The Britpop legends have reformed and following a string of acclaimed gigs around the UK they are due to perform at Utilita Arena Sheffield on Friday, July 14 and Saturday, July 15, supported by Richard Hawley, another member of Sheffield’s musical royalty.
Pulp’s route to the top was famously a long one, with the band having been formed by Jarvis Cocker in 1978 and waiting 17 years to achieve true stardom with the release of Common People in 1995. Jarvis charts the beginning of his ascent from gawky Sheffield schoolboy to national treasure in entertaining fashion in his book Good Pop Bad Pop, which is well worth a read.
Below are some of the Sheffield locations which played a big role in helping shape him and ultimately the band he formed, originally called Arabicus Pulp – a name he had spotted in the Financial Times when he was a pupil at The City School. The sites featured include the childhood home in Intake where he would practice upstairs, the makeshift studio where he and his fellow band members made their first proper recording, and the nightclub where Jarvis learned how to dance.
Below are some of the Sheffield locations which played a big role in helping shape him and ultimately the band he formed, originally called Arabicus Pulp – a name he had spotted in the Financial Times when he was a pupil at The City School. The sites featured include the childhood home in Intake where he would practice upstairs, the makeshift studio where he and his fellow band members made their first proper recording, and the nightclub where Jarvis learned how to dance.
![The Hole in the Road, officially called Castle Square, is one of Sheffield's most missed landmarks. Jarvis Cocker describes how he loved it because it 'looked like a flying saucer that had landed on Earth & was trying to disguise itself as a traffic island'. It was there he and his fellow members of Pulp met in the early 80s to put up their first posters around town. The posters sadly didn't last long as the flour and water paste Jarvis had mixed didn't prove terribly successful.](https://www.thestar.co.uk/webimg/b25lY21zOjU2ZGQ2MzgyLWNiMmEtNGMyYi1hOWY2LWY0YTBlMzE5MDY4MTo5NDlkZDIyMi0yNzNjLTQyNDAtYjIzMy0yZjJiNjliMTQwNGY=.jpg?crop=3:2&width=640)
9. Hole in the Road
The Hole in the Road, officially called Castle Square, is one of Sheffield's most missed landmarks. Jarvis Cocker describes how he loved it because it 'looked like a flying saucer that had landed on Earth & was trying to disguise itself as a traffic island'. It was there he and his fellow members of Pulp met in the early 80s to put up their first posters around town. The posters sadly didn't last long as the flour and water paste Jarvis had mixed didn't prove terribly successful. Photo: Sheffield Newspapers
![The Hallamshire Hotel on West Street, in Sheffield city centre, was a cradle of the city's 'alternative' scene in the 1980s and somewhere Jarvis Cocker spent a lot of time. He writes that 'weirdos' stuck to drinking there and dancing at The Limit nightclub as if you "strayed into other parts of town you got beaten up. Absolutely guaranteed."](https://www.thestar.co.uk/webimg/b25lY21zOjE1ZjBmYzk3LWU1NGItNGVjYy1iYmE2LWU4ZmYzOGZlMTFkYzpmN2RhNjYyOC03ZDQwLTQxMTgtYWIxZS1iZmJhMmRhZGYyYTA=.jpg?crop=3:2&width=640)
10. Hallamshire Hotel
The Hallamshire Hotel on West Street, in Sheffield city centre, was a cradle of the city's 'alternative' scene in the 1980s and somewhere Jarvis Cocker spent a lot of time. He writes that 'weirdos' stuck to drinking there and dancing at The Limit nightclub as if you "strayed into other parts of town you got beaten up. Absolutely guaranteed." Photo: Dean Atkins
![The Beehive pub on West Street, Sheffield, was the scene of another memorable early Pulp gig. Jarvis Cocker describes how it was where 'more established, first-wave Sheffield bands like Cabaret Voltaire hung out'. It had been rebranded as Rockwells, 'one of Sheffield's first Fun Pubs', when Jarvis and co were invited to performe there. They were offered £50 to play and Jarvis recalls how he dressed entirely in black for the first set and all in white for the second. Their sets included a cover of Sham 69's Hurry Up Harry but Jarvis said the 'guys in smart-casual attire at the bar were not impressed' and they didn't get invited back.](https://www.thestar.co.uk/webimg/b25lY21zOjhiZmUxZTkwLWY0M2MtNDRhNS04YzE2LTE4MDQ3NzhiNWI5MDphMGFlMWQwZS03MDIwLTQ0ZDMtYmIzYS04YWI2MGI4MTIxNGM=.jpg?crop=3:2&width=640)
11. The Beehive
The Beehive pub on West Street, Sheffield, was the scene of another memorable early Pulp gig. Jarvis Cocker describes how it was where 'more established, first-wave Sheffield bands like Cabaret Voltaire hung out'. It had been rebranded as Rockwells, 'one of Sheffield's first Fun Pubs', when Jarvis and co were invited to performe there. They were offered £50 to play and Jarvis recalls how he dressed entirely in black for the first set and all in white for the second. Their sets included a cover of Sham 69's Hurry Up Harry but Jarvis said the 'guys in smart-casual attire at the bar were not impressed' and they didn't get invited back. Photo: submit
!['Studio Electrophonique', at 32 Handsworth Grange Crescent, is where Pulp recorded the four-song demo tape that Jarvis Cocker would hand to John Peel a few weeks later to secure the band's first session for the legendary DJ. The studio was run by a man called Ken Patten, referred to as The Colonel, and Jarvis describes how it was 'very reasonably priced'. There were a few rules, including no shoes indoors, no drums (Ken had invested in an electronic drumkit to avoid upsetting his neighbours) and no amplifiers. Jarvis describes listening to the tape for the first time back home and calling it 'incredible' to think 'that sound coming out of the speaker was us'.](https://www.thestar.co.uk/webimg/b25lY21zOjFiOWNkYWM1LTZiYTktNDIxMi1hMjMyLWFjYjQwMjMxOTAyMzo5ZWE4ZDk4YS00M2MyLTRiOTQtOGVmNS00NjhlYmVhYWIxNGY=.png?crop=3:2&width=640)
12. Studio Electrophonique
'Studio Electrophonique', at 32 Handsworth Grange Crescent, is where Pulp recorded the four-song demo tape that Jarvis Cocker would hand to John Peel a few weeks later to secure the band's first session for the legendary DJ. The studio was run by a man called Ken Patten, referred to as The Colonel, and Jarvis describes how it was 'very reasonably priced'. There were a few rules, including no shoes indoors, no drums (Ken had invested in an electronic drumkit to avoid upsetting his neighbours) and no amplifiers. Jarvis describes listening to the tape for the first time back home and calling it 'incredible' to think 'that sound coming out of the speaker was us'. Photo: Google