Having loved Pulp as a 90s indie kid, I was gutted to miss out on seeing them in 2012. I really thought that was it for the band, no more gigs, no more albums. So did they. Getting to see them on their 2023 reunion tour was a dream come true, and you could see the band were having a blast too. Not always a given in every band reunion. Garth Jennings’ hybrid doc Pulp: What Do You Do for an Encore which is part concert film from 2025’s two nights at the 02 Arena in London and part rockdoc/visual memoir of the band’s story, narrated by Jarvis Cocker. “The real-life story of Pulp is more interesting than anything I could have imagined”, he tells us.
The archive and Jarvis’ raconteur musings on how he got to this pivotal moment are highly entertaining. The footage also draws on some of Jarvis’ collections that he used in his Good Pop, Bad Pop book and exhibition. There are some absolute gems in there – from photos of an ill-advised Ian McCulloch inspired hair do, through to drawings and an early manifesto written in the first iteration of Pulp when doing a Peel sessions as teenagers didn’t quite catapult them into international stardom. But that would all come and that’s the connection between those scrappy early days and post A Different Class fame. Through it all, Jarvis never gave up.
The format can be a tricky balance. For most concert films, you just want the thrill of the live performances, no extras. But it’s such a joy to see their triumphant return and hear Jarvis tell their story with his signature wit. “This performance is an encore. An encore occurs because the audience wants more” booms Jarvis, off stage before the show starts. The crowd goes nuts he appears in silhouette next to cardboard old cut outs of his band mates. The orange-red lighting sets the scene for a set filled with highlights from their back catalogue,including Disco 2000, Babies, and Do You Remember The First Time as well more underrated bangers like Sunrise. But it’s not a pure nostalgia-fest, there’s a few from their first album in 24 years, More, which had just gone to number one in the UK album charts, including single Spike Island, “I was born, do to do this, shouting and pointing” he sings, summing up everything we’ve seen from his childhood in Sheffield to playing to sold-out stadiums.
Like most enormodome venues of this size, the 02 can be pretty soulless. But Jennings and his team capture the energy of the antics on stage and in the crowd. There is touching tribute to former Pulp bassist, Steve Mackey who died shortly before the band’s reunion during a beautifully stripped-down version of Something Changed with long-term Pulp members Candida Doyle, Nick Banks and Mark Webber. Ending in a glorious shower of ticker tapes and hands in the air, Common People is still as massive as it was over 20 years ago.
It’s beautifully cut together, with past and present seamlessly interwoven. I would love to see a DVD cut with the whole set, uninterrupted to capture the full momentum, complete with the new, expanded line-up and added lush string section. Perhaps that’s what they’ll do for an encore.
Pulp: What Do You Do for an Encore? is available to stream on Mubi now.