Pulp performed ‘A Sunset’ live for the first time at Flow Festival this weekend.
The song, which is co-written by Richard Hawley, was first performed in 2022 when he and Jarvis Cocker debuted it at The Leadmill in their native Sheffield.
Earlier this year it made another appearance, performed by Cocker before he delivered ‘Biophobia’ at GEI (Green Events and Innovations conference) in London in March, when a 30-minute multimedia presentation featured the unreleased song.
Now, the track has been played by the band for the first time, while Pulp performed on the main stage at the Helsinki festival on Sunday (August 11). The moment saw Hawley join them for the rendition, and it arrived as the final song, following on from fan-favourite ‘Common People’.
Pulp’s setlist at Flow Festival 2024 was:
‘I Spy’
‘Disco 2000’
‘O.U. (Gone, Gone)’
‘Something Changed’
‘Pink Glove’
‘Weeds’
‘Weeds II (The Origin of the Species)’
‘F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E.’
‘Sorted for E’s & Wizz’
‘This Is Hardcore’
‘Do You Remember the First Time?’
‘Babies’
‘Sunrise’ (with Richard Hawley)
‘Like a Friend’
‘Common People’ (with Richard Hawley)
‘A Sunset’ (with Richard Hawley)
Speaking to NME earlier this year, Cocker suggested the track could at some point be officially released, and confirmed Pulp’s touring plans will extend well into 2025.
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“A lot of people have said they’ve been quite touched by it,” Cocker said of the song. “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.
“Richard gave me a recording of him playing the chords quite a while ago. I wrote some words for it.”
In other Pulp news, the band recently played ‘Bar Italia’ for first time in 12 years, and Cocker teamed up with The Jesus & Mary Chain for a performance of ‘Just Like Honey’ during their performance at the Medimex festival.