Just over a week ago, we witnessed Pulp’s return to London as they played a sold-out 02 Arena. With no support, the Sheffield icons played two sets. Could they pull it off, or would it stray into the self-indulgence of Springsteen?

*image credit: Indie Cult Club

Backed by an orchestra and a stunning set display, they launch in their new album with ‘Spike Island’, ‘Grown Ups’, and ‘Slow Jam’ to remind the twenty thousand in attendance that this is not a nostalgia fest.

Despite the disco-enthused prowess of Spike Island and later in the set, the lush orchestrated pop of Tina, it’s hard to escape the power of their past. ‘Sorted For E’s and Whiz’, ‘Acryllic Afternoons’, and ‘F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D’ prove yet again that counter-culture and indie can offer moments of alternative euphoria still.

Cocker, playful throughout the show, revisited the darker times of ‘This Is Hardcore’. Twenty-seven years after its release, The Fear echoed through the arena. Once a raw reflection of personal trauma, now a towering anthem forged from the wreckage of heavy drug use and its fallout.

On, ‘Disco 2000’, the band and crowd marched back into their triumphant 1996. It was an ecstatic release of joy the set never got close to again. Wave upon wave of blissful emotion soared as Pulp reminded everyone that once, the freaks, geeks, and outsiders once ruled the charts.

Indulgent? No. Missing a support act? Yes. However, Pulp was right; we did, and do, want more!