Pulp bassist Steve Mackey has died aged 56
Pulp bassist Steve Mackey has died at the age of 56. Breaking the news via social media, the band wrote: “Our beloved friend & bass player Steve Mackey passed away this morning. Our thoughts are with his family & loved ones. Safe travels, Steve. We hope to catch up with you one day.”
Paying tribute to their bandmate, Pulp posted a photograph of Mackey walking in the Andes in 2012. Below the photograph, they wrote: “This photo of Steve dates from when Pulp were on tour in South America in 2012. We had a day off and Steve suggested we go climbing in the Andes.”
The message continues: “So we did, and it was a completely magical experience. Far more magical than staring at the hotel room wall all day (which is probably what we’d have done otherwise). Steve made things happen. In his life and in the band. And we’d very much like to think that he’s back in those mountains now, on the next stage of his adventure. Safe travels, Steve. We hope to catch up with you one day. All our love”.
Though a cause of death has not yet been announced, Pulp previously confirmed that Mackey would not be joining the band on their 2023 tour of the UK and Ireland. “Pulp is a very important part of my creative life,” Mackey wrote. “I’m exceptionally proud of the body of work we’ve created together,” he wrote. “Jarvis and I remastered Pulp’s entire Universal Records back catalogue together just over two years ago at Abbey Road Studios. It was a huge pleasure to do that and review our songs and recordings together.”
Mackey joined Pulp in 1989. In 2017, he and the other members of the band were awarded a special Ivor Novello trophy for ‘Outstanding Song Collection’. Outside of Pulp, Mackey also produced work for Florence + The Machine, Arcade Fire, and M.I.A.
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