Pulp drummer Nick Banks surprised punters at the Fake Festival in Sheffield over the weekend when he clambered on stage and joined tribute band Pulp’d to play Disco 2000.
The ‘Jarvis’ singer quipped as Banks took his place behind the kit: “Can you believe this? This is something quite special, it definitely makes Fake Festival history. Because nobody in Fake Festival history has ever had a member of the band that they are tributing get on stage and play a song with them.”
Banks seemed to enjoy it though, writing on Bluesky later: “Joined Pulp tribute band last night Pulp’d. Had a blast!”
Fake Festival – in case you were wondering – is a rolling tribute bands event that is touring the UK from now until the end of the summer. For more details on their future events click here.
Meanwhile, Banks and the real Pulp release their first album in 24 years in three weeks' time. More has already been trailed by the single Spike Island.
That title is, of course, a reference to the Stone Roses’ epochal show there in May 1990. But as Cocker explained to BBC 6Music recently, he didn’t actually attend the gig. He had penned the lyrics after speaking to those who had, including Jason Buckle, from the Sheffield band All Seeing I, who co-wrote the single. "All he could remember was a DJ who between every song said, ‘Spike Island come alive, Spike Island come alive,’” he said. "That phrase stuck with me. I've got a very short attention span I think."
More is the first Pulp album to be completed without bassist Steve Mackey, who died in 2023, aged just 56. Although as Cocker pointed out there are "two songs on the record which date from when Steve was around.”
"It was not the nicest thing," the singer continued, "but people who you're close to, you never forget them, and you can do things to remember them by".
