2025 Mercury Prize Pulp - ‘More’

‘More’ is Pulp’s first new music in nearly 24 years! How did you know the time was right to make a comeback? And how did you feel in the lead up to its release?
There was no thought of ‘oh, there’s going to be thousands of people out there gagging for a new Pulp record’. You’ve got to want to do it for the love of music; never do it just for some kind of commercial success, because that’s not going to help you. It was [about] the curiosity of seeing what could be produced - of seeing what Pulp of 2024 would actually sound like. And it was quite daunting, quite scary. Obviously, the band’s been away for some time without any major output, and you just really don’t know how the populace are going to take to it. They might say ‘what a bag of sh**e’, or they might say ‘that’s a fantastic thing’. And I like to think people have erred towards the latter of those two statements.

What was the initial impetus for ‘More’? Were there ideas already taking shape in 2023, when you did your This Is What We Do For An Encore tour?
Yeah, there was a great, positive vibe within the group ourselves; we all got on pretty well, and we saw that people were interested in what Pulp were doing. Now, for someone who writes lyrics and jumps around and things, Jarvis can be quite poor sometimes at telling the rest of us what’s on his mind. So he brought a couple of pieces into soundchecks and said ‘ooh, can we just try a bit of this?’; ‘oh Candida, dya fancy putting a keyboard line on that?’. Eventually, me and Candida had a conversation where we said: ‘this very much feels like Jarvis wants to do another record…’.

Part of the reason ‘More’ has connected so strongly with people is because it’s an album that explores the passage of time and doesn’t shy away from the realities of getting older…
Let’s remember, there are lots of people kicking around in their sixties who ARE into new stuff, and are still into being themselves. When I was a kid, anyone over 21 was considered an ancient fossil. Bonkers. There are thousands - millions! - of people who are 60, but who don’t feel 60. So it’s good, perhaps, to see some 60 year olds jumping around on stage and singing about what it’s like to be in a more advanced period of one’s life.

You’re no strangers to the Mercury Prize, having been shortlisted three times already!
Indeed! And it’s nice that it [recognises] bands doing different stuff, not just rehashing their golden years. We were disappointed back in 1994 - we thought that ‘His ‘N Hers’ was nailed on to win it. We were a bit miffed, but hey ho - you can’t have everything. We’re not bitter!

DIY has teamed up with LNER - the Official Travel Partner of the 2025 Mercury Prize Newcastle - to celebrate the power of journeys, both musical and literal. Read our full 2025 Mercury Prize Newcastle special edition below. 

Tags: Features, Pulp