Pulp Unveils 2025 O2 Concert Film as Jarvis Cocker Hints at Another Record
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Sep 11
Pulp Unveils 2025 O2 Concert Film as Jarvis Cocker Hints at Another Record
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Sep 11
Summary
Pulp’s new film, “What Do You Do for an Encore?”, blends footage from the band’s 2025 O2 Arena show with a documentary on its nearly 50-year history, Jarvis Cocker and director Garth Jennings said.
The project grew beyond a standard concert movie after Jennings joined the reunion’s creative team and, inspired partly by Abba Voyage, pushed to pair the live spectacle with animation, archive clips and fan-sourced material.
The O2 performance captured a peak moment: Pulp learned that “More” — their eighth album and first in 24 years — had reached No. 1, with Cocker waving the chart trophy onstage.
The film also revisits harder parts of the band’s story, including Cocker’s struggles around 1998’s “This Is Hardcore,” and pays tribute to bassist Steve Mackey, who died in 2023 at 56.
After ending a tour that began in 2023 with a final End of the Road set, Cocker said Pulp has no master plan but could “sprout another record” if conditions feel right.
What is driving a completely new generation to embrace decades-old Britpop anthems right before Pulp’s highly anticipated documentary releases this September?
Why did Pulp choose to skip their biggest hits in favor of deep cuts during the historic O2 show featured in their new documentary?
How does a digital avatar spectacle like ABBA Voyage inspire a deeply personal, archive-heavy documentary about a 90s Britpop band's reunion?