Shetland’s biggest gig – the day Pulp flew in to Lerwick

Twenty-five years ago, Pulp were at the peak of their fame and success. They had scored major chart success with some of the defining songs of the Britpop era, and had just played to 70,000 at T in the Park.

So why, only a few weeks later, were they performing in front of 1,400 young fans in Shetland?

The show at the Clickimin Centre in Lerwick on 13 August 1996 was a formative experience for many of those in the audience.

Alan Donald was 12 years old and had only recently moved to Shetland from West Lothian.

"I got my ticket handed to me on the day of the gig," he recalls.

"That sort of gig, on the [Scottish] mainland, there's not a chance I was going to that on my own.

"It was my very first concert - I think it was a high bar for just having moved to Shetland.

"I was thinking Oasis and Blur are surely just weeks behind them."

That wouldn't prove to be the case, and many believe the show remains the biggest concert Shetland has ever seen.

Demand was understandably high. Entry was priced at £15, although some tickets changed hands for up to £100.

"There were people organising pre-Pulp parties," remembers islander Hazel Robertson.

"There was a bunch of us went and nearly missed the first song."

Davie Gardner was one of those involved in organising the concert at the Shetland end.

"You could tell at the soundcheck that the band were really up for it," he said.

"The response from the audience was absolutely amazing - that's probably the best reaction I ever saw to any band in Shetland."

The show came at the end of a long global tour for Pulp, who had found mainstream success with singles like Common People and the Different Class album after more than a decade of relative obscurity.

But why did they end up playing in Shetland?

Keyboard player Candida Doyle said it was due to a family connection.

"I used to live with my cousin Louise Davis in Sheffield," she said.

Louise was originally from Shetland, and had moved back home - but not before having a brainwave.

"It might have been a joke, but she suggested to Jarvis (Cocker) we play Shetland.

"It seemed like a crazy idea, but he took it on board."

It was a complex gig to set up, and the guest list ended up being "astronomical".

But Davie said the band's rider for the show was unusual in its lack of demands.

"We had to get a couple of Airfix models," he said.

"I got a call the next day from the hotel to say the band had left behind a Lancaster bomber."

The Shetland show took place at a turning point for the band. The set list featured the first performance of Help the Aged, a track from their next album, This Is Hardcore, which saw Pulp moving in a darker direction.

Pulp had played more than 100 shows on the Different Class tour. Candida described it as a "really gruelling" experience, and said the stress got too much towards the end.

"Steve (Mackey), our bass player, said 'one of us is going to lose it on this tour' and it just triggered this huge panic attack.

"I suddenly felt really hot. And I just thought that I needed to get off the bus."

She said touring had "passed the point of being enjoyable".

"By the time we played Shetland, I'd absolutely had it," she added.

But despite feeling jaded about their punishing schedule, the experience in Shetland left an impression on Candida.

"One of my memories is that it was a crazy night, absolutely electric.

"As much as I'm saying that by the time we played Shetland I'd had enough, I still feel so blessed to have been in a position like this. I feel so grateful."

She also takes comfort in the significance of the show for the young crowd.

"I love that. You know, I really would like to have attended it.

"I love small gigs anyway, but it was just amazing."

Hazel Robertson had seen Pulp twice before they came to Shetland, once at T in the Park and once headlining Glastonbury in 1995.

But she said: "Seeing them on your home soil was absolutely amazing."

Referencing one of the band's lyrics, she added: "As Jarvis said, I lost my friends and danced alone.

"They stand up as well as anyone else. I don't think their music gets old."

For Davie, the show stands out as a unique night in local music history.

"I don't think anything here really ever equalled that. We never quite had a band at the peak of their powers again in Shetland."