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During Pulp's exceptional 1990s peak, attempting to upstage Jarvis Cocker was a foolish undertaking, but bassist Steve Mackey, who passed away at the age of 56 following a prolonged period of illness, came quite close. Mackey, an exemplar of self-contained cool and dance-influenced grooves, played a crucial role in defining the Pulp sound and look. While Cocker was the insinuating, finger-pointing extrovert on stage, Mackey, who was reserved and elegant, was an attraction in his own right. His basslines gave Pulp a disco undertow that set them apart from their indie peers.

After joining the band in 1989, the Sheffield group underwent a transformation. No longer struggling art-rockers, they became danceable art-poppers and found their own place as Britpop's unconventional outliers.

Mackey’s description of their sound was, without much exaggeration, “Eastern European Balkans disco with acid house and Sheffield bleep music.”

During the mid-1990s when Pulp was making waves, some of their success could also be attributed to Steve Mackey's expertise in managing the band's visuals alongside Jarvis Cocker in the early years. As a graduate of the Royal College of Art in film, Mackey was in charge of overseeing graphics and video concepts with Cocker, who had studied film and video at Central Saint Martins in London.

When selecting the artwork for their critically acclaimed 1994 album, "His 'n' Hers," Pulp opted for Philip Castle due to their admiration of his poster design for "A Clockwork Orange." The band received exactly what they paid for. Castle's hyper-realistic drawing style portrayed each member with a confrontational appearance, with Steve Mackey standing at the back and wearing a "come on, then" expression. On the other hand, despite his height of 6'2" and striking good looks, Mackey was also capable of exuding a smoldering teen-idol appearance, as captured in an early-1990s photo by Jean-Baptiste Mondino.

Steve Mackey was not only passionate about music, but he also had a deep love for photography, which he eventually turned into a second career in the 2010s. He went on to shoot campaigns for top fashion brands such as Armani Exchange, Miu Miu, and Marc Jacobs's 2018 Redux Grunge collection. Additionally, he worked for the fashion magazine Love, which was founded by his wife, the stylist and editor Katie Grand. The couple had been together since 1997 and happily lived together for a decade. In 2008, Grand stated in an interview with The Observer that Steve Mackeyhad no desire to get married, and she had no interest in having children. However, Steve Mackey later changed his mind, and in 2009, they tied the knot in New York State.

After taking an eight-year hiatus in the 2000s, Pulp returned for a tour in 2011-2012. However, even if the reunion had lasted beyond the tour, Steve Mackey was by then a busy freelance record producer and remixer. He worked on Florence + the Machine's debut album, Lungs, Arcade Fire's 2017 album Everything Now, and MIA's Kala (2007) and Arular (2005) albums as a producer and/or writer. Steve Mackey's extensive remixing credits include Kelis's Bossy (2006) and Cornershop's Topknot (2009).

Despite his busy schedule, Steve Mackey remained close with Jarvis Cocker, and the two collaborated on a DJ event called Dancefloor Meditations. The event was an attempt to combine a guided meditation class with a nightclub experience, and it was staged at festivals and the 2017 Frieze Art Fair. However, this was their last significant collaboration. In October 2022, Pulp announced tour dates for summer 2023, but Mackey revealed that he was not involved.

“I’ve decided to continue the work I’m engaged in – music, film-making and photography projects, and will not be joining them,” he wrote on Instagram.

Pulp's 2012 tour in South America. The picture captured Mackey leading the way on a mountain path, having proposed to the band that hiking in the Andes would be the best way to spend their day off.

“Steve made things happen. In his life & in the band,” Cocker wrote.

Steve Mackey was born in Sheffield to Kath (nee Harrison) and Paul Mackey, and was one of two siblings. He attended Hinde House Comprehensive School in Sheffield before studying at Richmond College of Further Education, after which he began searching for a way to break into the music industry.

In an interview with Pulp’s fan club magazine in the 90s, he answered the question “Embarrassing past life?” with “Had long hair and was a member of a group called Trolley Dog Shag.”

Having attended early Pulp gigs, Mackey became acquainted with Cocker, and when both were accepted into universities in London during the late 1980s, Cocker invited him to join the band. At the time, Pulp's prospects were grim, as they were out of sync with the indie scene, which was dominated by Madchester groups and American grunge bands. However, by 1996, Pulp had become renowned as the group behind the groundbreaking No. 1 album Different Class (1995), with Mackey being celebrated as a key member.

“I think if you’re in a band that are popular, you might as well enjoy it.”

Stephen Patrick Mackey, musician and photographer, born 10 November 1966; died 2 March 2023