Pulp donate to Live Trust’s grassroots venues fund with £1 addition on UK arena tour tickets
Pulp will be the first band to contribute to the LIVE Trust, where £1 from every ticket sold at their summer 2025 UK arena tour will be given to fund financial support to those working across live music.
The LIVE Trust, which was set up in the wake of last year’s CMS Select Committee investigation into the state of the grassroots, will dish out vital funding and act on behalf of the live music industry, which contributes £6.1billion to the UK economy while employing 230,000 people.
David Martin of the Featured Artists Coalition told NME in January that he hopes a levy would be introduced by some artists to support the initiative; “what I would like to see happen is a £1 blanket levy on all gigs above a 5,000 capacity very quickly with that funding going to the Live Trust and distributed between venues and artists in parity, with some of the money going to promoters as well.”
Pulp has been announced as the first band to pledge £1 from each of their tickets sold from their upcoming tour to the scheme.
“As the first UK band to endorse our mission, Pulp is championing the future of UK live music by backing a £1 ticket addition that directly supports grassroots venues, festivals, and emerging talent across the UK,” the social media announcement post reads. “Their commitment shows that live music is about passion, community, and a sustainable future.”
Other artists have also introduced levies on their tickets, donating some of the money from each sale to various causes. Katy Perry announced that £1 from every ticket from her UK tour will go to Music Venue Trust (MVT), while acts like Sam Fender and Coldplay have pledged the same.
Pulp will play six live arena shows in the UK and Ireland, set to kick off in Glasgow on June 7. From there, they’ll head to Dublin before playing two shows at London’s O2 Arena on June 13 and 14. The Sheffield icons will go on to perform in Birmingham, before wrapping up in Manchester on June 21.
Pulp’s 2025 tour dates are:
JUNE
7 – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
10 – Dublin 3Arena
13 – London, The O2
14 – London, The O2
19 – Birmingham, Utilita Arena
21 – Manchester, Co-op Live
The band reunited in 2023 for the first Pulp shows since 2012, and played various new songs while out on the road, such as ‘Farmer’s Market’, ‘Spike Island’, ‘My Sex’, ‘You’ve Got To Have Love’, ‘Background Noise’ and ‘A Sunset’.
Then, last summer, it was reported that the group were “back in the studio” after frontman Cocker was spotted in Walthamstow, London. The singer was pictured carrying an orange Rough Trade tote bag while waving at the camera.
In October 2023, drummer Nick Banks downplayed the chances of Pulp releasing a new album soon, and said their reunion concerts were “more about getting the party back”.
“I’m not sure if any of us have a real appetite for that because you have to put three to five years of your life into it,” he told NME. “In terms of writing, recording, then touring, it would be really difficult. I can’t see it happening myself – we’ve got other things to do.”
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Aneesa Ahmed
NME
