Truth and Beauty: the Story of Pulp

by Mark Sturdy

Pulp are considered by many to be one of the most innovative and popular bands of the late 20th century with top ten singles including "Common People" and "Disco 2000" and acclaimed albums including "This is Hardcore" and "We Love Life". However, their history goes back much further than that. The band was formed at school by Jarvis Cocker as far back as 1978. In the 15 years it took before the band enjoyed any success, they went through copious line-ups, bizarre stories and many records. From the late 1990s, long-time Pulp fan Mark Sturdy has been uncovering Pulp's history, speaking to members, ex-members and associates of the band, from their first ever bassist David "Fungus" Lockwood through to the people who were there for those now legendary early concerts and recordings. He also talks to Jarvis Cocker's sister Saskia and band member Nick Banks. The vast majority of people interviewed have never spoken at length to the media before and the result is an exhaustive exposition of Pulp's untold story, both before and after the band's mid '90s breakthrough.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction

484 pages, Paperback

First published July 14, 2003

Reviews

[l · Rating 3 out of 5]

read it all in one go! it really doesn't tell you much more than you would have learned from obsessively reading the pulp interviews online (nb: Jarvis et al declined to be interviewed for this book so there is really nothing new here) and it spends A LOT of time on the pre-britpop years, which is kind of tedious tbh.

my real problem with this bio was really that his writing is really unprofessional - there's this sudden drop in registers from somewhat formal to completely casual (irritating WINKS to the audience, re: for example, jarvis' comment that he hasn't been in a relationship like the one in 'pink glove')

also there was absolutely no reason to disparage 'this is hardcore' in favour of 'party hard' (or praise to the skies the totp perf of 'party hard')

verdict: well researched, i suppose, but D U L L and slightly irritating

[Kailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

When writing a biography, you're not supposed to express you're opinion all over the place. Mark Sturdy did, I didn't mind tuntil he trashed "This is Hardcore" to the point of self indulgence. Other than that, a really well researched book and a pleasure to read.

[Darya · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author's opinion on some things shines a little too bright in the second part of the book, and a lot of random names that you can't possible (care to) remember get thrown around in the first half, but still a good and quite comprehensive read on the history of Pulp, lots of interviews' excerpts put together quite seamlessly.

[Nicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely well researched and extensive, but quite dry reading. I guess I hoped to learn more about the group as people and their personal lives, but this is very focused on the band’s path (not a bad thing, and exactly what it says it is).

[korē · Rating 3 out of 5]

nowhere near as horrible as some of these reviews suggest but not a riot to read either… not hagiographic, which it shouldn’t be, but does lack a certain sense of gravity… the pulp songs blog does a much better job at getting at the core of what made them so special

[Roberto]

very good reading, some chapters are very hard to read

[Steven Garbas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The definitive Pulp text. Mandatory for real fans...and Sturdy should update with a new addition after the WLL deluxe is finally reissued.

[Tricia Z · Rating 3 out of 5]

The charm of this book comes from Sturdy's complete love of the band severely biasing his writing. While most of the information is taken from interviews easily accessible today, they were less so ten years ago when it was published and there's a wealth of knowledge about early pulp that's hard to find elsewhere. His point by point breakdowns of the albums can get a bit tedious but to a hardcore pulp fan this book is certainly worth a read and can evoke a lot of emotion for them.

[Itzel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought that this book certainly gave a great inside look to this amazing band's early career! A must-read!

[Queeneliza1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for all Pulp fans, a great biography of Jarvis Cocker