Pulp Scores First Airplay Chart Appearance in the U.S.

After nearly 50 years as a band, Pulp has finally made an appearance on an airplay-based Billboard chart.

The English band’s “Spike Island,” the lead single from its upcoming album More, bows at No. 38 on the Adult Alternative Airplay survey dated May 10.

The Jarvis Cocker-led act first appeared on any Billboard tally in 1996 and reached the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart once with This Is Hardcore, which spent two weeks on the tally and peaked at No. 114 in 1998.

Prior to the debut of “Spike Island,” Pulp had just two entries on a songs-based Billboard chart. “After You” peaked at No. 5 on Dance Singles Sales in 2013, while “Sunrise” appeared on the LyricFind U.S. list last year.

More is the first album from Pulp in 23 years, following 2001’s We Love Life. The band has broken up and reunited multiple times throughout its career; after forming in 1978, it initially disbanded in 2002 before coming together again in 2011. Following another hiatus after 2013, Pulp returned in 2022.

Frontman Cocker has one previous chart appearance, peaking at No. 22 on Dance/Mix Show Airplay in 2021 as a featured act on Hot Chip’s “Straight to the Morning.”

Though Pulp’s chart activity in the U.S. has not been as robust, the band boasts a pair of No. 1s on the Official Albums Chart in its native United Kingdom via 1995’s Different Class and 1998’s This Is Hardcore.

More is set for a June 6 release via Rough Trade.