Wow! Pulp will play Manchester Wythenshawe Park on 28th August 2026 (possibly their only major headline show in 2026). With special guests. So they are not going to tour the UK next year?
The BBC article states "Wythenshawe Park will be one of very few opportunities for fans to see Pulp perform live in 2026, and the only chance to see them play outdoors in the north of England next year." - so not ruling out other appearances elsewhere in the UK.
If the prices are on a par with the other Wythenshawe concerts, we're looking at about £80 general admission, £130+ VIP (fast track entry etc) with booking fees.
I much prefer an indoor gig but there is something to be said for a big summer party in a park now & then. Even if the sound is pants, it's too light & tends to be full of casuals who will talk throughout.
I might go, as much as I am trying to talk myself out of it! Although I'm gonna have to risk buying tickets & then sorting the time off work later.
First time i saw Pulp in 2011 was at Hyde Park, and it was nice, but also not. Too many people who didn't really care about the music and it kinda ruins the experience. I gotta say i cant really pretend they don't exist, and also i dont really understand why going to a gig if you don't listen to the band.
I guess this will be a Tramlines type setup? All for it, but I ain't going! Probably shooting myself in the foot, but every time I go to Manchester it becomes some sort of expensive disaster and enough is enough!
__________________
"Yes I saw her in the chip shop / so I said get yer top off"
Capacity for Wythenshawe is 26,000. I'm not a great fan of these outdoor enormo shows (I'm getting old and need a sit down) but what's a fan to do? I suppose they may play some festivals but I won't be going to any of those. I'm like Weed, I'll be buying tickets without any clue whether I can get time off work. How much money do they want from me?
9 months notice for work is reasonable, no? Life is made in such time...
But yeah, open airs are a bit crap for sound and casuals chatting and walking their way through the sets...
With new Pulp music in 2026 and a couple of key changes to the setlist (We Are The Boyz, it's your time) I might be tempted but I'm sure nearer the time Twickets will have spares.
We're living the high life! We're living it well!
We're living the high life! And everything's swell
We're up in the sky
Flying so high
Oh my oh my
We're living the high life!
The high life!
The high life!
Sale Water Park tram stop has a Park and Ride and is 8 mins on the tram to Moor Road (assuming that's the closest tram stop to the gig entrance).
Sale Water Park tram stop is just off the M60 too for a quick getaway once you're off the tram. The trams will be busy but I suspect this will still be a good option.
In Manchester you can also normally park on side streets around most tram stops outside the city centre.
Manchester would be an odd choice for a finale! I think they might do some London gigs. Really they need to do one more Sheffield/South Yorkshire performance. Especially if Mark felt a disconnection at Tramlines.
Anybody have an idea what VIP means? Wondering if that means a 'golden circle' type area near the stage, with 'plebs' kept the other side of a road width gap. I haven't been to a big outdoor performance since Benicassim 2007, and that was before all these golden circle areas existed.
Really fancied this when I saw the pre-sale link with Self Esteem, but the comments here about casual attendees chattering, and all the standing around, and traffic hassles... ooh, not sure at all. I wonder if I'll ever see Pulp again.
Definitely not the golden circle. Just a shorter queue for the toilets. This is what Ticketmaster says for this show:
Artist Presale - VIP Ticket
- Dedicated VIP entry lane - 1 x Entry ticket to watch the show - Exclusive access to the VIP chill out area with VIP toilets, food vendors and dedicated VIP bar* *Beverages and snacks are not included. Please note, this space is not stage facing, and you will need to vacate the area to watch the show within the general admission standing space
Thanks for that info. Well, I'm bound to insult someone here who already has a VIP ticket, terrible habit of mine opening my big mouth... but... from the sounds of that I'd rather pay an extra £60 to NOT be around a bunch of smug rich hipsters who want to lounge around a 'chill area' away from the great unwashed.
Yeah, that VIP upgrade is a piss-take. You'd want someone wiping your bum for that money. Well, maybe not. But a couple of beverages and a tofu curry or summat.
Yeah, that VIP upgrade is a piss-take. You'd want someone wiping your bum for that money. Well, maybe not. But a couple of beverages and a tofu curry or summat.
At Rock n Roll circus it was the Greggs VIP area. Y'know, for that extra touch of class!
The Tramlines VIP area was nowhere near a stage but it did have somewhere you could sit down at least. I didn't have tix for it, other rich people told me.
Just went for a standard ticket myself. The only sensible reason to consider VIP is fast track entry for barrier, but not at a £60 surcharge.
Same here. But I don´t actually think "a dedicated line" means "a faster line". At Tramlines there were lots of entrances for general admission, while VIPs had to wait in one dedicated line only... definitely worth the money, heh.
-- Edited by Cehora on Wednesday 19th of November 2025 04:39:18 PM
I think we might finally be on with the small indoors, lads.
I'm in two minds; the email says "This is likely to be our only major UK headline concert next year" so whether that means there will also be festivals or smaller shows remains to be seen. I don't think that it is their swansong; I think that we will get another album before they call it a day. Due to an injury, I might struggle in a crowd that size, seated or a smaller venue would be fine. I would buy a VIP ticket if it meant I could watch the show from a different place to the main crowd but it doesn't. In fairness, the last couple of times I held out, it ended up working in my favour.
Presale tickets are still available for this. I'm a bit surprised as the presale allocation usually sells out.
Im not too surprised given Pulp have played a few outdoor headline gigs in UK and pretty much everyone who wants to see them has seen them once or twice in last couple of years (three times for me). Only so many times the less committed fan or those with a passing interest will go and see a band. Or even the more committed fan. Especially when tickets are £80 and you have to add in travel and potentially accommodation. There were two big gigs in Lancashire/Yorkshire this year.
They have been touring since 2023; next year will be their 4th consecutive year. This year and next year are for the new album "More" for sure. But I wonder if everybody will go to see them. If I were in the UK, I would make it. But some people who don't love them as much as we do, will they?
Yeah, the psychology is interesting. The arena shows got amazing reviews and given the size of the venues, there would have been a chunk of casual attendees. A lot of them would have been won-over and happy to go see them again. Along with some of their pals that they raved about the show to.
Just not sure if that number is more than those who are content with their Pulp-diet and are more worried about taxes going up in the budget next week...
Yes, I was thinking this. They toured from 1991 to 1996 but their popularity was growing as was the size of the venues they played in. Now we're 30 years on, their popularity has already been established for that time and as ArrGee says above, practically anyone who wanted to see them has already had their chance. Have they reached their pension pot targets and now just accepting which ever offer takes their fancy?
Let's face it, they are in a strong position to sell more records so a predominantly acoustic album with minimal promotion in late 2026 would make for a suitable swansong.
Yeah, the psychology is interesting. The arena shows got amazing reviews and given the size of the venues, there would have been a chunk of casual attendees. A lot of them would have been won-over and happy to go see them again. Along with some of their pals that they raved about the show to.
Just not sure if that number is more than those who are content with their Pulp-diet and are more worried about taxes going up in the budget next week...
For younger fans, they probably want to see the likes of pulp, oasis, blur, suede, supergrass etc. once in their lives and they will have done it. Faced with another big spend, there may be other attractions. At least back in 1990s it cost relatively little to see pulp, so never a question of not seeing them for me. Now I think about it a bit more (excuse the pun). I was in two minds about all three dates I went to in last couple of years, but as per usual folded when tickets went on sale rationalising that I had no travel costs to add to the ticket price. I have sold some tickets on Twickets this year because my rational mind went into overdrive telling me spending a night in Cambridge to watch a band I was off to see in London the following week wasn't justified! I am still questioning why I am off to see The Damned at Wembley Arena next April even if it is their 50th anniversary gig.
I go to gigs once a fortnight on average and will travel if need be. However when I tot it all up, it's becoming expensive. And from end of this month, I might take a big hit on my disposable income. One problem with retirement is you don't get pay rises but you pay out more every year.
So for now, my Pulp diet is sated, but all they have to do is announce some intimate gigs and I will be draining the pension.
PS - I suppose I have resisted buying the Different Class re-issue, so I do have a spare £100...
Yes, I was thinking this. They toured from 1991 to 1996 but their popularity was growing as was the size of the venues they played in. Now we're 30 years on, their popularity has already been established for that time and as ArrGee says above, practically anyone who wanted to see them has already had their chance. Have they reached their pension pot targets and now just accepting which ever offer takes their fancy?
Let's face it, they are in a strong position to sell more records so a predominantly acoustic album with minimal promotion in late 2026 would make for a suitable swansong.
Brixton Academy was probably as big as it got back then before playing the likes of Wembley and Finsbury Park on Hardcore tour. I didn't go to either as getting married that got in the way.
Maybe an RSD release in 2026, but I don't know how many physical records pulp sell nowadays. I bought three copies of More (and am considering a fourth in Rough Trade sale), but I guess record sales are not as important as gigs in terms of revenue. If there is a swansong, I expect one big gig like Auto originally or Sheffield last time out. Pretty certain Manchester isn't it. But then I didn't expect it to be over a decade after the Sheffield gig, when I went to Dublin to see what I was pretty certain was going to be the last Boomtown Rats gig. And the latter have continued for another 13 years.
Before the latest 'unusual' fest announcement I already thought there might be more acoustic offerings. What had made me think of this earlier in the year was how they finished the concerts with A Sunset and had done an acoustic version of Something Changed too. Farmer's Market has its gentle moments too and I remember thinking Jarvis might end up a Leonard Cohen type figure doing these quiet songs. A Sunset was visually quiet different.
Maybe they've done such a big production for the last 2 tours and they now want to do something different.
Wishing they'd come back to Dublin. The last 2 gigs in Dublin have been the best I've ever seen. I'd love to see them in a small venue like The Olympia or Vicar Street.
I wonder if Candida might step back at some point and they continue as a full time 8 piece? The Jarv Is guys and Mark are all a decade younger, whilst Jarvis and Nick seem in good physical shape. Jarvis has also been more prolific songwriting in the last decade than he has his whole life. Mark said he had a big backlog, which was why others' contributions got a bit squeezed out on More.
The Mani news today, like Steve, is a reminder that tomorrow can be too late
I wonder if Candida might step back at some point and they continue as a full time 8 piece? The Jarv Is guys and Mark are all a decade younger, whilst Jarvis and Nick seem in good physical shape. Jarvis has also been more prolific songwriting in the last decade than he has his whole life. Mark said he had a big backlog, which was why others' contributions got a bit squeezed out on More.
The Mani news today, like Steve, is a reminder that tomorrow can be too late
Originally the whole Jarvis solo thing was a result of the intermittent nature of pulp. There wasn't any reason to not have pulp being solely Jarvis (ala Divine Comedy) and just have different people play on different LPs. Perversely the pulp reunion means there is a lot of material that is unlikely to be played live again and there are some pretty good solo highlights (Cnuts, Pharaoh, Further Complications, Fcuk This etc.). I suspect that when the latest pulp reunion blows over, it may be as you suggest.