PULP Elder Park Adelaide Festival - 27 February 2026 #REVIEW

The Return of Intelligent Pop as Pulp Open the Adelaide Festival

by Mary Boukouvalas

Pulp returned to Adelaide with the kind of presence that reminds you why Britpop mattered in the first place. At Elder Park during the Adelaide Festival on 27 February 2026, Jarvis Cocker and co delivered a free opening-night concert that felt less like a nostalgia trip and more like a living, breathing masterclass in personality-driven performance – a gift to the city, with donations encouraged to help support the festival’s future.

After a week of forecasts threatening showers, the skies cleared on the morning of the show – welcome news for fans lining up from gates opening at 5pm. The crowd reflected the band’s enduring reach: longtime devotees alongside younger fans discovering Pulp’s mix of wit, drama and sharp social observation for the first time. When the band finally arrived, Cocker immediately connected with the audience, thanking them for waiting three and a half hours and jokingly asking whether everyone had heatstroke.

The setlist moved confidently between eras and moods, from the swagger of Disco 2000 and Do You Remember the First Time? to the darker pull of This Is Hardcore and F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E. Crowd favourites like Babies, Mis-Shapes and Something Changed landed as massive singalongs, while deeper cuts such as Sorted for E’s & Wizz, Razzmatazz and Acrylic Afternoons added texture and surprise.

Musically, the band were razor sharp. Mark Webber’s understated guitar work grounded the songs, Candida Doyle’s keys shimmered across the mix, and Nick Banks’ driving rhythms pushed everything forward. At centre stage, Cocker was impossible to ignore – loose-limbed, animated and radiating that unmistakable offbeat sex appeal. He made every lyric feel alive and immediate.

After the euphoric rush of Common People, Cocker reflected that the track came from a conversation he once disagreed with, adding that listening to everyone’s opinions still matters – a comment that felt quietly pointed in the moment.

The night closed with A Sunset, a fittingly gentle comedown that also serves as the final track on More, leaving the crowd with a sense of warmth rather than finality.

Smart, funny and disarmingly human, Pulp proved their music still lands with urgency rather than nostalgia.

: PULP in Adelaide 2026 by Mary Boukouvalas

: PULP in Adelaide 2026 by Mary Boukouvalas

: PULP in Adelaide 2026 by Mary Boukouvalas

: PULP in Adelaide 2026 by Mary Boukouvalas

: PULP in Adelaide 2026 by Mary Boukouvalas

: PULP in Adelaide 2026 by Mary Boukouvalas

: PULP in Adelaide 2026 by Mary Boukouvalas

Setlist
Sorted for E’s & Wizz (from Different Class, 1995)
Disco 2000 (from Different Class, 1995)
Spike Island (from More, 2025)
Razzmatazz (from Intro – The Gift Recordings, 1993)
F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E.
Underwear (from Different Class, 1995)
Farmers Market (from More, 2025)
This Is Hardcore (from This Is Hardcore, 1998)
Sunrise (from We Love Life, 2001)
Something Changed (from Different Class, 1995)
Acrylic Afternoons (from His ‘n Hers, 1994)
Do You Remember the First Time? (from His ‘n Hers, 1994)
Mis-Shapes (from Different Class, 1995)
Got to Have Love (from More, 2025)
Babies (from His ‘n Hers, 1994)
Common People (from Different Class, 1995)
A Sunset (from More, 2025)