FOLLOW US

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