Pulp at Birmingham Utilita Arena on 19.6.2025
Busy week this week and these notes got stuck in the jam, so a few blogs a bit out of order. Four days took me to this Pulp gig, then Iron Maiden two days later in the same venue, followed by the Forever Now festival in Milton Keynes. You only live once eh.
My last Pulp gig was in July 2023 in Cardiff and that one was my gig of the year, so expectations are high, and hence wanting to get to this one, when the opportunity appeared, again with gig buddy Plymouth Dave. One of the things that make the Pulp experience great these days is that they’ve rationed themselves a bit with some significant career breaks.
I did see Jarvis in his own right at Glastonbury, Park Stage, in 2022 but no Pulp songs. The only other Pulp tour gig I went to was on 22 February 1996 at Birmingham NEC Forum – the week Jarvis invaded the stage to disrupt a Michael Jackson tv performance.
Back in Brum tonight, in the newer and more central Utilita Arena, just back north off Broad Street and the Black Sabbath Bridge, it’s 29 years later and the venue is bigger – 14,800 fill this one and it’s at capacity tonight, and it’s hot and steamy.
It’s not a bad place to see a big band, especially with a front half lower tier seat, just above the heads of the standing arena floor. Lots of handy hotels dotted around Broad Street at all prices and plenty of bar choices.
No support band tonight but two sets – I presume everyone knows this as everyone is on time.
The curtains open – how beautifully traditional – and the band are playing, an expanded band with a range of orchestral add ons and backing singing to the core, which includes Candida Doyle on keyboards and Nick Banks on drums, from the mid-80s line-up, and Mark Webber on guitar, a feature since 1995. Jarvis appears, at the top rear of the stage against an image of three other Pulp members back in the day (I presume) and then Jarvis moves – he’s the real one – as he starts singing – it’s the single, Spike Island, from their recently released new album, More.
Down the stage steps he comes – almost a Vegas show feel this – to greet ‘his’ audience. It is his audience. From start to finish Jarvis has the highs lows and middling bits timed to perfection. He takes us through the Pulp story and the reunion story.
He’s wearing classic Jarvis clothing. An essence of art teacher, in the 70s maybe. I should have worn my cords. An unshaven greyness gives away his 61 years, but his leaps on and off boxes and bounding up and down those stage steps puts most of us 60+ year old gig-goers to shame.
The new album is a goodie and the songs fit well with the older hits and familiar album tracks. You can’t take away those years of familiarity for the old songs though, making it hard to compare the new songs fairly.
After three new songs to get going, it’s Disco 2000. Maybe the early introduction of this is to calm the expectation and help us focus. It is, still, one of the stand out live songs I can recall – in all the years since I had woodchip on my walls. A wonderful anthem. Jarvis still looks almost surprised as each line of the song, the old story, presents itself. A Different Class indeed. The audience are absolutely bouncing, and in the seats for this one. So nostalgic …and yes, I did get married back then but the never split up bit didn’t work.
The curtains close for a portion of the set with the core Pulp four down at the stage front. Jarvis says it was like this in a front room somewhere when they played a few songs and decided if they should go out on tour again.
There’s a break halfway through – enough time to stand in a bog queue and get back before missing anything…or an acoustic version of Something Changed to be specific.
One novelty is the choice given to the audience as to whether they play Razzmatazz or Like a Friend – the former wins after a brief cheering competition.
With the run of three top songs: Acrylic Afternoons, Do You Remember the First Time and Mis-shapes the unstoppable euphoria is on. It’s so damn hot. I don’t know how all those people standing can keep going – maybe they have ten years on me. Some up on partners’ and friends’ shoulders by now.
A few more songs to just allow some respite and then Common People. An eruption of energy as the song builds to its choruses. Brilliant. These are the moments you stand at a gig and think – this is why we still do this.
The band go off – that’s it isn’t it. It’s curfew time: 10.30pm. We drift off up to the exit doors only to see Jarvis appear again and note that they’ve got a bit more time. Time for one more song…. no, you can’t top that last one and we join the early departers.
The Pulp experience has benefited from a bit of rationing and now some high quality new material. I could do another…sometime.
Gigs with Ivan 