day or so. No massive updates or anything newsworthy, but it was fun and positive.

Would you believe that I was sat next to Gay Bolton? Get your Googles out for that deep, deep Pulp and Webber reference! We did talk, and I have quotes :)

I assume it will be the same one that was shown at the Horse Hospital before the launch of Paul's own book. From memory it was very interesting but as ever with these things and us hardcore, too short!

Some nice insight from Mark into his input and instrument/pedal choices on More from this interview with Guitarworld magazine:

www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/mark-webber-pulp-more">www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/mark-webber-pulp-more

I was going to a few weeks back after reading it but didn't want to post any spoilers. I haven't done a forensic page by page comparison but there were enough new bits and bobs to keep me entertained. There were a few times where I thought "Oh...really? Did I read that bit in the hardback 6 or 9 months ago...?!"

I was pleasantly surprised that he seemed to go back over the whole text and add new thoughts and memories here and there.
There's a few more flyers and ephemera...nothing "gold" in terms of new, old photographs, from what I recall...
And of course there was a new chapter on the new era and some interesting thoughts on the recording process for More.

The one thing I can remember not having heard/read before... in 2011/12 when Pulp were on their first lap of honour, it was Mark who one day in a rehearsal or soundcheck between shows, started playing the riff of After You out of the blue! I think some of the band joined in and the rest, I guess, is history. So thank you Mark, you legend!

Whether the book is worth buying a second time is hard to say. I'm an absolute sucker for music boxsets and books especially related to the musicians I love so I would have eventually snapped-up the second edition. The fact I got to buy it and meet him again at one of his promo events made it an easier sell.

The quality of the paper isn't amazing but I assume they've done this to keep the price at a much more digestible RRP than the hardback. Which, in fairness to Mark, he wasn't keen on charging the premium price on the first edition and he didn't have to add extra content a second time round - yes, some of us hardcore will double-dip regardless but I imagine that's a small number so I don't see it as taking advantage. He's clearly spent a lot of time on this project.

I'm so glad he's finally had some time in the spotlight this past year and even better, that he seems to be enjoying it based on all these book-events he continues to do.

-- Edited by Eamonn on Monday 8th of September 2025 08:41:14 PM

Ah, come to Dublin, Mark, would ya! Or better still somewhere like Kildare. Richard Hawley is in Dublin Oct 22nd. Come on over! I'd feckin pay him myself (well, depending on the price. Cost of living crisis and all that!). He's bringing his guitar with him apparently. Now will this prove Mark is the other singer in the band. Will he sing a tune. Jarvis said in a Beyond the Pale interview that he only found out in recent years that there was another singer in the band.

Going to the Sheffield date, pretty reasonable pricing as it includes the book too..

Erm....
It very clearly states at the Crookes social club site that ticket sale includes a copy of the book..

Paulette Edwards - 30/10/2025 - BBC Sounds

Mark interviewed on Radio Sheffield, 30th Oct, starts 14m30s.

Ah yes, interesting. Including this clip where he apologises for their slightly flat performance at Tramlines:  www.facebook.com/reel/1515478629655303/

I wasn't there and would have eaten-up hearing S:SC and Miners Strike live but I can see why a general crowd would struggle with those. It's 15 minutes of music they haven't heard before at a mid-tempo.

-- Edited by Eamonn on Sunday 2nd of November 2025 02:09:21 PM

Lipgloss and Help The Aged should be part of the core festival setlists imo. They're both uptempo and pretty well-known. Pulp's first chart entry (not Top 40 but not far off) and their last top ten.

I know the rhythm of Lipgloss causes issues and Jarvis needs the crowd to do the "Funny how it all falls away" line in HTA but so what? Adds to the sense of occasion.

At least OU has finally had a second life. If something is relatively quick and catchy, a general crowd will lap it up especially if it's buttressed by hits that they do recognise.

I went to Mark's book tour event in Nottingham last night. An enjoyable evening. Lots of people turned up but it wasn't quite sold out. 

Mark was his usual self, giving very honest answers, but also seemed keen to steer the conversation away from anything more negative. No major surprises or new information in the conversation or Q&A.

Mark briefly attempted to recall Pulp's first Nottingham show at the Barracuda in 1987. It sounded like a lot of shows at that time: they spent hours wrapping the stage in tin foil and then only a handful of people turned up. He remembered it was a small venue - little more than a bar. That sounds correct because I know the location and there is a ****tail bar there today.

The highlight was the five videos played. I've described them in spoiler tags below, because I know there are more dates coming up, and those going might want a surprise. He mentioned the selection varied at each event, so I'd be interested to know what else was included on other nights
 

Spoiler

1. The Will to Power at Chesterfield Arts Centre (January 1986). A wonderful bit of footage with Russell on vocals and Jarvis in the wheelchair. It was VHS quality so a bit grainy and not great sound but still very watchable. The camera panned around giving clear views of all the band members. I hope more of this pops up in future (but I'm not hopeful). 

2. 'Access All Areas'. About 20 minutes of video documenting the 1993 Razzmatazz Tour with Saint Etienne. There was live footage with excerpts of several songs, plus various stuff, including, backstage with both Pulp and Saint Etienne, in the transit van, arriving in Leicester Square at 5am, on a beach, and so on. Some material from this was used in the Home Movies section of the Hits DVD. Mark said he had edited it down, so it's unclear how long the original is. The sound quality was sometimes poor (the concert footage was better) which is perhaps why this hasn't been shown before. Still it was a really good snapshot of the band at that time. There were credits at the end which I don't fully recall. It was filmed by Mark, Mike Timm, and maybe others. Edited by Mark.

3. TV Madness same as on the Hits DVD

4. A avant garde edit of Common People recorded at the Edinburgh Hogmanay show. I don't recall the details. This was my least favourite of the videos.

5. A production rehearsal of Glory Days. I liked the way Jarvis still gave his usual long introduction even when playing to an empty arena.

-- Edited by Will on Tuesday 4th of November 2025 11:24:30 AM

-- Edited by Will on Wednesday 5th of November 2025 10:59:01 AM

Wow (especially number two!)!

Eamonn wrote:

---

Ah yes, interesting. Including this clip where he apologises for their slightly flat performance at Tramlines:  www.facebook.com/reel/1515478629655303/

I wasn't there and would have eaten-up hearing S:SC and Miners Strike live but I can see why a general crowd would struggle with those. It's 15 minutes of music they haven't heard before at a mid-tempo.

-- Edited by Eamonn on Sunday 2nd of November 2025 02:09:21 PM

---

 Sex City went down really well as far as I could tell! The crowd seemed into it far beyond barrier.

There was a wobble during Spike Island, though - there was a beat's disconnection going into the first chorus. I didn't think it was flat per se and I hope it hasn't discouraged the band from showcasing more deep cuts though!!

-- Edited by lipglossed on Tuesday 4th of November 2025 02:39:09 PM

I think regular deep cuts might only be possible if they scale down to small indoor shows. Mark seems keen but the other lad exists to shout and point.

I do! I would have been one of the five thousand beaming to Miners Strike...

Doesn't look like any videos here in Sheffield

What a great sign-off!

Did Mark recognise you from gigs way, way, way back in the days of yore where you and he were the only ones bothered about documenting the occasion, Jason ?!

For those who are outside UK. The Pioneer Club uploaded 2 videos, "In Conversation With Pulp's Mark Webber" which was held on Oct. 12.

Part 1: www.youtube.com/watch
Part 2: www.youtube.com/watch

Sorry if I raised false hope over the videos, I assumed all the dates would follow the same format. Looking at descriptions for the two talks still to happen, it appears there will be videos in Swansea, but probably not at Portsmouth.

In Nottingham the talk took place in a cinema and Mark could play the videos directly from his laptop on to the big screen. Before the first video played he specifically asked the audience not to film on their phones, so I doubt anything will leak out.

I've been thinking what else was said -

I think this has been mentioned here before but at one point Mark mentioned they had rehearsed Have You Seen Her Lately? quite a lot but Jarvis hadn't been persuaded to add it to the setlist. Same for Bad Cover Version which Mark said was his favourite single (and not just because he's on the cover).

Someone asked who his favourite ex-band member is. He thought quite carefully and answered Magnus Doyle. He mentioned Magnus was a bit weird and the host asked whether he was similar to Russell. He then gave a good answer explaining how they were quite different. He mentioned Magnus disappeared after he left the band and they later found out he had gone to India.

Was it not Duncan Steer doing the presenting and questioning ? He's done most of them.

Did anyone at the Sheffield talk meet John Quinn?

Damn, no videos shown in Manchester. No real revelations either but it was enjoyable.

Heh, isn´t it some kind of sophisticated joke from Mark? I mean... Gloria is a 1979 Umberto Tozzi song with the very same riff played on synths!

 

You can compare it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeLe0dChtVk