Pulp’s Tramlines Takeover Delivers An Unforgettable Homecoming

Words: Josh Parsonage

Pulp’s Tramlines headline set exceeded its hype as the hometown heroes nailed their classics and unearthed deep cuts in a phenomenal tribute to their Steel City roots.

Last night, the returning britpop legends played what was only their fourth hometown show since the turn of the millennium. What made the occasion truly unique was that the festival’s Friday main stage lineup had been personally curated by the band – a full celebration of all things Pulp.

The set kicked off with a run of tracks from the band’s first album in over two decades, ‘More’. Lead single ‘Spike Island’, a meditation on Jarvis Cocker’s internal conflict with performativity, opened with the local frontman rising upon a platform, radiating with the quiet charisma of a maths lecturer obtaining enlightenment. 

As the show moved backwards into the 90s essentials of Pulp’s seminal work, ‘Different Class’, with ‘Sorted for E’s & Wizz’ and karaoke staple ‘Disco 2000’, the audience stumbled into their first surprise of the night. Cocker announced he had a magic track, one that let him look someone in the eye and tell them exactly what part of Sheffield they were from. He descended into the photo pit, gliding along the crowd barrier: “Intake, Manor Park, The Wicker, Frecheville, Hackenthorpe…” It was fan-favourite ‘Sheffield: Sex City’.

Perhaps the most mesmerising moment of any Pulp show is always ‘This Is Hardcore’. The track masterfully weaves Mark Webber’s enigmatic bends with Candida Doyle’s queasy, slow-building keys creating the perfect space for Jarvis Cocker’s theatrical brilliance. It’s the very kind of performativity he reflects on in ‘Spike Island’, and though in a different context, ‘This Is Hardcore’ itself. The way he moves across stage, as if it were shrinking beneath him, brings to life the bloated, obnoxious confidence of the song’s persona.

The icons that make up Pulp’s mismatched blend of Sheffield quirk weren’t the only local legends on stage last night. Rock and roll maestro Richard Hawley joined the band for two standout moments. Armed with a lap steel, he conjured the fuzzy, cinematic tones that breathe life into Pulp’s ‘Sunrise’. Then, in yet another surprise, he accompanied them for the live debut of their 2002 ballad ‘Last Day of the Miner’s Strike’.

After another rousing round of 90’s hits (‘Mis-Shapes, ‘Do You Remember the First Time’, and of course, ‘Babies’), Pulp closed their set in unforgettable style, and with another Richard Hawley cameo. The timeless ‘Common People’ ignited Hillsborough Park with fans on shoulders, arms in the air, and 30,000 voice boxes stretched to full capacity, as the britpop icons – if they hadn’t already – etched themselves permanently into Sheffield’s cultural legacy. And to bring the night to a close, the elegiac ‘A Sunset’ cast a final glow over what was, unquestionably, a magical day’s music.