Do You Remember The First Time? Revellers attending Pulp’s Finsbury Park gig at the weekend recreate their photos from when Britpop band last played there 25 years ago
- Did you see Pulp in 1998 and at the weekend? Email your pics to [email protected]
Thousands of Pulp fans descended on Finsbury Park at the weekend to watch the band’s first performance there since 1998 – but do they remember the first time?
That was the question posed to the crowd by lead singer Jarvis Cocker towards the end of the set in north London on Saturday night.
The 59-year-old dedicated the group’s hit Do You Remember The First Time? to all the fans who had seen the band perform there 25 years ago.
Branding the moment ‘really special’, reveller Peter Fraser, 51, told the Times: ‘Just looking around the audience, there were lots of people there who weren’t even born in 1998.
‘He said, ”Who was here last time?”. And we all put our hands up. People were looking at us trying to imagine what it must have been like for us to have been there, back then.’
Peter Fraser and his wife Becky rushed to buy tickets for the gig before recreating a photo they took at the original concert, posing just as they did a quarter of a century ago
BBC editor Anna Doble shared a picture of herself from 1998 in which she is seen winking at the camera in a yellow t-shirt and visor. She attempted to recreate the snap although the headwear was replaced by sunglasses and the shorts with jeans
Jarvis Cocker of Pulp performing on stage at Finsbury Park in London on July 1, 2023
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Peter and his wife Becky rushed to buy tickets for the gig before recreating a photo they took at the original concert, posing just as they did a quarter of a century ago.
Reminiscing on the 1998 gig, Peter said: ‘I do remember there was a crazy support act called the Bikini Beach Band. They were all wearing Hawaiian shirts and playing indie covers… this time they played the hits.’
Peter and Becky were three years into their relationship when they first saw Pulp, and danced to Common People at their wedding the following year.
Other fans took to social media to share ‘then and now’ snaps of themselves from both gigs.
Among them was BBC editor Anna Doble, who shared a picture of herself from 1998 in which she is seen winking at the camera in a yellow t-shirt and visor.
She attempted to recreate the snap although the headwear was replaced by sunglasses and the shorts with jeans.
Cocker paid tribute to late bass guitarist Steve Mackey during the set at Finsbury Park on Saturday.
On stage, Cocker said: ‘We’re trying to do something that is a tribute to Steve Mackey’s memory.
‘I tend to talk about him before this song, because this song’s called Something Changed.
Fans who saw Pulp in the 1990s share their concert pics from Finsbury Park at the weekend
‘It’s about how somebody can enter your life and really change it all.
‘This is the only Pulp song that people have ever stopped me on the street and said: ”We got married to your song”.’
In March, the Britpop band announced the death of Mackey – who also produced and recorded with many artists including M.I.A, Florence + The Machine and Arcade Fire – at the age of 56.
The group has also had Russell Senior, Candida Doyle, Nick Banks and Mark Webber among its members.
Kicking off the gig were psychedelic images being displayed on the screen along with text saying the concert is the band’s 527th.
A curtain then came down revealing Pulp along with a string orchestra and Cocker standing at the top of the stage with a moon displayed behind him as he began singing I Spy.
They then went into one of their big hits, Disco 2000, as streamers rained down on the audience and Cocker balanced his legs by stretching them across two speakers he was standing on.
Cocker paid tribute to late bass guitarist Steve Mackey during the set at Finsbury Park on Saturday before singing Do You Remember The First Time?
Throughout, hits such as Sorted For E’s & Wizz, Babies, Underwear and Common People, Cocker performed his trademark dance moves while wearing a dark velvet suit, green shirt and glasses.
He thrilled the audience by using his lanky body to contort himself into odd positions and pull shapes by pointing and moving his hips.
Cocker – also known for his solo career along with performing in Harry Potter And The Goblet of Fire and Fantastic Mr Fox – also threw grapes and chocolates at the audience, which he has done before at other gigs.
There were also the little nods to the references from Pulp’s songs and music videos as Cocker pointed to fans wearing pink gloves during Pink Glove, the musicians donning rave bucket hats ahead of Sorted For E’s & Wizz and a leather chair being put on stage for This Is Hardcore.
Appearing to reference the use of projection technology that has been deployed by bands such as Abba to play digital concerts, he told fans: ‘We are real, we’re not computer generated or we’re not any kind of augmented reality or anything like that. We are real, you are real.
‘Without an audience (to) play music (to), it’s just rehearsing. So you make it real, you are the magic.’
Cocker – also known for his solo career along with performing in Harry Potter And The Goblet of Fire and Fantastic Mr Fox – also threw grapes and chocolates at the audience, which he has done before at other gigs
Cocker also took an artistic bent at one point by reciting what he said was an EE Cummings poem about the moon before singing Like A Friend.
Finsbury Park also saw performances from Isle of Wight indie rock duo Wet Leg, who put on a mainly calm and subdued performance of their tongue-in-cheek hits including Angelica, Chaise Longue and Wet Dream.
In the midst of the set, Rhian Teasdale, wearing an Arsenal shirt, boots and a black skirt, also let out a primal scream and wished fans a ‘happy Pride’ festival as the annual Pride parade took place in London on Saturday.
Long-time friends Hester Chambers and Teasdale formed the band in 2019, and have gone on to scoop up a host of awards including two Grammys, two Brits and the songwriter of the year gong at the Ivor Novello awards.
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