Jarvis Cocker has confirmed that Pulp will return for reunion shows in 2023, and the band’s drummer Nick Banks has also shared that more news will be released soon.
Speaking at a Guardian-hosted talk and Q&A for his new memoir Good Pop, Bad Pop, the veteran singer told fans that the Sheffield band are set to regroup next year.
The statement follows a 15-second clip shared by Cocker on his Instagram account last week, which features the words “What exactly do you do for an encore?” The line is from the title track of Pulp’s 1998 album ‘This Is Hardcore’, which will have its 25th anniversary next year.
The post prompted speculation from fans that a reunion was on the cards, and at the book event, Cocker said the post was “deliberately cryptic”.
He added: “It’s a line from ‘This Is Hardcore’… next year Pulp are going to play some concerts!”
It’s not known yet when, where and how many gigs will take place in 2023.
Drummer Banks then followed the statement with a tweet, in which he shared a reassuring message to fans, saying: “Hey folks, unsurprisingly it’s all gone a bit mental on here. Gig details will be revealed as and when.”
He added: “Stay calm, hug your Pulp records and dream of going mental sometime in 2023.”
The Sheffield band announced their last reunion in November 2010, which featured Cocker, Russell Senior, Candida Doyle, Nick Banks, Steve Mackey and Mark Webber, in their Different Class line-up.
They went on to play a number of shows including a now-legendary surprise set at Glastonbury 2011, and a headline slot at Reading & Leeds that year.
Among the shows that the band played during that initial run of reunion gigs were a headline appearance at Reading & Leeds, a surprise set at Glastonbury’s The Park stage, and gigs at festivals such as London’s Wireless and Barcelona’s Primavera Sound.
Pulp haven’t performed together since December 2012 when they played a homecoming gig in Sheffield and two shows aboard the SS Coachella Cruise. They also haven’t released new material since 2012’s ‘After You’, which was produced by LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy.
In an interview with NME in 2015, Cocker compared Pulp to a “dormant volcano”, saying: “You can think ‘wow, that’s dormant’ and then the next day your house has gone, because it’s erupted.”
