Pulp at Wythenshawe Park, 2026; image credit: Sophia J Carey
As Jarvis Cocker weaved his way onto the huge Manchester stage for what he billed as Pulp’s “last big concert for a while, maybe ever”, the first lines of opener Sorted for E’s & Wizz felt very fitting – “is this the way they say the future is meant to feel, or just 20,000 people standing in a field?”
The date was the Sheffield band’s only British headline show of the year, as they wrapped up a busy year of touring Australia, South America and Europe by delivering a medley of their biggest hits and select tracks from their most recent album in front of a sold-out crowd in the Wythenshawe evening sun.
After a particularly bleak day in the Capital of the North, the clouds departed to allow support act Self Esteem to project her high-energy show as the lush, forested venue began to fill with an expectant young audience, along with thousands of older fans who had come to get another helping of Pulp’s unmistakable Britpop.
The eight instrumentalists fell into the soft rhythm of the opener before Cocker, complete with thick-rimmed glasses and a dark grey suit, burst into his trademark praying mantis-like dancing while delivering the iconic lines of the 1995 track. Launching straight into the massive riff of the classic Disco 2000, opening with such hits from Different Class showed just how strong their back catalogue is.
Spike Island marked a return to the present, yet having been released in 2025 as the lead single from More, Pulp’s first new album in 24 years, it received a reaction akin to that of any of their older hits. O.U. (Gone, Gone) gave the frontman a chance to do some crowdwork before the dark piano chords of This Is Hardcore bathed the stage in red lighting.
Its cinematic story was a real highlight of the evening, as Cocker retreated to a lounge chair placed at the top of a smoke-filled staircase to sip an espresso and croon his way through one of his real musical and lyrical masterpieces.
After some older and newer deep cuts, the hits returned as Do You Remember the First Time? was introduced with another hint at a lack of any future Pulp shows – “maybe you don’t remember the first time we played here, but I certainly hope you will remember the last”.
The sing-alongs continued as the night sped towards its conclusion with Mis-Shapes and Babies, before the obvious finale brought the main set to a fitting close.
Common People remains just as relevant today as it was when it was first released in 1995. Verses about wealthy, out-of-touch people failing to realise the struggles of everyday life perhaps encourage even more passionate crowds in 2026 than they ever have. A sea of fans on shoulders singing together with sweaty fists in the air feels like exactly what this song was written for, with Cocker marking one of the great live tracks with confetti cannons and a plea to “act like you’ve never heard it before”.
After the ferocity of Common People, Pulp opted to finish in a mellower fashion, with the Sheffield heroes being joined by guitarist Richard Hawley to play the soft, plucked melody he wrote for new album track A Sunset.
As the whole band made their way to the front of the stage to join their unusually still frontman, this beautifully stripped-back performance brought to an end an evening in what Cocker romantically called “a field in Wythenshawe.” It was the sort of enormous field which him and his band are still able to dominate well over 40 years into his career, and despite some hints at a more relaxed future touring schedule, it was the sort of field the band and their catalogue of relatable hits could continue to fill for years to come.
Pulp Setlist at Wythenshawe Park, Manchester – Friday August 28th 2026
- Sorted for E’s & Wizz
- Disco 2000
- Spike Island
- Razzmatazz
- F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E.
- O.U. (Gone, Gone)
- Farmers Market
- This Is Hardcore
- Sunrise
- Begging for Change
- Do You Remember the First Time?
- Mis-Shapes
- Got to Have Love
- Babies
- Common People
- A Sunset
Music Editor for the Strathclyde Telegraph 2026/27
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