Nigel Pulsford

In 1979, aged 18, Pulsford was involved in various bands with friend Neil Crossley.[2] Performing in pubs and bars in Lancaster,[2] the groups played rhythm and blues, power pop, and what Pulsford proclaimed to be "fake jazz".[2]

In the 1980s, Pulsford joined a female-fronted funk band called Taming The Outback.[2] Influenced by James White and the Blacks,[2] Pulsford didn't enjoy his tenure in the band,[2] but remained a member for over a year because of a relationship with the group's manager.[2]

Puslford took a year of from music in the mid-1980s, which he stated in 1999 was due to being "fed up with being in crap bands".[2] In 1987, Pulsford formed a group called The Charms, who performed a single concert in High Wycombe supporting Thee Hypnotics.[2] Shortly thereafter, Pulsford joined the band King Blank, who released two studio albums, The Real Dirt (1988) and King Blank to the Ian Lowery Group (1989).[2] After a 1990 promotional tour of the United States, inclusive of a performance at CBGB, New York,[2] King Blank had dissolved by 1991.[2]

In 1992, Pulsford met Gavin Rossdale in a London club and they discovered a mutual appreciation for several musical groups and artists. They formed a band called Future Primitive and were joined by bassist Dave Parsons and drummer Robin Goodridge and managed by Joe Oliver. Shortly thereafter the band was renamed Bush after Shepherd's Bush, London. Pulsford was the band's lead guitarist.

Bush released their debut album, Sixteen Stone, in 1994. The album went six times platinum, riding the strength of the grunge movement and such hit singles as "Comedown," "Glycerine," "Machinehead," "Little Things," and "Everything Zen." They achieved further success with three more albums and hit singles such as "Swallowed," "Greedy Fly," "The Chemicals Between Us," "Letting the Cables Sleep," and "The People That We Love."

Pulsford released a solo album in 1999 entitled Heavenly Toast on the Paradise Road. All material on the album was written by Pulsford.

In 2002, after the release of the album Golden State, Pulsford took a break from touring with the band while his wife was pregnant. He was replaced by Chris Traynor temporarily and his future in the band became the subject of much speculation among fans. Rossdale later confirmed that he intended to make the next Bush album with Traynor and said that Pulsford had quit the band.[3]

Despite Rossdale affirming that he wanted to continue Bush with Traynor, the band went on an indefinite hiatus following the end of the "Golden State" tour. Rossdale later formed Institute with Traynor. Backtracking on his previous assertion that Bush could continue without Pulsford, Rossdale stated that he started a new band because he didn’t want to dilute everything Bush had accomplished by changing members.[4]