St Anne's Park Preview: Pulp, The 1975. The Lumineers and more

The Lumineers (June 2)

Extending their Brightside world tour, The Lumineers 'ho, hey' their way onto the stage at St Anne's Park this June. Colorado-based duo Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites recently had an extremely successful US run, and will be joined in Dublin by a brace of excellent support acts, Norwegian pop star Sigrid and Aussie singer-songwriter Vance Joy as. As well as tracks like 'Where We Are' and 'A.M. Radio' from last year's Brightside, fans can also expect to hear favourites like 'Ophelia', 'Cleopatra' and 'Stubborn Love'.

Soft Cell (June 3)

'80s icons Soft Cell follow hot on The Lumineers' heels, with their 'Nostalgia Machine' rolling into Dublin the following evening. Hits like 'Tainted Love', 'Where Did Our Love Go' and more are sure to see the crowd dancing all night, after Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Heaven 17 and Sophie Ellis Bexter do the opening honours . The English synth-pop duo released their first album in 20 years last year, Happiness Not Included, with the Pet Shop Boys collaboration 'Purple Zone' one of the standout tracks.

Soft Cell. Credit: Andrew Whitton

Lionel Richie (June 4)

A bona fide pop culture icon, the Alabama-born superstar is set to stun St. Anne's Park, accompanied by The Human League. His 'An Evening with Lionel Richie' tour is taking him across the world, with audiences delighting in the pop thrills of 'All Night Long', 'Dancing On The Ceiling' and 'Endless Love'. Guaranteed to be a night of feel good hits, this is one shows fans of classic pop won't want to miss.

The 1975 (June 7)

In news at the moment for his rumoured relationship with chart-topping American princess, Taylor Swift, previous Hot Press cover star Matty Healy and the rest of his crew are bringing their 'At Their Very Best' tour back to Ireland. The English rockers thrilled a sold out crowd back in January 2023 at 3Arena, and surprised fans a month later with news that they'd return. Healy has spent months making headlines for his controversial stage show, from kissing fans to begrudgingly recreating TikTok sounds that fans have gone mad for. Nevertheless, fans can expect a proper extravaganza from the band, who have been touring their newest album Being Funny In A Foreign Language since last year.

The 1975. Credit: Samuel Bradley

Pulp (June 9)

Sheffield rockers Pulp close out St Anne's Park gigs with the Dublin date of their Encore Tour. The Britpop band last played live in 2013, and a decade later, they've plotted a UK and Ireland tour, bringing Richard Hawley and The Orielle along for the ride. Upon the announcement, Cocker said: "Three months ago, we asked, 'What exactly do you do for an encore?' Well... An encore happens when the crowd makes enough noise to bring the band back to the stage. So... We are playing in the UK & Ireland in 2023. Therefore... Come along & make some noise." You can expect fans to do just that when the group let rip on classics like 'Disco 2000' and the immortal 'Common People'.

Spotlight on Pulp:

Back on the road for the first time in a decade, Britpop legends Pulp will be making a hotly anticipated visit to St. Anne's Park in June.

It is a measure of Pulp's enduring popularity that, despite not having released a new single in 10 years and a new album in over 20, they will still play to packed houses this summer.

In a tribute to the band's quality control, that 2013 single, 'After You', was one of their finest ever songs. An irresistible disco-punk number produced by LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy, it boasted Jarvis Cocker's trademark ingenious wordplay and biting social commentary.

Formed by Cocker in Sheffield in 1978, the group famously served a gruelling apprenticeship, not finding mass popularity until the Britpop movement shot them to stardom in the mid-'90s. They really gained critical traction with 1994's His & Hers album and the companion Sisters EP, two sublime records that suggested the band were on the verge of something big.

That something duly arrived the following summer, when the band – filling in for The Stone Roses, whose guitarist John Squire had broken his arm mountain biking – delivered one of the most famous ever Glastonbury headlining sets. It climaxed with a rip-roaring version of 'Common People', Cocker's scalding commentary on class politics that was then riding high in the charts.

Later in the year, they sealed their ascension to the big leagues with Different Class. Like Parklife, it was an era-defining album stuffed to bursting with singalong pop anthems, including 'Disco 2000' and 'Sorted For E's and Wizz'. By early '96, however, the post-Britpop hangover had already started to kick in.

Pulp

Very much the outsider's outsider, who struggled to adjust to life in the spotlight, Cocker infamously spent a night in the cells after jumping onstage at Michael Jackson's overblown Brit Awards performance in February (comedian Bob Mortimer, an ex-solicitor, took it upon himself to try and get the singer released).

In a cultural moment that could scarcely have been more '90s, meanwhile, Cocker had an on-off relationship with New York It Girl Chloe Sevigny, as his disillusionment with fame simultaneously grew to chronic levels. The result was Pulp's second consecutive masterpiece, 1998's This Is Hardcore, a much darker effort that proved there was serious substance beneath the catchy pop melodies.

In the classic English tradition of Ray Davies, Martin Fry and Morrissey, Cocker was an arch lyricist with a truly brilliant eye for detail, again showcased not only on This Is Hardcore, but also the superb 'Mile End'. A memorable portrait of the nightmares of squatting and urban degradation, it was one of the highlights of an all-time classic soundtrack, 1996's Trainspotting.

Whilst they most definitely had more in the tank creatively, Pulp decided to go out on a high with 2001's We Love Life, a brighter and more optimistic effort produced by one of Cocker's heroes, reclusive art-pop genius Scott Walker.

During Pulp's subsequent decade-long hiatus, Cocker emerged as something of a UK national treasure, hosting a popular BBC radio show; releasing a number of well-received solo records; and even collaborating with electronic maestros Air during a sojourn in France. However, Pulp was clearly an itch he needed to scratch, and so the band embarked on a successful reunion tour in 2011, which included a headlining slot at Electric Picnic.

Still, Cocker and co., have always been a group to leave fans wanting more, and following the acclaim for 'After You' and the career-spanning 2014 documentary, Pulp: A Film About Life, Death & Supermarkets, they called it quits for close to another decade. Sadly, the band will perform this summer without original bassist Steve Mackey, who passed away earlier in 2023 at the very untimely age of 56.

No doubt, the band will be celebrating his memory during their current tour, which includes their eagerly anticipated Dublin date.

Pulp play St. Anne's Park on June 9.

Read the full June Gig Special – presented in association with MCD – in the current issue of Hot Press: