Steve Mackey; tributes paid to Pulp bass player who has died aged 56

Britpop and the music world at large are mourning the death of Pulp bassist, Steve Mackey.
Benjamin Jackson
By Benjamin Jackson
2nd Mar 2023, 4:19pm
Pulp (left to right) Nick Banks, Candida Doyle, Mark Webber, Steve Mackey and Jarvis Cocker of Pulp, with the award for Outstanding Song Collection during the 62nd Annual Ivor Novello Music Awards at Grosvenor House in London. Mackey, the bass guitarist of Britpop band Pulp, has died aged 56.Pulp (left to right) Nick Banks, Candida Doyle, Mark Webber, Steve Mackey and Jarvis Cocker of Pulp, with the award for Outstanding Song Collection during the 62nd Annual Ivor Novello Music Awards at Grosvenor House in London. Mackey, the bass guitarist of Britpop band Pulp, has died aged 56.
Pulp (left to right) Nick Banks, Candida Doyle, Mark Webber, Steve Mackey and Jarvis Cocker of Pulp, with the award for Outstanding Song Collection during the 62nd Annual Ivor Novello Music Awards at Grosvenor House in London. Mackey, the bass guitarist of Britpop band Pulp, has died aged 56.

Steve Mackey, the bass player for one of Britpop’s most beloved acts, Pulp, has died aged 56 the band have confirmed. In an Instagram post earlier today (March 2), the band wrote “Our beloved friend & bass player Steve Mackey passed away this morning. Our thoughts are with his family & loved ones” while publishing an image of when the band climbed the Andes during the 2012 South American tour.

Mackey joined Sheffield outfit Pulp in 1989, having played for a number of other local acts, and made his studio debut with the band on their 1992 album Sepertions. He became a mainstay with the band, rejoining them after an eight-year absence to tour once again in 2010 - leading to their tour of South America.

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Mackey was set to tour with Pulp later in the year with the Britpop favourites, led by Jarvis Cocker, set for a series of dates across the United Kingdom. No decision has been made so far if the shows will still go ahead without one of their original members. The tour was scheduled to start May of this year - a long awaited return for one of Cool Britannia’s favourite underdog stories.

BBC 6 Music has been leading the tributes online, writing on their Twitter account “We are very sad to hear the news that Pulp bassist Steve Mackey has died at the age of 56. Pulp shared a tribute, informing fans that their "beloved" bass player had passed away on Thursday morning. Our thoughts are with his family and his friends.

Related topics:BritpopInstagramSheffieldUnited Kingdom

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