Pulp debut new song ‘A Sunset’ with Richard Hawley at Flow Festival
During an appearance at Flow Festival in Finland on August 11th, Sheffield icons Pulp and Richard Hawley collided to unveil the new track, ‘A Sunset’.
It remains to be seen whether the song will ever be officially released, however the performance in Finland is an encouraging sign. The appearance in Helsinki marked the first airing of ‘A Sunset’ in a Pulp show but it has been kicking around since before the Britpop group reunited in 2023.
When Hawley performed a special intimate show at The Leadmill in Sheffield in May, 2022, he was joined by Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker to cover The Velvet Underground’s ‘White Light/White Heat’, and to perform the live debut of ‘A Sunset’.
Furthermore, Cocker also used ‘A Sunset’, which was written by him and Hawley, at a climate presentation he gave in London in February at the Green Events and Innovations conference. However, Pulp had refrained from playing it live up until this point, despite previously sharing a bill with Hawley in Sheffield last year.
During an interview with NME, Cocker said of his plans to release ‘A Sunset’: “A lot of people have said they’ve been quite touched by it. I didn’t expect that. Today will be the third time that I’ve done it in front of any audience. Obviously there’s a song in it, so maybe that will get released.”
He also revealed that the song was born when Hawley handed him a recording of him playing the chords, which sparked something within the Pulp frontman who felt compelled to write lyrics to complete the track.
Notably, Hawley shares a storied history with Pulp. Following the demise of his first band, The Longpigs, he joined Pulp as a touring musician in 1998 and remained with the group for four years before taking flight on his solo career.
Through the Sheffield music scene, they have been close friends for a significant number of years before Hawley began playing with Pulp and ‘A Sunset’ showcases the strength of the chemistry shared between them.
In addition to performing ‘A Sunset’ at Flow Festival with Pulp, Hawley also joined the band in Finland for renditions of ‘Common People’ and ‘Sunrise’.
Since Pulp reunited last year, they’ve toured extensively around the globe, but are yet to release any new music. Last November, at Corona Capital at Mexico City, the group integrated new track ‘Background Noise’ into their set for the first time before later playing it in Buenos Aires and Edinburgh.
It remains to be seen whether the latest chapter of Pulp’s story includes a new album, however, they seem to be here for the long-run with more tour dates on the horizon throughout North America in September and no indicators that they look set to take a break.
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