(Credit: Ben Forrest)
Sun 8 June 2025 11:51, UK
Pulp – OVO Hydro Arena, Glasgow
It is often said that cultural trends are cyclical; that every artist, genre, or time period will come back into fashion eventually. But if this theory is to be believed, then Pulp are a definite outlier. Sure, it’s been 30 years since their Different Class-era heyday, but the Sheffield icons have never really gone out of style. Seemingly, Jarvis Cocker’s unique brand of horny indie outcast anthems have fostered a timeless appeal, and the universally adoring reaction to the band’s newly unveiled record, More, appears to have confirmed that fact.
In support of that long-awaited new album, the band boast a pretty packed schedule for 2025, beginning with an arena tour of the UK and Ireland. Opening night saw Pulp take over the Hydro Arena in Glasgow, which meant an early start and a treacherous drive up the M6 for this Yorkshire-based journalist. Driving for five hours in the pissing-down rain is no fun, and the added bonus of being in a 30-year-old car with a temperamental gearbox and a broken stereo didn’t help matters, but the promise of Pulp at the other end of the road was more than enough to spur me on.
There was a definite buzz in the air on the day of the gig. Not only was Glasgow set to be the opening night of the new tour, but the gig arrived one day after the release of More, an album which expertly reaffirms Pulp’s position among British music’s most enduring and inventive voices.
Driving through the lowland drizzle of Glasgow, I thought back to the last time I saw the band, when their 2023 set at the Isle Of Wight Festival left me unsuccessfully fighting back tears – perhaps due to sleep deprivation, but more likely as a result of their endlessly emotive performance, and the countless memories I have attached to various Pulp tunes. From secondary school alienation to early 20s jubilation, Cocker’s voice has soundtracked multiple core moments in my life, and I can’t imagine that trend stopping any time soon.
In Glasgow, it quickly became apparent that my story is far from being unique. As I approached the arena, guided by my wonderful Glasweigan girlfriend, whose sense of direction is much stronger than mine, queues were already stretching right the way across the venue. Most strikingly, though, those queues couldn’t be confined to one demographic of people. From young arty student-types to ageing ravers and, in some cases, entire families, the crowd at the Hydro perfectly reflected the universal appeal of Pulp.
Ahead of time, Pulp had requested that audiences get to the venue early, as there would be no support act, and by the looks of things inside the venue, everybody had adhered to that request. Instead of a supporting artist, Cocker and the gang took to stage early, at around 8:20pm, performing a gig of two halves with a half-time interval that only added to the grand theatrical nature of the performance. That first half opened with Cocker emerging from a silhouette surrounded by his bandmates, erupting into More’s lead single, ‘Spike Island’, which set the tone for this new era of Pulp.
“Alright, we’re going to play a new one” is regularly translated as “This is your opportunity to go to the bar or the bogs” when it comes to groups of a certain vintage, but this is yet another way in which Pulp establish themselves as an outlier. Their new material, while rarely achieving the same rapturous reception as beloved hits like ‘Disco 2000’ or ‘Do You Remember The First Time?’, formed some of the most polished and captivating moments of the night. After all, many of the tunes included on More have been knocking around in Pulp’s setlists for years, meaning that they already fit into the band’s performances with ease.
After beginning the show with three tracks from the new album, including the live debut of Grown Ups, Pulp launched into one of the greatest setlists a Pulp fan could possibly envision. Getting the Glasgow audience on their feet early doors with ‘Sorted for E’s and Whizz’ immediately followed by ‘Disco 2000’ cultivated a pretty euphoric feeling in the room, but there was also a sense of intimacy and togetherness, which is difficult to foster in an arena-size venue.
In fairness, this intimate atmosphere was helped along by Cocker’s inter-song ramblings. As he made off-the-cuff remarks about Tourettes Awareness Day, Pulp’s performing history in Glasgow, or the process of making More, he would sporadically throw grapes and chocolates to the crowd from the pockets of his corduroy blazer, like a 1970s geography teacher who has been pushed over the edge.
An indisputable highlight of the night came during that first half, when the This Is Hardcore-era masterpiece ‘Help The Aged’ made its first live appearance since back in 2012. In his typically self-effacing way, the frontman claimed he no longer had the vocal range for the song, but it sounded pretty great from where I was standing, and the audience reaction seemed to suggest that it could–or should–reenter Pulp’s live repertoire for good.
Concluding the first half of the set with ‘Sunrise’, the band repeatedly reaffirmed their quality in crafting a captivating, theatrical, and unique live show, which puts virtually every other ‘reunion’ tour to shame. They might be the only Britpop-era band whose reunion seems to have arisen from artistic desire, rather than a big tax bill, and that authenticity and artistic drive shines through in every aspect of their live performances.
As though the audience in Glasgow needed any more confirmation of that fact, the second half of the show started with a stripped-back acoustic version of ‘Something Changed’, complete with the introduction of a corduroy guitar from Cocker.
Each track to feature on the setlist is worthy of an individual write-up, as each offered something entirely different from the last, diversifying the performance and changing the atmosphere of the room on a sixpence. I suppose you don’t amass a performing career stretching over four decades without picking up a few tricks.
Inevitably, the main portion of the gig concluded with a rousing rendition of ‘Common People’, with Cocker taking the lead, and 14,000 adoring fans performing backing vocals. However, it was a gentle encore of ‘A Sunset’ which sent those fans back out into the evening air of Glasgow. They might have started out in a backroom in Sheffield, but Pulp certainly made the Scottish city their own on a busy Saturday night.
With five dates of the tour left across the UK and Ireland, coupled with various festival appearances and a North American tour on the horizon, the only question left to ask is of Pulp is, ‘What exactly do you do for an encore?’
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