Pulp pays tribute to late bassist Steve Mackey at Finsbury Park

Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker has paid tribute to late bass guitarist Steve Mackey while performing at Finsbury Park.

At the north London concert on Saturday night, Cocker also dedicated Do You Remember The First Time? to the fans who attended the band’s last gig at the venue 25 years ago.

On stage, Cocker, 59, said: “We’re trying to do something that is a tribute to Steve Mackey’s memory.

“I tend to talk about him before this song, because this song’s called Something Changed.

“It’s about how somebody can enter your life and really change it all.

“This is the only Pulp song that people have ever stopped me on the street and said: ‘We got married to your song’.”

In March, the Britpop band announced the death of Mackey – who also produced and recorded with many artists including M.I.A, Florence + The Machine and Arcade Fire – at the age of 56.

The group has also had Russell Senior, Candida Doyle, Nick Banks and Mark Webber among its members.

Kicking off the gig were psychedelic images being displayed on the screen along with text saying the concert is the band’s 527th.

A curtain then came down revealing Pulp along with a string orchestra and Cocker standing at the top of the stage with a moon displayed behind him as he began singing I Spy.

They then went into one of their big hits, Disco 2000, as streamers rained down on the audience and Cocker balanced his legs by stretching them across two speakers he was standing on.

Throughout, hits such as Sorted For E’s & Wizz, Babies, Underwear and Common People, Cocker performed his trademark dance moves while wearing a dark velvet suit, green shirt and glasses.

He thrilled the audience by using his lanky body to contort himself into odd positions and pull shapes by pointing and moving his hips.

Cocker – also known for his solo career along with performing in Harry Potter And The Goblet of Fire and Fantastic Mr Fox – also threw grapes and chocolates at the audience, which he has done before at other gigs.

There were also the little nods to the references from Pulp’s songs and music videos as Cocker pointed to fans wearing pink gloves during Pink Glove, the musicians donning rave bucket hats ahead of Sorted For E’s & Wizz and a leather chair being put on stage for This Is Hardcore.

Appearing to reference the use of projection technology that has been deployed by bands such as Abba to play digital concerts, he told fans: “We are real, we’re not computer generated or we’re not any kind of augmented reality or anything like that. We are real, you are real.

“Without an audience (to) play music (to), it’s just rehearsing. So you make it real, you are the magic.”

Cocker also took an artistic bent at one point by reciting what he said was an EE Cummings poem about the moon before singing Like A Friend.

Finsbury Park also saw performances from Isle of Wight indie rock duo Wet Leg, who put on a mainly calm and subdued performance of their tongue-in-cheek hits including Angelica, Chaise Longue and Wet Dream.

In the midst of the set, Rhian Teasdale, wearing an Arsenal shirt, boots and a black skirt, also let out a primal scream and wished fans a “happy Pride” festival as the annual Pride parade took place in London on Saturday.

Long-time friends Hester Chambers and Teasdale formed the band in 2019, and have gone on to scoop up a host of awards including two Grammys, two Brits and the songwriter of the year gong at the Ivor Novello awards.