This is Hardcore: new book explores the visual world of Pulp’s seminal album

Daria Hufnagel
·2 min read
Jarvis Cocker in front of a green screen during the ‘Party Hard’ video shoot, August 1998 (Paul Burgess)
Jarvis Cocker in front of a green screen during the ‘Party Hard’ video shoot, August 1998 (Paul Burgess)

During the latter part of the 1990s, armed with an old Lomo camera, a vintage Pentax SLR, and a plastic 3D camera, designer and photographer Paul Burgess embarked on a documentation journey of the band Pulp both on and off stage.

During that period, the group led by Jarvis Cocker were on the verge of recording what would eventually become their seminal album, This is Hardcore (1998). Burgess was there for all of it, capturing the band’s concerts, video shoots, and DJ sets using photography, collage, and video.

Documenting both private and public moments of the band during the album’s creation, Burgess’s photography and distinctive photomontages are now featured in his book Hardcore: The Cinematic World of PULP, co-authored with creative director Louise Colbourne.

Twenty-five years on from the release of This is Hardcore, the material, stowed away in Burgess’s archive all this time, offers a unique glimpse into the band’s creative processes and, through previously unseen images and behind-the-scenes interviews, invites readers on a cinematic journey into the world of Pulp.

‘Hardcore: The Cinematic World of PULP’ is available from Thames & Hudson here

Jarvis Cocker in the dressing rooms at Pinewood Studios, taken with a 3D camera (Paul Burgess)
Jarvis Cocker in the dressing rooms at Pinewood Studios, taken with a 3D camera (Paul Burgess)
Jan Marie von Giebelhausen and Nick Banks during the ‘This is Hardcore’ video shoot in February 1998 (Paul Burgess)
Jan Marie von Giebelhausen and Nick Banks during the ‘This is Hardcore’ video shoot in February 1998 (Paul Burgess)
A ‘twinned’ Cocker at Pinewood Studios (Paul Burgess)
A ‘twinned’ Cocker at Pinewood Studios (Paul Burgess)
Cocker brought a bag of his own shoes for the many different scenes involved in the February 1998 video shoot of ‘This is Hardcore’ (Paul Burgess)
Cocker brought a bag of his own shoes for the many different scenes involved in the February 1998 video shoot of ‘This is Hardcore’ (Paul Burgess)
Dancers during the ‘Party Hard’ video shoot at Asylum Studios in August 1998 (Paul Burgess)
Dancers during the ‘Party Hard’ video shoot at Asylum Studios in August 1998 (Paul Burgess)
Collage of filmstrips from ‘This is Hardcore’ (Paul Burgess)
Collage of filmstrips from ‘This is Hardcore’ (Paul Burgess)
Jarvis Cocker during the ‘This is Hardcore’ video shoot (Paul Burgess)
Jarvis Cocker during the ‘This is Hardcore’ video shoot (Paul Burgess)
Graphic design for ‘Hardcore: The Cinematic World of PULP’ (Louise Colbourne)
Graphic design for ‘Hardcore: The Cinematic World of PULP’ (Louise Colbourne)
The book features interviews from then and now by the video directors, band members and other artists involved with the album (Thames & Hudson)
The book features interviews from then and now by the video directors, band members and other artists involved with the album (Thames & Hudson)
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