PULP BASSIST STEVE MACKEY DIES AT 56

Steve Mackey, the acclaimed bassist, songwriter and producer who made his name laying down dance-floor-friendly grooves for the British band Pulp during its 1990s pinnacle, as it transformed itself from a little-known art-rock collective to a festival-headlining Britpop powerhouse, died on Thursday, March 2, 2023 at age 56.
His death was announced on social media by his wife, Katie Grand. She did not say where he died or cite a cause, although she noted that he had died “after three months in hospital, fighting with all his strength and determination.”
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his son, Marley; his parents, Kath and Paul; and his sister, Michelle.
Mackey recorded five studio albums with Pulp over the course of a decade, starting with “Separations” in 1992. His tenure coincided with the most commercial and critically acclaimed era for this long-running, ever-evolving band, as it emerged from obscurity in Sheffield, England, and, after a series of false starts, took its place in the English pop firmament along with Oasis, Blur and other supernovas of the so-called Cool Britannia era.
In 1995, the influential British music magazine Melody Maker anointed Pulp the band of the year, a notable accomplishment in a year that also saw the release of Oasis’s era-defining album “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?” That same year, the band headlined the star-studded Glastonbury rock festival after the scheduled headliners, the Stone Roses, dropped out. It was a meteoric rise for a garage-band bassist who had started his association with the band as a mere fan.
Stephen Patrick Mackey was born on November 10, 1966, in Sheffield, a historically industrial city in South Yorkshire, England. In his early years he attended Hucklow First and Middle Schools with friend Richard Hawley. They would later play together as members of Pulp. He was in his late teens when he started catching gigs by Pulp, which was already a respected band on the local scene.
Mackey attended Hinde House Comprehensive in Sheffield before undertaking further studies at Richmond College of Further Education. Before joining Pulp, he played bass for another Sheffield band called Trolley Dog Shag, who were featured alongside Pulp on a Dolebusters compilation album in 1987.
Jarvis Cocker, Pulp’s lead singer, made an immediate impression with his haunted air and chiseled looks. “I was amazed by Jarvis,” Mackey said in a 2021 video interview. “He was really a striking frontman, and the songs were really powerful; they’re quite dark as well.”
Mackey befriended Cocker, although he did not entertain thoughts of lobbying to play with Pulp. “They seemed self-contained, quite aloof,” he said in a 1996 interview for the band’s website. “I was into really noisy bands, garage bands, and Pulp were like an art band.”
Besides, the band, formed in 1978, hardly seemed on a fast track to stardom. By the time Mackey joined in 1987, Pulp had cycled through multiple lineups and had failed to generate much of a stir with its first two albums, “It” (1983) and “Freaks” (1986).
Mackey moved to London in 1988 to pursue an interest in film-making and graduated from London’s Royal College of Art, in 1992, MA Film. Joining Pulp in 1989, the band began developing a more pop-friendly sound, and the first single from “Separations,” the ice-cool dance track “My Legendary Girlfriend,” finally gave Pulp a taste of mainstream success. The British music newspaper NME named it a “single of the week.”
He continued to write, record and tour with the band as they found success in the 1990s. Subsequent albums recorded included “Intro – The Gift Recordings”, “His ‘n’ Hers”, “Different Class”, “This Is Hardcore” and “We Love Life”.
With Hollywood-worthy looks and an image of tailored cool, Mackey provided the pulsing bass lines that helped whip audiences into a frenzy as Pulp cycled through glam-rock, acid-house, disco and indie-pop influences on 1990s anthems like “Common People” and “Disco 2000,” two of the five Top 10 singles the band notched in Britain.
In the ensuing years, Mackey, who had contributed to the writing of the band’s songs along with Cocker and the other members, kept busy as a producer and songwriter. Mackey also worked with John Gosling (formerly of Psychic TV) as a music director and sound designer creating mixes and original compositions for films, museums and other commercial projects, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Louvre in Paris, and the Minsheng Art Museum in Shanghai.
Forming a songwriting/production partnership with Ross Orton (known as Cavemen), he met Maya Arulpragasam (M.I.A.) and co-wrote and produced “Galang” and “Sunshowers”, which led to M.I.A. securing a deal with Interscope Records and releasing “Arular”. They worked together again on “Bird Flu” from her subsequent album “Kala”. Mackey and Orton continued to produce and remix for artists including Kelis, Cornershop, The Kills and The Horrors. Mackey also produced and co-wrote songs for Florence and the Machine’s debut album “Lungs”, including “Kiss with a Fist”, “Girl with One Eye” and “Swimming” and also The Long Blondes’ debut album “Someone to Drive You Home”.
He had a cameo role in the 2005 film “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” as the bassist for a wizard supergroup called Weird Sisters, alongside Cocker, as well as Jonny Greenwood and Philip Selway of Radiohead.
In 2006, Mackey and Cocker curated an acclaimed 2 CD compilation called “The Trip” featuring music from various eras including Moondog, Carl Orff, The Birthday Party, The Fall and the theme to Radio 4’s Shipping Forecast.
From 2003 to 2008, Mackey co-curated the music program of London’s annual Frieze International Art Fair, which included performances from Karlheinz Stockhausen, Sunn O))), Glenn Branca, and Rodney Graham.
During this period he continued to record and tour with Jarvis Cocker, in 2006 for his debut solo album for Rough Trade Records (Jarvis) and again in 2008 recording the album “Further Complications” at Electrical Studios, Chicago with Steve Albini.
After an 8-year hiatus Mackey returned to activity with Pulp in 2010 and their subsequent world tours in 2011 and 2012 and the release of their single “After You”, working with producer James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem.
Mackey was an avid photographer, and he spun out a side career in the 2010s shooting fashion campaigns for brands like Armani Exchange and Marc Jacobs while collaborating with his wife, a stylist and fashion journalist, on her fashion magazine, Love.
In 2011 Mackey produced Summer Camp’s “Welcome to Condale” album and in 2012 he again worked as producer for Palma Violets’ debut album on Rough Trade Records, 180, released in February 2013. Also in 2012 he produced “Railroad Track” by Willy Moon released on Jack White’s Third Man Records, and played with drummer Seb Rochford as the rhythm section for tracks on Serafina Steers’ “The Moths Are Real” LP.
In 2014 Mackey recorded and mixed for Dean Blunt’s “Black Metal” album and in 2015 began working with Yak, recording their single “No” released on Third Man Records. He mixed Danny Goffey of Supergrass’ “Take Your Jacket Off and Get into It” LP. Yak’s “Alas Salvation” LP was recorded with him during the rest of 2015 and released in early 2016. Also in 2016, he began the Call This Number guerrilla TV project with Jeannette Lee, formerly of Public Image Ltd. and Douglas Hart, former bassist of the Jesus and Mary Chain, making erratic film broadcasts from a North London garage. Artists he recorded for this included Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Dennis Bovell, Sleaford Mods, Primal Scream, and Gruff Rhys.
In 2017 Mackey was awarded an Ivor Novello Award along with the other members of Pulp for Outstanding Song Collection presented by Peter Saville, graphic designer of record sleeves for Joy Division, New Order and Pulp.
He joined Pulp on a reunion tour in 2011 and 2012, but declined to join one scheduled for 2023, explaining on social media in October ’22 that he desired “to continue the work I’m engaged in — music, filmmaking and photography projects.”
After Mackey’s death, Cocker posted on Instagram a photo of Mackey trekking up a rocky trail in the Andes in 2012. “We had a day off & Steve suggested we go climbing in the Andes,” Cocker wrote. Calling it a “magical experience,” he continued: “Steve made things happen. In his life & in the band. & we’d very much like to think that he’s back in those mountains now, on the next stage of his adventure.”