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.
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’
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.
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
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.”
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’
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
Kendrick Lamar is leading this year’s Grammy nominations, up for nine trophies, including record, song and album of the year.
The 38-year-old swept last year’s awards, taking home five gongs for his hit dis track Not Like Us.
The varied bag of Grammy nominees – featuring big names and a few surprises – also saw K-pop stars, a knighted British rocker and a Hollywood leading man make it into the Grammy competition.
Lady Gaga earlier this year. Pic: AP
Lady Gaga (who is up for record, song and album of the year too), Jack Antonoff and Canadian record producer-songwriter Cirkut follow Lamar with seven nominations each.
Sabrina Carpenter got six nods, matching her nomination tally for last year.
Alongside Lamar’s GNX, other albums to make it into the best album category this year include Lady Gaga’s Mayhem and Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos (only the second all-Spanish language album to be nominated in the category, following the Puerto Rican rapper’s 2023 all-Spanish album Un Verano Sin Ti).
They are all potential first-time winners in the category.
Sabrina Carpenter is up for six awards. Pic: AP
Also up for the top album prize are Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend, Justin Bieber’s Swag, Clipse, Pusha T & Malice’s Let God Sort Em Out, Leon Thomas’s Mutt, and Tyler, the Creator’s Chromakopia.
Despite releasing a new album earlier this year, Taylor Swift, didn’t make it on to the best album nominees as The Life Of A Showgirl came out after the close of the eligibility period. The window ran from 31 August 2024 to 30 August 2025.
Rosé from Blackpink. Pic: AP
K-pop gets its moment
With K-pop typically ignored by the Grammys (BTS are the only K-pop artists to previously get a nod) this year saw two K-pop tracks in contention for best song.
Golden, the lead track from global phenomenon KPop Demon Hunters and APT, the megahit by former Blackpink member Rosé alongside Bruno Mars, both made it on to the list.
Rosé got nods in four other categories, including best record, while KPop Demon Hunters got three other nominations, including in the best pop duo/group performance category.
Lola Young is up for best new arist. Pic: Amy Harris/Invision/AP
British artist Lola Young, who is the niece of acclaimed children’s writer Julia Donaldson, got a nod in the best new artist category, alongside Olivia Dean. Both topped the UK charts this year.
They will compete against KATSEYE, The Marias, Addison Rae, sombr, Leon Thomas and Alex Warren. Last year the category was won by Good Luck, Babe! singer Chappell Roan.
Sir Elton John in Never Too Late. Pic: Walt Disney Pictures
Timothée Chalamet is up for a Grammy
In less expected Grammy news, Sir Elton John also got a nod alongside US singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile for the song Never Too Late, which features on the soundtrack of the 2024 Sir Elton documentary of the same name.
Meanwhile, actor Timothée Chalamet got his first Grammy nod in the best compilation soundtrack for visual media category for his work on Oscar-nominated movie A Complete Unknown, in which he played Bob Dylan.
Timothee Chalamet as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown. Pic: Searchlight Pictures 2024
Nominations were announced by past Grammy winners, including Sabrina Carpenter, Doechii and last year’s best new artist winner, Chappell Roan.
Sharon, Kelly and Jack Osbourne came together to announce the rock and metal album nominations in tribute to Ozzy, who died in July. He had previously won in both categories.
The Osbournes announced the best rock and metal album nominations. Pic: Grammys/Recording Academy
The annual ceremony – which gives out a whopping 95 gongs in total – has four big categories: album, record and song of the year, and best new artist.
Following Beyoncé’s historic win for best album and best country album for Cowboy Carter, this year the country category has been divided into two: best traditional country album and best contemporary country album.
There’s also the new addition of a standalone category for best album cover.
Last year, Beyoncé made history as the Grammy’s most nominated artist, winning album of the year for the first time.
Winners will be chosen by the roughly 15,000 voting members of the Recording Academy.
The 68th Grammy Awards take place on Sunday, 1 February 2026, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Main category nominees
Album Of The Year
DeBi TiRAR MaS FOtoS, Bad Bunny
Swag, Justin Bieber
Man’s Best Friend, Sabrina Carpenter
Let God Sort Em Out, Clipse, Pusha T and Malice
MAYHEM, Lady Gaga
GNX, Kendrick Lamar
Mutt, Leon Thomas
CHROMAKOPIA, Tyler, The Creator
Record Of The Year
DtMF, Bad Bunny
Manchild, Sabrina Carpenter
Anxiety, Doechii
Wildflower, Billie Eilish
Abracadabra, Lady Gaga
luther, Kendrick Lamar with SZA
The Subway, Chappell Roan
APT, Bruno Mars and Rosé
Song Of The Year
Abracadabra, Lady Gaga
Anxiety, Doechii
APT, Bruno Mars and Rosé
DtMF, Bad Bunny
Golden, EJAE, Audrey Nuna and REI AMI
luther, Kendrick Lamar with SZA
Manchild, Sabrina Carpenter
Wildflower, Billie Eilish
Best New Artist
Olivia Dean
KATSEYE
The Marias
Addison Rae
sombr
Leon Thomas
Alex Warren
Lola Young
Celebrity Traitors star David Olusoga says there was one major flaw in the faithful’s gameplay, and that was having “too much fun”.
The first UK celebrity series of the popular reality show has been a ratings hit since its launch a month ago, wrapping up with a tense finale on Thursday night.
NB. This article contains spoilers related to the final episode
The faithfuls in Celebrity Traitors made one fatal error… Pic: BBC/Studio Lambert/Paul Chappells
Pic: BBC/Studio Lambert/Paul Chappells
Speaking to Sky News’ Anna Jones and Kamali Melbourne on the new Mornings with Jones and Melbourne, Olusoga said: “We were brilliant at the tasks and every day we went out and did what were basically bonding exercises.
“We all really got to know each other, and then we were terrible at the round table because we just liked each other too much.”
The 55-year-old historian says it was a “devilishly difficult game,” admitting he would have been a “terrible” traitor because he “wasn’t very good as a faithful”.
Treacherous Alan Carr was crowned the winner of the show, after a nail-biting roundtable which saw fellow traitor Cat Burns banished, followed by faithful Joe Marler.
The celebrities proved to be the worst in the show’s UK history at rooting out the traitors, a fact not lost on Olusoga: “For the most part, it was people sort of not being very good to pointing fingers at each other”.
Respected for his intellect and insight, Olusoga says the show has left him questioning his skill set: “I learned the limits of my kind of my approach to logic, which made a lot of sense to me but didn’t really get me very far.”
Despite many viewers feeling Carr let slip plenty of clues that he was a traitor, Olusoga says he never once suspected him.
Olusoga says: “It was like a double bluff. It was somebody who wasn’t trying to disguise that they were a traitor, therefore, it seemed logical that they weren’t a traitor…
“I think, of all the people, Alan probably got the fewest votes in the entire show. The other thing is, Alan is a national treasure. He’s innately likeable. I think none of us really wanted to believe Alan was a traitor because he had us laughing, we were in stitches the whole time.”
Pic: BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry
Despite his lack of competitive success on the show, he says it’s an experience he relished.
“It’s very easy to get stuck in your own ruts as an adult, so to be plucked out of your world, to have your phone taken away from you, to be put in this entirely new environment – this amazing, surreal environment, with these amazing people – it was like the first week of university again. It was like starting a new school. That was wonderful.”
Previously a fan of the show, he says being a player was a completely different ballgame: “You really haven’t got a clue… you see patterns in the clouds”.
He also has no regrets about his decision to get involved: “I’ve been asked to do a lot of different shows. And I’ve always said no to all of them. But even before doing it, my view was, Traitors is special”.
Olusoga is currently working on a Remembrance project with Findmypast to archive pictures of fallen soldiers in the First World War.
Entertainment
New film ‘proves beyond shadow of a doubt’ that Elgin Marbles were stolen, director claims
A new documentary proves “beyond any shadow of a doubt” that the Elgin Marbles were stolen, according to its director.
David Wilkinson claims The Marbles settles one of the most divisive debates in cultural heritage: whether 19th-century diplomat Lord Elgin legally acquired the Parthenon Sculptures, better known as the Elgin Marbles.
The film revisits how the sculptures were removed from the Parthenon in Athens while Greece was under Ottoman rule – and ended up in London.
It argues that Lord Elgin did not legally acquire the artefacts – and instead, it amounts to “the greatest heist in art history”.
Reuters file pic
Actor Brian Cox, historian Dominic Selwood and solicitor Mark Stephens are among those who appear in the documentary.
The British government bought the sculptures from Lord Elgin and installed them into the trusteeship of the British Museum, where they have remained for 200 years.
“He needed the money from the British government to pay for all the bribes he’d given to members of the Ottoman Empire,” Wilkinson says of the transaction.
“Lord Elgin did sell them … but the question becomes, did Lord Elgin actually have the right to purchase them?”
PA file pic
Classical archaeologist Mario Trabucco della Torretta dismisses Wilkinson’s claims.
“The allegation of bribery to obtain the Marbles is just wrong in historical terms,” he told Sky News.
Torretta was the key architect behind a joint letter that included former prime minister Liz Truss, historian Dr David Starkey and Sir John Redwood – alleging the British Museum is part of a “covert” and “accelerating campaign” to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece.
Responding to Wilkinson’s claims of bribery, he added: “The only reference to ‘presents’ comes years after the start of the removals … do people presume that they run a ‘bribe now, pay later’ scheme back then in Constantinople?”
One of the most contentious points in the debate is the legitimacy of an Ottoman permission document known as a “firman”, which is claimed to have authorised Lord Elgin removing the items from Greece.
There is only an Italian text referred to as a translation of this document.
David Wilkinson
Wilkinson said: “It was normal practice at the time that a copy would be kept in what was then Constantinople, and another copy would have been sent off to Athens.
“There would be a record in Istanbul and the Turks have gone through it in great detail over many decades and they can find nothing.”
Speaking to Sky News in 2024, Dr Zeynep Boz – head of combatting illicit trafficking for Turkey’s culture ministry – said there is no proof of the firman in the Ottoman archive.
“Despite extensive archival research, no such firman has been found. It is even difficult to call this document a translation when the original is not available,” she said at the time.
Torretta offers an explanation: “Burning the Ottoman governor’s archive was one of the first acts of the Greek revolution.”
Reuters file pic
While the arguments are not new, The Marbles also examines how other institutions have handled similar restitution cases.
In the film, Cox says if the marbles would have gone back to Athens already if they had found their way to Edinburgh and not London.
Back in 2023, the National Museum of Scotland returned The House Of Ni’isjoohl memorial pole to Canada.
Meanwhile, Glasgow’s Kevingrove Art Gallery Museum returned a shirt to the South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center in the US.
And when it comes to the Parthenon Sculptures – Germany’s Heidelberg University and The Vatican have both returned fragments to Greece.
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Dec 2024: Elgin Marbles ‘belong in the UK’
The British Museum Act 1963 prevents treasures being legally given away by the British Museum.
The government has repeatedly it has no plans to change existing policy on restitution, and that it is up to the trustees of the museum to decide.
A spokesperson for the British Museum repeated a statement given to Sky News in July: “Discussions with Greece about a Parthenon Partnership are ongoing and constructive.”
The documentary scrutinises the ethics of foreign national treasures that were taken and are now housed in Western museums, but as it stands the institutional and governmental answers don’t appear to be changing.
The Marbles is in UK and Irish cinemas from today.
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