There’s something novel about We Love Life though, isn’t there?
We were known for social drama songs when we first came out. We Love Life is different. It sounds very. very pretentious. but I think there are times in your life when you have to sit back and think: ‘Hmmm. Why am I doing this? Why am I with this person? Why do I live here?‘
Is it a more mature record? It's not for me to say. | just put down all the crap that‘s in my head and see what happens. I went back to Sheffield a few times though; it's changed a lot Since I lived there. largely for the better. I think I was looking for a bit of continuity because the idea of the river flowing through the City really appealed to me and it got me thinking about things I'd done on the river when I had lived there. I just remembered loads of things from years ago.
Because I never take photographs or keep a diary. | write songs in a desperate effort to remember the world. They are the nearest l have to a diary.
Why did you do Popstars in their Eyes?
When we did the video for ‘Bad Cover Version'. the people who do Stars in their Eyes sent one of their make-up artists down and quite a few wigs they'd used in shows and gave us access to the archive of people they'd used. They told me they'd give it to us for free if I‘d be in Popstars Ill their Eyes. It wasn't really blackmail. it was gentle
persuaSion.
Why did you choose to be Rolf Harris?
Because his glasses are quite similar to the ones I've got. I toyed With deing Lionel Richie but I realised that it might have been viewed as a little excesswe.
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You like to keep things varied don’t you?
Being in a band should be exciting, even if your idea of what is exciting changes. If someone had shown me a hoe ten years ago. I would have run a mile. Yet nowadays. I find gardening exciting. You have to make sure you keep things interesting for yourself. That's why people join bands. They don't want proper jobs. they want something a bit more spontaneous. Or they used to.
They used to?
Yeah. I never thought I would see pop music tamed in the way it has been. There are plenty of areas where music is still really exciting. but pop music just isn‘t one of them. It has always been my favourite kind of music as well because it is democratic. Peeple go out and buy a record and if you buy enough, it goes in the charts; if you buy a lot then it goes really high. I used to love it when you got a strange record coming from nowhere that did well, but that kind of pop
‘I know I’m into the outdoors, but can’t we go on a bike or something?’
scene has disappeared. And I'm not just saying that because our records don‘t go very high in the charts.
Did you feel it was odd that you were an art school band singing alternative anthems such as ‘Common People’? [Laughs ruefully] People like us shouldn't be allowed to make records. If you stand still for long though eventually you'll be in the right place at the right time and in 1994 it happened to us. The marginal became mainstream. I suppose we were the most marginal of the lot but. like anyone. we enjoyed being part of a scene . . . I've got to go and make a maypole and no. it's not for my fiancee's son, it's for me.
Pulp play Rose Isle Forest, near Elgin, on Fri 21 Jun.
To celebrate Pulp’s return to bonny Scotland, the nice folks at Avalanche want to offer you the chance to pick up Pulp’s latest album We Love Life for just 26.99! All you have to do is take our voucher to an Avalanche store and present it at the till. Simple. I Locations: I I . 17 West Nicolson St I I Pulp We Love Life Edinburgh I , . 63 Cockburn St I This voucher entitles you to buy Pulp’s latest Edinburgh I I album We Love Life for a measly £6.99 2/3 Teviot Place | I Valid: 20 dune July 4 I . Edinburgh I I at all partICIpating Avalanche shops (listed right) 34 Dundas St I Terms & Conditions: One voucher per person per visit. This offer is Glasgow 0 I subject to availability. There is no cash alternative. This offer is not 28 Lady Lawson St I ‘0 valid in con' nct'on w'th an other offer. Onl or' 'nal vouchers w‘ll . I m be acceptede I I y y '9' I Ed'nburgh I
18 THE LIST 2”) Jul] .2 .Jti' 900:)