Pulp guitarist Mark Webber has announced a new book, which presents a visual history of the band. Find out more and pre-order it below.
Titled I’m With Pulp, Are You?, the project sees Webber gather his extensive collection of ephemera and objects, accumulated over 40 years with the band, and present it to fans to create a one-of-a-kind insight into the group.
It comes as a visual history of Pulp, and combines a variety of images from over the years – as well as flyers, record covers, setlists, badges, posters, press clippings, merchandise and more – to deliver a unique overview of the band, as seen through the lens of one of its members.
“I began to excavate the boxes of Pulp ephemera that I’d hoarded over the years and was amazed to discover so many things that I hadn’t seen for decades, things I’d completely forgotten about,” Webber said, recalling how the idea for the book emerged.
“It’s taken a while to get it all together into a book, and in the meantime the group unexpectedly reunited to go on tour again. I’m excited to finally share the stuff I’ve saved, and to present it in this way, along with memories of my experiences of being involved in Pulp from the ‘80s ’til now.
Webber’s unique journey into joining the line-up is also explored in the book, as it recalls how he discovered the group as a teenage fan in 1985 and grew his relationship with Jarvis Cocker and co. by helping out with stage sets and light shows. It also details how he worked his way up to becoming the group’s first tour manager and running the fan club, before being called upon to contribute as a member in 1995.
In I’m With Pulp – Are You?, a foreword by the band’s frontman Jarvis Cocker is also included alongside the collection of images and memorabilia, as are newly commissioned essays by music writers Simon Reynolds and Luke Turner.
The book is set for release on September 30 via Hat And Beard Press, and you can pre-order it here.
The new project from Webber comes following his bandmate Nick Banks, Pulp’s drummer, also sharing details of a memoir last year, which documented his time with the iconic British band.
Shared back in September, the book, titled So It Started There: From Punk To Pulp, told of the early times, the good times, the not-so-good times and the WTF times” of the band, as well as the drummer’s early years and life outside of the band.
“It was a bit of a lockdown project; I just thought I’d get on and write my version of events,” Banks told NME at the time. “I don’t think that there’d really been an insider’s view of all of the events. Every person’s and every band’s story is unique, but I just felt like ours was that little bit more unique so needed to be put down on paper.”
The year before, frontman Jarvis Cocker also announced details of a memoir titled Good Pop, Bad Pop – an “inventory” of the band which was inspired as the singer came across “a jumble of objects that catalogue his story” while clearing out his loft.
The announcement from Webber about the upcoming book comes after Pulp reunited last summer for a string of reunion gigs across the UK and Ireland – including a massive show at London’s Finsbury Park, two Sheffield homecoming gigs, a headline set at Latitude, and a finale at London’s Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith.
As for what the band are up to now, the members recently played their first show of 2024 at the huge AFAS Live venue in Amsterdam. They have also shared details of their first North American tour in over a decade. Find remaining tickets here.
In a recent interview with NME, Cocker also suggested that their touring plans could extend into 2025.
“We are playing some more [shows] this year and we will play some more next year,” the musician shared. “So it’s good for me to make some connections to make our touring a greener concern.”
As for new music, Pulp debuted new song ‘Background Noise’ at a show in Mexico in December. Drummer Nick Banks also recently hinted to NME that more news could be on the way from the band this year, but wasn’t so certain about new music any time soon.
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