Watch Pulp perform ‘Spike Island’ live on ‘The Jonathan Ross Show’
The Pulp comeback is running full steam ahead. After announcing their first album in 24 years, the Sheffield delivered the first taster of new music with the release of ‘Spike Island’. Over the weekend, they took it to the stage on The Jonathan Ross Show for its television debut.
For Pulp fans, the end of last week brought a flurry of good news. While the band have been back for a while, touring around the world with an electric live show celebrating their career, they’re now turning their focus to the future. On April 10th, 2025, the band confirmed they’re releasing a new album of new material, their first in over two decades.
More will be released on June 6th, just in time for the band’s next run of shows and festivals. After sharing ‘Spike Island’, the first single from the record, excitement levels ahead of their upcoming tour sky-rocketed further.
It’s big, boisterous and powered by a chorus that instantly gets stuck in your head and demands a singalong. As Far Out wrote in our five-star review, “It’s a track that could rival any anthem that came before.”
As Cocker meanders through lyrics that feel like a part two of their 1990s track ‘Sorted for E’s & Wizz’, the instrumentation is designed to make a crowd move. Cocker proved that on The Jonathan Ross Show as his signature dance moves were on full display. Grooving around the television show’s stage while the band, including two violin players, brought the track to life, it was a strong on-air debut for the song.
However, it wasn’t the first time the band played the song live. Fans who caught the band in the summer of 2024 might have been among the lucky audiences who heard an early run-through of the song as the group took it for a test drive on the road before this long-awaited release.
Pulp will tour UK arenas this summer and also headline Tramlines Festival in Sheffield in July for a homecoming celebration.
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