Pulp, Glasgow review: 'indie pop anthems galore'

On paper, Pulp sound like the band least likely to – ragtag outfit fronted by geography teacher type singing about Sheffield suburbia. In practise, they are more likely to pull the curtain back than twitch behind it, producing relatable indie pop anthems galore. And in person, they have Jarvis Cocker, a crumpled but charismatic frontman with a witty ability to put everyone at ease, even 13,000 people standing in an arena.

Cocker is strong on universal minutiae, whether capturing teenage forays in 1985 (Grown Ups) or love at first sight in the supermarket car park (Farmers Market). But the great joy of Pulp’s You Deserve More tour on its opening night in Glasgow was how naturally they scaled up their production, with old and new members and string section arranged like a big band and their signature kitschy aesthetic translated as a kaleidoscopic backdrop, like the world’s biggest Seventies living room curtain.

Somehow, all the nostalgia felt fresh, even liberating. Lasers and klaxons accompanied Sorted For Es & Wizz, their pin-sharp evocation of Nineties rave culture, and who else could prompt a mass singalong about woodchip walls on Disco 2000.

F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E was a brilliant pounding odyssey, with Cocker looking like a demented professor. Unable to hit a high note in Help the Aged, he pressed the audience into service instead, turning the wistful original into a raucous prayer, then retired to an armchair for brooding epic This Is Hardcore.

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During the intermission, the audience voted – by scientific cheer-o-meter – to hear early non-album track Seconds and there was also room in the second half for another deep cut, O.U. (Gone, Gone) before the closing salvo of Britpop bangers, from Babies to Common People.

These latter tunes were easy wins but a gospel-infused The Fear, thrumming Sunrise, retro pop symphony Tina and the intimate encore of A Sunset, with all the musicians poking out from the curtains, provided less obvious highlights.

READ MORE: I spoke to my favourite member of Pulp and discovered they're Scottish