Britpop alt-rock band Pulp have shared their playful new single ‘Got To Have Love’ along with a music video. The song follows the announcement of their upcoming record ‘More’ set to release on 6 June. This will be their first album release after 24 years since their 2001 album ‘We Love Life’.
The video accompanies the addictively tender indie dance track with footage of Northern Soul dancers from Tony Palmer’s 1977 film Wigan Casino, a documentary about Lancaster’s youth in the Wigan Casino dance hall.
Pulp released the first single from ‘More’, ‘Spike Island’ in April, though vocalist of the band, Jarvis Cocker shared how their new single differs, stating that ‘Got To Have Love’ is a “slightly hysterical song that tries to talk about love as I see it now,”.
The song comes as a discussion on the declaration of love and Cocker’s difficulty in saying the word. He came to a realisation making this song, sharing with Dork Magazine, “I listened to love songs all the time but couldn’t use the word in real life. The words to this song are me having a word with myself about this state of affairs. I gave myself a real talking-to. I have now learnt how to say it whilst keeping a straight face. ‘You’ve got to have love’. Oh yes you have.”’
‘Spike Island’, however, shares love in a different way, inspired by the legendary concert from The Stone Roses at Spike Island in 1990.
The music video for ‘Spike Island’ investigates AI through images from their 1995 album ‘Different Class’. Cocker shared with DIY magazine, “The weekend I began work on the video was a strange time: I went out of the house & kept expecting weird transformations of the surrounding environment due to the images the computer had been generating.”
Pulp’s mark in the indie scene was made from classic hits such as ‘Disco 2000’ and ‘Common People’ from the album ‘Different Class’. The popular rock track ‘Common People’ was released exactly thirty years ago on 22 May. Drummer Nick Banks told the BBC that initially “It didn’t really go anywhere, it felt a bit one dimensional,”. Following its release, the song received an Ivor Novello award for best song musically and lyrically.
With Pulp’s comeback album they have also announced a line-up of performances ahead including listening parties in various record stores worldwide, a UK/EU tour and a North American Tour.
Cocker shared his amazement at tours he’d seen recently with The Rolling Stones. He offered his thoughts particularly on Bob Dylan’s The Rough and Rowdy tour, explaining “The stage was very dark, but I liked that — you felt like you were watching a séance, like they were trying to make contact with some spirits. He was playing the piano, just leaning on it.”.
His commentary on Dylan’s comeback tour after his brief hiatus sparks intrigue for his plans for Pulp’s live performances. Find tickets to upcoming performances here.
