‘MOST TALENTED MAN’

Steve Mackey, Pivotal Pulp Guitarist, Dies at 56

“Steve made things happen. In his life & the band,” the band shared in a Twitter tribute.

Steve Mackey, who played bass guitar for British rock band Pulp during the band’s most prominent years, has died. He was 56. Mackey’s wife, Katie Grand, announced he died following three months in the hospital “fighting with all his strength and determination.” “Steve was the most talented man I have ever known, an exceptional musician, producer, photographer and filmmaker,” Grand said on Instagram. No cause of death has been provided. Mackey first appeared on Pulp’s third album, Separations, after joining the band in 1989, then stayed on as Pulp shot to mainstream success throughout the 1990s. The band broke up in 2002 but reunited in the early 2010s, with Mackey returning. The band’s official Twitter posted a tribute Thursday, sharing a picture of Mackey climbing the Andes Mountains during the band’s South America tour in 2012. “Steve made things happen. In his life & the band,” the band said. “We’d very much like to think that he’s back in those mountains now, on the next stage of his adventure.” The band’s second reunion tour is planned for this summer, but Mackey had already decided not to return last year. “I’m exceptionally proud of the body of work we’ve created together,” he said in October 2022. “However I’ve decided to continue the work I’m engaged in — music, film-making and photography projects.”