Watch Pulp play ‘Something Changed’ as director Garth Jennings tells us about “celebratory” new film ‘What Do You Do For An Encore?’
The director of Pulp‘s new documentary and live film, Garth Jennings, has spoken to NME about the “celebratory” new movie What Do You Do For An Encore? and what the future holds with the band. Check out the interview below, along with an exclusive performance clip of ‘Something Changed’ above.
Directed by Garth Jennings – who helmed the classic music videos for Pulp’s ‘Help The Aged’ and ‘A Little Soul’ – the 90-minute movie captures the Sheffield icons’ two sold-out shows at The O2 in London last summer, featuring narration from the band, unseen archive material and rare behind-the-scenes footage. The movie also follows the group’s “extraordinary journey from obscurity to cultural touchstone” through to the tour for their first album in 24 years, ‘More’.
A highlight from the gig and the film is when Pulp take centre stage to perform a stripped-back performance of ‘Different Class’ highlight ‘Something Changed’ in tribute to their late, beloved bassist Steve Mackey.
“I do love it when they all come out together,” Jennings told NME. “There was a moment when the four of them stood in front of a curtain and sang ‘Something Changed’. I found that very moving, as that’s when you see the connection between them, told via how they got there by meeting up in a living room and seeing if they could still do it, but finding that they could.”
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The director continued: “There are lots of little shots of Steve from the past throughout the film, but overall he’s very much a part of it all. I saw that new documentary on Martin Short [Marty, Life Is Short]. He’s lost a lot of people in his life, but he says the trick is to never let them go and keep them in your life.
“That may well be the way this works. When you have these songs that are connected to Steve, then that’s going to keep him in our lives.”
Sharing his own memories of Mackey, Jennings continued: “He was so fucking cool, Jesus Christ. He had so many great haircuts. I’ve never had a great haircut in my life, but honestly that man always looked terrific. He was the loveliest guy as well.
“Everyone who has been in Pulp is so important in their own way, but especially Steve. It was always the two of Jarvis and Steve together when I’d see them.”
Speaking about the unique chemistry of the band and its long roster of past members, Jennings shared: “They’re an eclectic bunch of people, with very different personalities, almost different in every way – but when they come together, this magical thing happens. You need all of those personalities together for it to work. There’s something about having had that history – and when you’ve been through a lot with people, there’s a richness to it.
“They’re all vital ingredients. When you see it all together, it’s magnificent. I’d do them a disservice to try to sum it up, but they all bring something so effective. Even Candida [Doyle, keys] walking on with a glass of champagne to begin the show is such a statement. You’ve got this almost goddess enjoying her champagne, Nick’s thumping away on the drums, Mark is in a world of his own on the guitar, but it’s just about what happens when they get together.”
Jennings got involved with the project when he first offered to film the band after hearing rumblings of another reunion tour back in 2022. From there, he was asked to be creative director for all of the tour visuals. From there, it spiralled into making this career-spanning doc.
“I find their story so fascinating, and in many ways very reassuring,” Jennings shared. “It’s so full of ups and downs and slow starts, but all the way through there are these little signs – like John Peel or falling out of a window – that show that adversity can be your greatest asset. When things go wrong or go to plan, that could be the making of a whole new chapter. It’s almost an opportunity for adventure.
“Now, coming back and doing these huge shows, it’s better than ever. In many ways, they’ve got every reason to not do it. Maybe they could have been fearful of not living up to expectations, but that fear does not exist. It was just, ‘Let’s do something fabulous’. It’s an incredibly intoxicating culture to be around.”
In keeping with the band’s charity shop aesthetic and songs of the kitchen sink, Jennings shared how they worked hard to use found footage to hold the film together.
“We raided all of the band’s houses and have been through tons of stuff from the BBC,” he said. “Our archivist was amazing and also found some great period stock footage of times and places that felt like they were from the Pulp aesthetic, rather than just taking random things and making them work to tell the story.
“We just wrapped our arms around everything we could get our hands on and then just used everything from there that we could to tell that story, without falling into the traditional formats of documentaries,” he said. “We didn’t want the talking heads thing. Everything had to feel like it was found.”
He went on: “Jarvis says that what people throw away says a lot more about the culture than the objects they revere. I found that fascinating. That’s why all the stuff we used had to feel like it was found in basements.”
The film also points out the dynamic between the everyday content of the songs but how they’re brought to life in such an escapist way.
“It’s a contradiction because the songs feel so real and get into the nitty-gritty of things, but there’s this showmanship to the way it’s shared,” Jennings told NME. “It’s a really great combination of earthy realism and then staggering showmanship.”
Ultimately, Jennings said he was just as much a fan as anyone else at these shows and just wanted to share the euphoria.
“All I know is that I was thrilled when I heard this might happen,” he said. “I’m not a big nostalgia person, but I realised that was exactly what I was up for at that point: communal joy. When they played the O2 nights, the singing from the crowd was on the level I’ve never heard at a concert before. I’d never heard singing like it, but I think it’s because these people felt like I did, because they wanted this.
“Why did they want it? First of all, they love the music, but after everything they’ve all been through, whether it was COVID, or god knows what else, war-mongering monsters, can we please have something beautiful to remind us that this isn’t the entire story? Seeing Jarvis come up on a riser and say ‘Good evening’ is a wonderful way to be reminded that there is still magic and beauty up there.”
In keeping with the mood of the concert itself, Jennings said that the film was “geared around trying to make it as celebratory and accessible as possible”.
“That’s why it’s 90 minutes long: I’d rather people want more than it just be something that overstays its welcome,” he said.
But Pulp are far from overstaying their own welcome, with their love for being a band so evident throughout What Do You Do For An Encore? “It’s not like they’ve got to prove something or pay off a mortgage,” said Jennings. “It’s like, ‘Let’s go out and embrace what we’ve done: an unapologetically musical and theatrical experience. There are 18 of them on stage, but it’s so celebratory. They’re not making peace with the songs; they’re living them.”
Is he confident that Pulp are now back and here to stay?
“I am not confident in anything!” Jennings replied. “I don’t know what’s coming next. I am confident that the spirit of this band is so amazing and curious. They still have that same energy and jest, that I would not be surprised if this just continues. I have no idea where they are going next. There is a life force in there where it just seems like the best is yet to come. It’s really infectious to be around that kind of feeling. It’s this enthusiasm and curiosity on a level that you would expect from a 20-year-old.
“We thought, ‘What’s the moral of this story? Why are we still doing this?’ And Jarvis just said, ‘Well, why wouldn’t you?’ It feels like something is cooking.”
MUBI is previewing the movie for fans for one night only in UK and Irish cinemas tonight (Friday September 18) From there, it will head to Canadian theatres on September 23 and US cinemas on September 24. What Do You Do For An Encore? will then stream exclusively on MUBI from September 25.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.