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The following is a partial auto-generated transcript of the Mike Adams broadcast (Brighteon Broadcast News) for Dec 13, 2023. It offers a full review of the “Leave the World Behind” movie as well as a discussion of the coming wave of cyber attack false flag events that will target America. The full broadcast episode is available late Wednesday morning in audio format at this link on Brighteon.com. Because this transcript is auto-generated, expect a few mistakes.

Now let’s talk about the movie “Leave the World Behind.” This movie was produced with funding from a company owned, as I understand it by Barack Obama and Michelle Obama. It was directed by Sam Esmail. And it stars among others, Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Mahershala Ali, who’s a great actor, I really admire his acting by the way, and Kevin Bacon.

The movie is all the rage right now, for whatever reason. It’s filled with a lot of symbolism. And some people say there may be a lot of cult symbolism in the film, such as 666, in one of the opening scenes, and there are all kinds of other artistic interpretations. One of the ships that is grounded on the beach is called White Lion, which turns out to be the name of a slave ship. There are overtones of slavery and racial divide and civil war throughout the film. Far more than just a movie with anti-white tropes

However, I would say that the conservative take on this film is very shallow, because I’ve seen a lot of headlines from conservative media, including conservative alternative media that simply say this is an anti white film that makes white people look bad. And they mostly leave it at that. They’re just saying, Oh, this is Barack Obama funding a film that attacks whites. And although there are a couple of scenes in the film, where especially this young, black daughter of the one of the key characters in the film, she’s clearly an anti white racist. And she just hates white people. So she’s this woke little black girl, basically, who just hates everybody with fair skin. And yes, there are a couple of scenes in the film, with her talking about how you can’t trust white people. But that’s not what this film is about.

In fact, playing off against this anti white racist black girl is the mature woman character, the mom played by Julia Roberts. And this woman, although she doesn’t come across as racist, she comes across as a really angry, bitter, mature woman who just hates everybody. It’s not about hating black people. It’s about hating every person in the world. She’s a marketing executive, which actually kind of makes sense.

And then there’s a character played by Ethan Hawke, who is the husband of the Julia Roberts character, and they live in the city. I think New York City is what they’re referring to because the film takes place in Long Island. But the Ethan Hawke character is a male, neutered snowflake, oblivious citizen, who doesn’t know how to do anything. In fact, I’m gonna play a scene for you here that reinforces that he doesn’t know how to change a tire, doesn’t know how to use a firearm, he doesn’t know about preparedness or survival or anything. And basically, he is run by his wife, the Julia Roberts character who’s clearly in charge of that family.

And then there’s the character played by Mahershala Ali. I actually think he’s the best actor in the film, by the way. I love the work that he has done. But he plays a really sophisticated well educated, well to do black American who owns this house that is sort of rented out in a b&b arrangement to the Ethan Hawke, Julia Roberts family, and they’re just guests staying at his house. The Mahershala Ali character, he’s the father and he’s very polite. He’s very tolerant. He’s very reasonable. He has a calming personality. He is a de-escalation character in the film, whereas Julia Roberts is an escalation crazy woman in the film, and she does a great job playing that role by the way. But Mahershala Ali does a fantastic job here, bringing some key narratives to this film about preparedness, and community mindedness and how we work together and also helping to explore some of the racial overtones that we’ll talk about in a second.

Then finally, Kevin Bacon plays the American prepper. At one point in the movie, he’s on his porch, I’ll actually play the scene for you. He’s got an American flag, and he’s got a shot gun. He’s wearing a baseball cap, and he’s the All American guy who’s the prepper. He’s a handyman, he does contracting work, and he’s a hands on guy, he knows how to do stuff. You know, he can repair plumbing, for example, he can probably repair car engines and whatever. So he’s got food and ammo and who knows how much gold and whatever, and medicine we find out in the film. And yet, he is depicted as very much a you’re on your own type of prepper. He says that what’s mine is mine. Get off my porch, get off my yard, good luck, that kind of thing. So he is the, the lone wolf prepper, who is going to defend his property with his shotgun, which, frankly, may be necessary, depending on how crazy things get.

So that’s kind of the mix of the key characters of the film. And there are also three children involved if you’re wondering about the characters, the young daughter and son of the Julia Roberts family, and then the the young, racist black daughter of the Mahershala Ali character. And I don’t recall all the names of the characters in the film. I just refer to them as the names of the actors who play the roles. So the film is not a shallow, racist anti white film, even though it’s sometimes depicted as that. The film was actually very thoughtful. And I thought it was very well done. The cyber attack that brings down America’s power grid and telecom infrastructure

What the movie explores is a scenario where there are infrastructure attacks on the United States of America that take down telecommunications, and are designed to cause chaos and confusion among the American people in order to cause uprisings and revolts, and ultimately, a civil war in the country, There are effects of psychological warfare depicted in the film, for example, a small airplane dropping leaflets that appear to contain Arabic writing that says Death to America. And then, at another point in the movie, the Kevin Bacon character says that he knows somebody in the military that saw similar leaflets dropped in California, that actually contained writing that was either Korean or Chinese, he couldn’t tell the difference. So the disinformation aspect of warfare is covered in this film. But most importantly, this film witnesses the process that families, civilians go through in America, when they don’t know what is happening, but the services and infrastructure that they have come to depend upon are no longer working. They don’t have the normal access to information. You know, the news reports aren’t working, the internet isn’t working, they’re not getting information on their phones, except in one scene, there are some phone emergency texts that come through. But other than that, there’s really no communication in the film. There is a bunker in the basement of one home in the film where there’s some kind of military messaging coming across that says, as I recall, Washington DC is under attack. And this is a red alert situation, the nation is under attack, prepare accordingly.

I think this is where the film does a really good job, or the writers do a great job, they show these people not knowing what is happening, they attempt to continue with their normal vacation activities. They’re swimming in the swimming pool, they’re taking walks, and they’re just trying to live out a normal vacation, not realizing that their world is coming to an end, not realizing that they probably don’t have enough food to last very long. That was one of the questions that I had watching this film was how come nobody in this movie is wondering where the food is going to come from? When it comes to a prepping situation, you have to ask, how are you going to feed yourself?

I also kept wondering, Why were these people going out? They were venturing out into the unknown areas around this vacation home, they were venturing out without firearms. Which I just found horrifying. Because if I were going into an unknown situation, well, in fact, even when I’m going into known situations, you better believe I have a firearm with me. And not just one either, you know, a pistol on my hip, and then some kind of carbine in the vehicle or even maybe a medium range rifle in the vehicle depending on what I might be anticipating. But these people had no guns whatsoever, and they had no plan.

Now, the black father in the film played by Mahershala Ali, he apparently knew something about what was about to go down because one of his clients in the film was a defense contractor and the defense contractor was moving lots of money around in anticipation of some kind of big cyber event. So he knew something was going on. But he himself also was not a prepper. Nobody in this movie was a prepper except for the Kevin Bacon character with a shotgun and the American flag on his porch. And frankly, he looked like he could probably handle himself. So I want to play a segment of this for you. It’s about two minutes or a little longer than two minutes. That shows you the kind of tension. This is some of the prepper versus non prepper tension and also the mix of races in this film. To just give you a little taste of this I found this to be really the most emotionally impactful scene in the film.

clip plays

So several important things to notice about this clip. The deer are actually representing humanity. The humans are representing animals. That’s what I find fascinating here. So the deer are really more organized, they’re community minded, they’re working together, they’re more rational, and de escalatory. So the so-called animals are inquisitive and intelligent and very capable of surviving. The humans, especially those the two women that you saw in that clip, the the white woman, the Julia Roberts character, and then the younger, black girl. There they are acting like crazy animals having no idea what to do. Having no way to defend themselves, just feeling afraid and unsure. And all they can do is scream and dance around like animals. And even the deer think these humans are crazy. Let’s get out of here. This is a waste of time. So that’s notable.

There’s even one juxtaposition there where the Ethan Hawke character is screaming, I’m trying to reason with him. And then they show the two women that are screaming like animals in front of the deer. And the deer are probably thinking, gosh, we’re trying to reason with these humans, but they’re insane. Don’t be like the characters in this film who have no idea how to survive

But the most important line in that segment is when the Ethan Hawke character says, I have no idea what to do right now. And he says I can barely do anything without my cell phone and my GPS. And he even says, quote, I am a useless man. But my son is sick. And I think this self awareness of being a useless man, at least useless in this circumstance, is especially notable. Because I think there are a lot of people in America today that do realize that they don’t know how to do anything. But they have no choice other than just to be desperate and beg for help ask for help or maybe try to coerce help when they get into a difficult situation. And so what you really have in this scene is the Mahershala Ali character, the black man, even though he’s holding a gun, he is the voice of reason. The Ethan Hawke character is the voice of desperation. And uselessness. And then the Kevin Bacon character is the voice of Well, I told you so. And isolationism. So this is almost presented as a riddle, which is, what would you do in this situation? What would you do?

Now we know that the Kevin Bacon character has medicine that can help the boy the Son, and ultimately the way the scene ends. By the way, this is not a spoiler. And ultimately, the way this scene ends, I’m not spoiling the film for you, believe me. But it ends by the Kevin Bacon character selling a few pills, some kind of medication to the Ethan Hawke character in exchange for seemingly $1,000 in cash. Then the Kevin Bacon character even laments the fact that he’s accepting cash because he says he doesn’t know how long cash is going to be good anyway, depending on how badly things have broken down, but he does sell some medicine for cash. So there is a actually an exchange that takes place. The film presents a riddle: How would YOU handle a cyber attack grid down scenario?

But the question to you is, what would you do if you are in Kevin Bacon’s shoes, in this situation or in any of these characters shoes? Because remember, there’s no one else around, there’s not a crazy mob that’s trying to loot this home where Kevin Bacon lives or his character. He could easily say, Yeah, I’m happy to help you to the extent that I can, especially if it’s to help save the life of your son, you know, what do I have that could possibly help you? And that tends to be my answer. By the way, if I have something that I know can help other people, and if I can offer it to them in a way, that’s not going to compromise my own safety, and in a way that doesn’t encourage mass looting of my property, let’s say, then I’m happy to give supplies away. But then again, you probably know this, if you’ve listened to me for very long, I’m a community minded prepper. And I’ve been blessed with enough resources to be able to purchase a lot of things at scale with the intention of being able to share them with the community. Whereas a lot of people may not be in that position. And I understand that, especially those who are at the lower end of the economic scale, let’s say they don’t earn a lot of money. And, of course, food inflation is rather horrendous these days. So their preparedness activities may have been quite limited, they may only have enough for their own families, and quite literally not enough to share with others. But why not try to help in other ways? You know, maybe you have a book on medicine that could help them diagnose the problem. Maybe you have clean water with a water filter, and you could offer them water in case they’ve run out of water. Maybe you have, you know, something that’s very affordable such as rice supplies, for example to offer. Or maybe you can suggest that we work together, that we’re all going to be safer if we’re under the same roof. Potentially, I guess it’s up to the circumstances and the people who are involved, you might not want to invite strangers in your house. But at some point, if you’re in some kind of collapse scenario, there is strength in numbers.

One of the themes of this film is that these people eventually set aside their racist differences. Well, at least the young black girl, she’s clearly an anti white racist. But even the Julia Roberts character sets aside her hatred in the interest of trying to figure out how do we all survive this together. And that’s a really critical thing that we all need to understand.

I think it’s a film that explores the collision of some anti white woke racism, as well as just people hating individuals, as well as preppers versus non preppers. Escalation versus de escalation, desperation versus being calm, knowing versus not knowing, you know, panic, versus, you know, being chill and all these themes. That’s what the movie explores. And I think it does actually a good job at that. The takeaways from this movie, I think, are rather obvious. The first takeaway is, don’t be like the Ethan Hawke character if you’re a man, or woman. Don’t be like the Julia Roberts character either. Don’t be like either one of those characters because they are horrifically unprepared for what’s happening in society. And you really don’t get much traction running around just yelling and screaming and accusing people all the time, especially in face to face interactions. I mean, think about it. What would you do in a scenario if you were at a b&b rental home on vacation and there was a massive cyber attack on the world and that around you? What would you do? How would you treat people? Would you just get angry and start accusing everybody and start panicking? Or would you try to create organization? You know, how are we gonna survive this? Let’s list our basic needs here. Let’s assess an inventory of everybody’s skills. How about that? You know, who here that has medical knowledge? Who has firearms knowledge? Who can stay up at night and do a night shift? You know, for security? Who is good with radios and comms? These kinds of questions. Who has the best firearm here? Does anybody have any night vision?

You take inventory and then you figure out how we’re going to work together to survive. And then also, what skills can we teach each other right now, so we can cross train and have redundancy. And also, what are the likely threats that we are facing here together? And how can we best strategically address those threats in a way that we all survive? The other big takeaway from this is, Don’t be caught unprepared. Because we are probably facing major cyber attacks. And I’ll cover that in the next section here. But this movie, in the minds of many people is a type of predictive programming. It’s putting these themes out there, because this is exactly what is being planned. And it’s very likely that a false flag cyber attack event is going to be rolled out and blamed on China. That’s my analysis. And that’s what I’m going to cover in the next segment here. We’ll talk about some specific things that you can do to prepare for that. And things that will also help you prepare for other scenarios, as well. But that’s my summary of the movie leave the world behind. It’s definitely worth watching. I’m not endorsing all the themes in it, I’m not endorsing, whatever symbolism or cultism, that people might find it and I’m just saying that it’s worth a watch, because it makes you think about how you would handle these situations. And in doing so it may help you more efficiently prepare.

In doing so, it may help you better prepare for the collapse that’s coming. Or it could be actually a multifaceted collapse. It might not be one collapse, it could be a financial collapse, and a cyber attack, a grid down collapse and a food collapse and who knows what else. But watch this movie. And think about your own situation and what you could do better. To not only survive yourself, but also to help the people around you survive because again, remember, together is better. And we all survive with a higher, higher chance of survival. If we can figure out how to work together, whether that’s in one household, a family unit, or a neighborhood or a county or a small town or whatever the case may be figured out how to work together and you’re going to have a much better chance of getting through all this.

Listen to the full broadcast at this link on Brighteon.com once it posts.
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Florida regroups, sends LSU to 3rd straight loss

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Florida regroups, sends LSU to 3rd straight loss

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — DJ Lagway threw for a touchdown and set up another with a long completion in his return from a strained left hamstring, and Florida upset No. 21 LSU 27-16 on Saturday to give the Gators their first series victory since 2018.

Jadan Baugh‘s 55-yard scoring scamper with 3:48 remaining essentially sealed it and put the Gators (5-5, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) on the verge of becoming bowl-eligible. Florida had dropped eight in a row against ranked opponents and was 1-10 under coach Billy Napier in rivalry games.

Former Florida coach Steve Spurrier suggested all week that fans should rush the field named after him if the Gators win. But it didn’t happen.

Florida’s defense, though, deserved to be celebrated. The unit sacked Garrett Nussmeier seven times — one more than LSU (6-4, 3-3) had allowed in its first nine games combined.

Lagway provided the big plays on offense for Florida. After sitting out most of the past two losses with the injury, he connected with Elijhah Badger for a 23-yard score in the first quarter. Lagway never scrambled but was mobile enough to create extra time by moving around the pocket.

He completed 13 of 26 passes for 226 yards. Badger caught six for 131 yards.

“Elite play,” Florida coach Billy Napier said of Lagway. “God blessed that young man.”

The game started to turn in Florida’s favor when T.J. Searcy sacked Nussmeier late in the third quarter. Nussmeier fumbled, one of his linemen scooped it out of the air then fumbled again. Caleb Banks recovered in what was one of several huge plays for the defensive tackle.

The Gators went backward from there despite the solid field position and ended up punting. But Jeremy Crawshaw pinned the Tigers inside the 10-yard line.

Florida then forced a punt and started another drive in LSU territory. This time, Lagway found Badger for a 36-yard gain that set up Ja’Kobi Jackson‘s 1-yard scoring run.

LSU dominated time of possession in the first half and doubled up Florida in plays. But Nussmeier struggled to find time in the second half. He completed 27 of 47 passes for 260 yards with a touchdown and the fumble, and the Gators’ defense frustrated him in bouncing back from a subpar effort the week before in a blowout loss at Texas.

“Last week was unacceptable, and they took ownership of that,” Napier said of his defense. “There was no moping around.”

Losing three in a row — to Texas A&M, Alabama and now Florida — makes it impossible for LSU coach Brian Kelly to continue his streak of 10-win seasons, which will end at seven. Kelly won double-digit games in each of his last five seasons at Notre Dame and extended it with consecutive 10-win campaigns in Baton Rouge.

“This is a simple exercise of do you want to fight or not?” Kelly said after the loss. “Do you want to fight and take responsibility as coaches and players that we’re not playing well and we’re struggling right now? … There’s a rough spot here that we have to fight through, and we have to do it together.”

As Napier left the field following handshakes and postgame interviews, he was cheered by the fans hovering at the team’s tunnel.

“You’ve got to be a tough guy, and you got to be up for the challenge,” Napier said. “This group has proven they’re up for that. It’s harder than ever in my opinion. These guys could have pointed fingers and splintered a long time ago. That’s what I’m most proud of.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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8-2 Buffs roll, still looking for ‘our best game’

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8-2 Buffs roll, still looking for 'our best game'

BOULDER, Colo. — Deion Sanders watched his Colorado offense put up 49 points on the top scoring defense in the Big 12 on Saturday, but he isn’t satisfied. The coach expects dominance in all three phases of the game.

The Buffaloes outplayed Utah in two out of three phases and eventually got rolling on offense in a 49-24 victory, extending their win streak to four games and ensuring they’ll remain in the Big 12 championship race the rest of the way. Afterward, Sanders delivered a critique that sounded a little more like a warning to others.

“We haven’t even put it all together yet,” Sanders said. “Like, we haven’t even played our best game. That should be, in itself, scary. Like, man, when I said we comin’, we still comin’. We never stopped comin’. We are comin’. And we ain’t nearly there yet.”

Colorado (8-2, 6-1) got a strong start from its defense, which held the Utes (4-6, 1-6) to 83 yards on 33 plays in the first half, and a 76-yard punt return touchdown from receiver LaJohntay Wester to help make up for a bumpy start on offense. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders was intercepted on his first pass and later fumbled a snap for another turnover.

It may not have been the Buffaloes’ finest performance of the season, but it was a 25-point win over the preseason Big 12 front-runner, snapping a seven-game losing streak against a program whose last win at Folsom Field came by a score of 63-21.

“I think that speaks a lot about the program and where we are,” Deion Sanders said. “We’ve got to tighten some things up and get some things together, but you see we’re trending in the right direction.

“We started off rough. That wasn’t indicative to who Shedeur is, and I thought he was kind of OK all game long. Then I look at the stats and he’s 30-for-41 for 340 [yards] and three [touchdowns]. Like, c’mon man. I guess I’m just a hard dad to please at times, as well as a hard head coach.”

Sanders praised Utah’s defense and the problems it presented throughout the contest and said he was thankful for the challenge. It took complementary football to overcome the two first-half turnovers, with Colorado’s defense holding Utah to field goals after both takeaways. The Buffaloes didn’t surrender a touchdown until midway through the third quarter.

“Those type of things can’t happen,” Shedeur Sanders said, “and I’m going to have a talk with the whole offense and apologize for my performance out there at the very beginning, because I can’t put the team in that type of situation. I’m thankful for the defense. I may have to take them out to dinner this week for saving me and saving the team.”

Sanders responded after the fumble by guiding an 85-yard touchdown drive that featured another highlight-reel moment for Travis Hunter. Sanders threw deep to Colorado’s two-way star on a fourth-and-8, and Hunter made a leaping grab over two Utah defenders for a 25-yard gain. Sanders hit Will Sheppard for an 8-yard score on his next throw to extend Colorado’s lead to 21-6.

Hunter added to his Heisman Trophy résumé Saturday with 55 receiving yards on five catches, a 5-yard rushing touchdown on a reverse and his third interception of the season while playing 132 snaps.

When asked if he had a message for undecided Heisman voters, Deion Sanders did not hold back.

“If they can’t see, they can’t see,” Sanders said. “It is what it is. I mean, Travis is who he is. It’s supposed to go to the best college football player. I think that’s been a wrap since, what, Week 2? So we ain’t petitioning for nobody. We ain’t doing that. We’ve got a wonderful display of cameras here and I think we’re on national television every week. If they can’t see it, there’s a problem.

“Don’t allow their hatred for me to interfere with our kids’ success. They gotta stop that. Y’all gotta stop. Some of y’all are like that. Y’all gotta stop that, man. Give the kids what they deserve, man. I had my turn. I played 14 years. You had 14 years to hate me. Now let it go.”

Hunter was the Heisman front-runner in ESPN BET odds entering Week 12 at +125, ahead of Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty and Miami quarterback Cam Ward.

Colorado’s defense was able to constantly pressure freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson, forcing four sacks and three interceptions, and Utah finished with a mere 31 rushing yards, their fewest in a game since 2011. The preseason No. 12 Utes were considered the Big 12 favorites entering their first season in the conference but are now in danger of their first losing campaign since 2013.

“I’m in the twilight zone,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “… It’s the most difficult year of my coaching career, hands down, not even close.”

Colorado continues to control its destiny in chasing a Big 12 championship game bid, as the lone team in the 16-member conference that has lost just one conference game entering Saturday. The Buffaloes’ four-game win streak since a 31-28 home loss to Kansas State on Oct. 12 is the longest of Sanders’ two-year tenure.

After a 4-8 debut season, he has this once struggling program right where he planned to be for Year 2. In a league known for dramatic games decided by one-score margins, Sanders isn’t just trying to survive and advance to Arlington, Texas. He says he’s aiming for “flawless.”

“We expect to be here,” Sanders said. “A lot of y’all didn’t expect us to be here, and don’t think we don’t know that. But we expected to be where we are. Matter of fact, we expected to be a little better.”

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Pulp’s fan club president dished out Jarvis Cocker’s trouser scraps – and his car – to fans. Then he joined the band

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Pulp's fan club president dished out Jarvis Cocker's trouser scraps - and his car - to fans. Then he joined the band

Mark Webber’s role as Pulp’s fan club manager started simply enough, writing newsletters and posting out small bits of memorabilia such as postcards, stickers and badges. But, just like the band he loved, he wanted to do things a little differently.

A balloon launch to drum up publicity in their hometown of Sheffield didn’t attract too many people, he recalls, but one did make it all the way to Slovenia. The following year, he cut up a pair of Jarvis Cocker‘s trousers into 500 pieces, “all put in individually numbered envelopes and sent out to fans”.

It was 1993, a decade on from the release of Pulp‘s debut album, but still two years before they were to achieve huge mainstream success. A few years later, they decided to offer Cocker’s old Hillman Imp car, no longer roadworthy, as a competition prize. “It was crushed, compacted into a cube, someone won it, and we delivered it in a truck to their garden.”

It was genius silliness, indicative of the time. Nowadays, if you’re a young fan who loves a band or an artist, you assemble on social media – but back in the 1990s, it was all about signing up to the official fan club.

Scraps of Jarvis Cocker's trousers were once sent to Pulp fans. Pic: Mark Webber
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Some 500 Pulp fans were once treated to scraps of Cocker’s trousers in the post. Pic: Mark Webber

For Webber, who started out as a Pulp fan himself, it was a dream job which eventually led to him becoming the band’s tour manager – and then, just before they hit the height of their fame, joining as guitarist.

Following the group’s second and long hoped-for reunion in 2023, he is now telling his story – from super fan to joining the band – in I’m With Pulp, Are You?.

It’s not an autobiography as such, but a scrapbook of moments told mainly through ephemera collected over the last five decades, from photographs and flyers to set lists and press clippings, as well as other notes and scribblings kept through the years.

Webber went through his hoard during the pandemic lockdown. “It was in disarray at the time,” he says. “I hadn’t looked at it for so long I was finding things I couldn’t even remember what they were.”

‘We were in a bubble – suddenly the world caught up’

Pulp's Jarvis Cocker performing in Wolverhampton in 1992
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Jarvis Cocker on stage in Wolverhampton in 1992. Pic: Mark Webber

His story with Pulp starts in 1985, when he was an “obsessive” teenage music fan hanging out at a small independent record store in Chesterfield “where all the weird kids would go”. Back then, the band’s fan base was small, he says, and they were “amused” by the “daft, psychedelic kids” who followed them. They got to know them.

Webber eventually started helping out with stages sets before taking on the fan club duties. Then his role morphed again as he was called on to play guitar and keyboards at live shows, and began to contribute to songwriting.

He became an official member in 1995 – just before they became one of the biggest bands in the UK with their fifth album, Different Class, thanks to songs such as Disco 2000, Sorted For E’s and Whizz, and signature track Common People.

Pulp People kept fans up to date with the band's news
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In the days before social media, Pulp People kept fans up to date. Pic: Mark Webber

“Do you think it’s a coincidence that happened just as I joined?” Webber asks, laughing. “There was this trajectory. There was such a momentum building that it just became clear that, like, every next thing the group did was going to be more successful.”

It was a strange feeling, he says. “Because we were in the bubble at the time, just doing our thing, and suddenly the world had caught up and kind of realised how great Pulp was.”

I’m With Pulp documents some of the milestone moments in the band’s history, such as the 1995 Glastonbury headline set, before the release of Different Class, which came about at short notice after The Stone Roses were forced to pull out. Webber recalls how the band spent the night camping backstage.

“That was horrible because I hate camping,” he says. “And the concert, at the time it didn’t feel like such a great show. But everyone seemed to love it.”

Headlining Glastonbury – but camping in tents

British band Pulp perform on the Arena Stage as 'surprise guests' at Glastonbury Festival in Glastonbury, England on Saturday June 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Mark Allan)
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Pulp played a secret set at Glastonbury when they first reunited in 2011 – but didn’t camp that time. Pic: AP/ Mark Allan


Looking back at the roster of recent Glastonbury headliners – Elton John, Paul McCartney, Adele, Dua Lipa, The Killers – it’s hard to imagine any of them pitching a tent in the mud before performing to 100,000 people.

“Well, I’ve never spent the night in a tent since then,” says Webber. “So it changed my life.”

A more infamous incident in Pulp’s history was Cocker rushing the stage during Michael Jackson’s performance of Earth Song at the Brits the following year.

At the time, it didn’t feel as significant a moment as it has become in popular culture, Webber says. “There was disbelief in the moment, that he actually dared to do it. And that it was so easy to do. That’s the thing none of us could really understand, that there was no security or anything stopping anyone getting on the stage that easily.”

Pulp's Jarvis Cocker invaded the stage during Michael Jackson's performance of Earth Song at the Brit Awards in 1996. Pic: Reuters
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Cocker invaded the stage during Michael Jackson’s performance of Earth Song at the Brit Awards in 1996. Pic: Reuters

The aftermath was more concerning. “Like, ‘is Jarvis going to go to prison?’ Because we were starting a tour the next day.”

Ultimately, says Webber, most awards ceremonies and industry events are “boring – you have to do something to amuse yourself”.

After splitting in 2002, Pulp reunited for the first time in 2011, and then again for shows last year.

The response was “kind of amazing”, Webber says. It’s “quite likely we will play in England before we disappear again”, he hints. “There’s nothing confirmed yet but we expect there’ll be more concerts next year.”

‘I probably should have enjoyed it more’

Pulp's Mark Webber says his tour manager briefcase is one of his favourite pieces from his early days before joining the band. Pic: Mark Webber
Image:
Webber says his tour manager briefcase is one of his favourite items from his early days. Pic: Mark Webber

The book documents Webber’s story. The item he was most happy to rediscover, he says, was the briefcase he used during his time as tour manager, adorned with a vintage ‘I’m With Pulp, Are You?’ sticker, which provided inspiration for the title.

“I knew I had it somewhere, but what I didn’t expect when I opened it up was that it still contained some contracts, to do lists, itineraries, a Bic biro, a packet of Setlers, and the business cards of various guest houses,” he says. “I used to carry this around everywhere, and in the days before we all had mobile phones, it had to contain everything we’d need for a concert or tour.”

After taking the time to look back, is there anything he would change?

Well, I mean, I probably should have enjoyed it more.” Webber laughs. “I’m always like the slightly glass half-full, grass is always greener type outlook… I did maintain quite a normal life, I didn’t have an address book full of celebrities that I’d go and hang out with – not that that’s something to aspire to, but, you know, maybe I should have been a bit more wild at the time when I had the chance.”

I’m With Pulp, Are You, published by Hat & Beard, is out now, with a launch night at the ICA in London on 27 November

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