The Verve performing at Madison Square Garden in 2008. From left to right: Nick McCabe, Peter Salisbury, Richard Ashcroft and, out of sight, Simon Jones
Soon after their commercial peak, The Verve disbanded in 1999, citing internal conflicts.[8] According to Billboard magazine, "the group's rise was the culmination of a long, arduous journey that began at the dawn of the decade and went on to encompass a major breakup, multiple lawsuits, and an extensive diet of narcotics".[9] During an eight-year split, Ashcroft dismissed talk of a reunion, saying: "You're more likely to get all four Beatles on stage."[8] The band's original line-up reunited in 2007, embarking on a tour later that year and releasing the album Forth in 2008, which spawned the hit single "Love Is Noise". Amid revived tensions, the band broke up for the third time in 2009.[10]
History
Formation and Verve (1990–1992)
The founding members of the Verve met at Winstanley Sixth Form College, in Wigan, Greater Manchester, when Liam Begley introduced Richard Ashcroft to the other band members. The band was initially known as just Verve, and their first gig was at a friend's birthday party at the Honeysuckle Inn, in Wigan, on 15 August 1990.[11] Most of the band's early material was created through extensive jam sessions.[12] Fronted by Ashcroft, the band caused a buzz in early 1991 for their ability to captivate audiences with their musical textures and avant-garde sensibilities.
The group were signed by Hut Records in 1991[13] and their first studio releases in 1992, "All in the Mind", "She's a Superstar", and "Gravity Grave" (along with the December 1992 EP Verve) saw the band become a critical success, making an impression with freeform guitar work by McCabe and unpredictable vocals by Ashcroft. Those first three singles reached the first spot in the UK Indie charts, and "She's a Superstar" entered the UK Top 75 Singles Chart. The band saw some support from these early days in the United States in some music scenes in big cities like New York connected with psychedelic music.
A Storm in Heaven (1993–1994)
1993's A Storm in Heaven was the band's full-length debut, produced by record producer John Leckie. "Blue" was released as the lead single and again managed to enter in the UK Top 75 at No.69 and reached No.2 in the Indie charts. The album was a critical success, but was only a moderate commercial success, reaching No.27 in the UK album chart that summer.[13] The second single from the album, "Slide Away", topped the UK indie rock charts. During this period the band played a number of gigs with Oasis who, at the time, were relatively unknown.[14] Furthermore, the band supported The Smashing Pumpkins on the European Part of their Siamese Dream Tour in autumn of 1993.[15]
In 1994, the band released the album No Come Down, a compilation of B-sides plus a live version of "Gravity Grave" performed at Glastonbury Festival in 1993. It was the band's first release under the name "The Verve", following legal difficulties with jazz label Verve Records.[16] The band then played on the travelling US alternative rock festival Lollapalooza in the summer of 1994. A new mix of "Blue" was released in the US to promote the band. The tour became notorious for the events of 11 July – Ashcroft was hospitalised for dehydration after a massive session of drinking[17] and Salisbury was arrested for destroying a hotel room in Kansas in a drug-fuelled delirium.[18] However, the band were performing again the very next day.[19] Ashcroft later recalled: "At the start, it was an adventure, but America nearly killed us."[20]
A Northern Soul and first breakup (1995–1996)
The Verve's physical and mental turmoil continued into the chaotic recording sessions of their second album, 1995's A Northern Soul, produced by Owen Morris. The band departed from the experimental psychedelic sounds of A Storm in Heaven and focused more on conventional alternative rock, with Ashcroft's vocals taking a more prominent role in the songs, although reminiscent of some of the early work. Around this period, Oasis guitarist and friend of Ashcroft Noel Gallagher dedicated the song "Cast No Shadow" on the album (What's the Story) Morning Glory? to Ashcroft, who returned the gesture by dedicating the song "A Northern Soul" to Gallagher.
The band released the album's first single "This Is Music" in May, and it reached No.35, their first single to reach the Top 40. It was followed by "On Your Own" in June which performed even better, reaching No.28. This single was particularly new for the Verve as it was a soulful ballad. The album reached the UK Top 20 upon its release in July, but Ashcroft broke up the band three months later, just before the release of the third single "History", which reached No.24 in September. Ashcroft later stated: "I knew that I had to do it earlier on, but I just wouldn't face it. Once you're not happy in anything, there's no point living in it, is there? But my addiction to playing and writing and being in this band was so great that I wouldn't do anything about it. It felt awful because it could have been the greatest time of our lives, with "History" doing well, but I still think I can look myself in the mirror in 30 years time and say, 'Yeah man, you did the right thing.' The others had been through the same thing. It was a mixture of sadness and regret, and relief that we would have some time away."[21]
Ashcroft reunited with Jones and Salisbury just a few weeks after the break-up, but McCabe did not rejoin them. The new band hired former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler, but he spent only a couple of days with the band.[22] The band then chose Simon Tong, a school friend credited with originally teaching Ashcroft and Jones to play guitar. The band made no live appearances in 1996, apart from a solo performance from Ashcroft supporting Oasis in New York;[23] the year was spent playing and recording songs for a new album.
Urban Hymns, success and second breakup (1997–1999)
In early 1997, Ashcroft asked McCabe to return, saying: "I got to the point where nothing other than The Verve would do for me."[24] McCabe obliged and with the new line-up in place (Tong remained on guitar alongside McCabe), the group went through a "spiritual" recording process to finish their third album, Urban Hymns.
For the first time, the Verve achieved commercial success with their new material. The first single, "Bitter Sweet Symphony", entered the UK charts at number 2 in June 1997. The BBC wrote that it "became one of the anthems of the year" and "became almost inescapable" after it was used in a television car advert.[25]
The music video, which received heavy rotation on MTV, sees Ashcroft walking down a busy London pavement, oblivious to what is going on around and refusing to change his stride or direction.[26][27] The song is based on a sample from a 1965 version of the Rolling Stones' song "The Last Time" by the Andrew Oldham Orchestra; Allen Klein, who owned the copyright, refused clearance for the sample, and took control of the songwriting credits and royalties.[28]
In August 1997, The Verve began playing their first gigs in two years, beginning the Urban Hymns Tour. The next single, "The Drugs Don't Work", gave the band their first UK number one in September.[29]Urban Hymns reached number one on the UK Albums Chart that month, knocking off Oasis' highly anticipated album Be Here Now.[29] The Verve saw an overwhelming increase in popularity overseas; it reached the US top 30, going platinum in the process,[13] and "Bitter Sweet Symphony" reached number 12 on the US charts, their highest ever American position.[30] Critic Mike Gee of iZINE said of this time that the Verve "had become the greatest band in the world. ...The Verve were no longer the question mark or the cliché. They were the statement and the definition."[31] By November the band released "Lucky Man" in the UK and reached number 7.[29] At the 1998 Brit Awards, The Verve won the awards for Best British Group[32] and Best British Album (Urban Hymns).[5] The band's singles were given extensive airplay on US rock stations and Ashcroft, and bandmates, appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in March 1998.[6] Then, as the band was on a successful tour to promote the album, Jones collapsed on stage.[citation needed] At the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards, "Bitter Sweet Symphony" was nominated for Video of the Year, Best Group Video, and Best Alternative Video.[33]
On 24 May 1998, The Verve played a homecoming concert in front of 33,000 fans in the grounds of Haigh Hall & Country Park, Aspull, supported by Beck and John Martyn. The band then played gigs in mainland Europe, but, on 7 June, a post-show fight at Düsseldorf-Philipshalle left McCabe with a broken hand and Ashcroft with a sore jaw. After this, McCabe decided he could not tolerate the pressures of life on the road any longer and pulled out of the tour, leaving the band's future in jeopardy, with rumours of a split circulating in the press. The band continued with session musician B. J. Cole replacing McCabe, whose guitar work was also sampled and triggered on stage. The band played another American tour, which was riddled with problems as venues were downsized[34] and support act Massive Attack dropped out.[35] The band returned to England for two headline performances at V Festival, which received poor reviews; NME wrote that "where songs used to spiral upwards and outwards, they now simply fizzle tamely".[36] The Verve played their last gig at Slane Castle in Ireland on 29 August. A long period of inactivity followed. In February 1999, "Bitter Sweet Symphony" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song.[7] Finally, in April 1999, it was announced that The Verve had again split up.[37]
Post-breakup (2000–2006)
By the time The Verve had split, Ashcroft was already working on solo material accompanied by, among others, Salisbury and Cole. In 2000, he released his first solo album, Alone with Everybody, which reached number 1 in the UK album charts.[29]
The former members sometimes expressed bitter sentiments about the band's later years. In his only interview after the split, McCabe said of Urban Hymns: "By the time I got my parts in there it's not really a music fan's record. It just sits nicely next to the Oasis record."[38] During his solo career, Ashcroft expressed regret at having asked McCabe to return for the album instead of releasing it under his own name, saying: "Imagine being the guy that's written an album on his own, bottles it near the end, feels like there's unfinished business, rings Nick McCabe up who adds some guitars, puts it out as the Verve and the same problems arise again. Imagine being that mug. I've now got to rewrite history. Everyone thinks those songs are somehow associated with another bunch of people that I'm not with now."[39] Jones claimed that "The Verve were going off in a direction of strings and ballads, and that's not where I was coming from at all. Loud guitars is it for me",[40] though noting that this was not why the band split up.[41]
Reunion and Forth (2007–2008)
Ashcroft had been adamant that The Verve would not re-form, once remarking: "You're more likely to get all four Beatles on stage".[42] However, after Ashcroft learned that Salisbury was in contact with McCabe over a possible side project, Ashcroft contacted McCabe and Jones, making peace with them, and the band re-formed. Tong was not asked to rejoin, so as to keep the internal issues that split the band up a decade ago to an absolute minimum. Jones explained this decision by stating: "It would have been too hard, it's hard enough for the four of us. If you bring more people to it, it's harder to communicate and communication has always been our difficulty". Paradoxically, McCabe would state years later on his Twitter account, that he intended to include the electric violinist and arranger Davide Rossi as a new member of the group.[43] On 26 June 2007, the band's reunion was announced by Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 1. The band, reuniting in their original line-up, announced they would tour in November 2007, and release an album in 2008. The band stated: "We are getting back together for the joy of music",[44] though they turned down a multi-album deal offer "because the 'treadmill' of releasing albums and touring marked the beginning of the end for the band a decade ago".[45]
Ashcroft on stage with The Verve at Pinkpop, Netherlands, in 2008
New single "Love Is Noise" was premiered by Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1 on 23 June.[52] They performed at the coveted Sunday night slot on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury on 29 June, closing the show with the new song. The Verve released a free download of a non-album track, "Mover", on 30 June. The song had been performed by the band in 1994, but had never seen a proper recording until the reunion. The track was available for download from their official website for one week only.
The band announced the new album's title: Forth, which was released in the UK on 25 August and the following day in North America. The album reached No.1 on the UK Albums Chart on 31 August. The lead single "Love Is Noise" was released in the UK on 3 August digitally and one week later (11 August) on its physical form, peaking at No.4 in the UK.[53] The song was a moderate success in Europe, charting at No.16 in the European chart (with 6 weeks in the Top 20). "Rather Be", the second single from the album, was released in November but did not become as successful as "Love Is Noise" was, peaking at number 56 on the UK Singles Chart.
Third breakup (2009–present)
In August 2009, The Guardian speculated that The Verve had broken up for a third time,[54] with Jones and McCabe no longer on speaking terms with Ashcroft as they felt he was using the reunion as a vehicle to get his solo career back on track.[54] Being asked about the supposed split, Ashcroft told The Daily Telegraph, "I can confirm we did what we set out to do [...] Right now there are no plans to be doing anything in the near future."[10]
Among the reasons for the breakup, it is known that in August 2008, McCabe was ordered to quit drinking by the band's management team, however, the damage had been done to the band's ambient and it was at a point of no return.[55]
McCabe, Jones, Rossi (who served as a touring musician of the Verve) and the drummer Mig Schillace started a new band, The Black Ships, who later changed their name to Black Submarine.[54] In September 2017, McCabe said he had not spoken to Ashcroft for over a year and that a possible reunion would be unlikely in the foreseeable future.[56][57][58] That year also saw the release of the 20th-anniversary version of Urban Hymns.[59]
In April 2019, the Rolling Stones agreed to return the royalties and songwriting credits for "Bitter Sweet Symphony" to Ashcroft.[60] Ashcroft announced the agreement in May, when he received the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors.[61] He said it was a "kind and magnanimous" move, and said: "I never had a personal beef with the Stones. They've always been the greatest rock and roll band in the world. It's been a fantastic development. It's life-affirming in a way."[62]
Urban Hymns is the third studio album by English rock band the Verve, released on 29 September 1997 on Hut Records. The group had broken up while promoting A Northern Soul in August 1995, though they reformed two weeks later without guitarist Nick McCabe. Frontman Richard Ashcroft moved to Bath, Somerset, where he made demos; Simon Tong joined the group soon afterwards. Following aborted recording sessions with producers John Leckie and Owen Morris, the band sought a new guitarist, contacting former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler, who played with them for a week before departing amidst creative differences. In 1996, The Verve started recording at Olympic Studios in London, first with producer Martin "Youth" Glover, followed by engineer Chris Potter. Ashcroft contacted McCabe in early 1997, inviting him back into the band, which McCabe accepted. Several songs were re-recorded to allow for the inclusion of McCabe's guitar parts, with sessions continuing into May 1997.
Nicholas John McCabe is an English musician, best known as being the lead guitarist of the rock group the Verve.
A Northern Soul is the second studio album by English rock band the Verve, released on 3 July 1995 through Hut Records. With the tumultuous promotion for their debut studio album, A Storm in Heaven (1993), combined with their friends in Oasis becoming popular, relationships between members of the Verve became strained. After connecting with Oasis producer Owen Morris, the Verve went to a rehearsal space in Wigan to write material for the next album, which they recorded at Loco Studios in Wales. The sessions gained notoriety for the stories that emerged from the time, including Ashcroft going missing for five days and him allegedly totalling a car on the studio's lawn. In the first three weeks, they had finished 15 tracks; after this point, the situation soured as guitarist Nick McCabe grew exhausted from dealing with the other members frequently partying and taking ecstasy, in addition to vocalist Richard Ashcroft and Morris screaming and destroying objects. Eventually, McCabe had a different working schedule from the others, starting at 10–11 a.m. while the rest of the band started at 6 p.m.
Richard Paul Ashcroft is an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He formed the alternative rock band the Verve in 1989 and served as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist throughout the band's lifetime. Ashcroft was the sole songwriter of the group. In 1997, The Verve released the UK number one album Urban Hymns, that in present day is the 18th most sold album in the UK. In 1998, Ashcroft was awarded the Ivor Novello award for Songwriter of the Year. Following The Verve's disbandment in 1999, Ashcroft embarked on a successful solo career, releasing six UK top-three solo albums, including Alone with Everybody, Keys to the World and These People.
Bring It On is the debut album by English indie rock band Gomez, released on 13 April 1998 by Hut Records. Recording sessions for the album began in late 1997, during which time Gomez also toured the United Kingdom with Embrace. The first single, "78 Stone Wobble", was released in March 1998, while "Get Myself Arrested" and "Whippin' Piccadilly" were later released as singles.
Peter Anthony Salisbury is an English rock drummer, best known as the drummer for The Verve, whom he co-founded in 1990.
This is Music: The Singles 92–98 is a singles compilation album by the English alternative rock band the Verve. The compilation was released in November 2004 and included two previously unreleased tracks: "This Could Be My Moment" and "Monte Carlo". Nick McCabe did not participate in the songs, Simon Tong being the one that took the control of the lead guitar. The album was named after a track by the same name off their 1995 album A Northern Soul. The album cover is based on the cover of their 1992 single "She's a Superstar".
The Zutons are an English indie rock band, formed in 2002 in Liverpool. The band are currently composed of singer, songwriter, and guitarist Dave McCabe, drummer Sean Payne, and saxophonist Abi Harding.
A Storm in Heaven is the debut studio album by the English rock band Verve, later the Verve, released on 21 June 1993 on Hut Records. The band had formed between school friends vocalist Richard Ashcroft, bassist Simon Jones, and drummer Peter Salisbury, with guitarist Nick McCabe joining shortly after. After a show in London, they signed to the Virgin Records imprint Hut Records in 1991, which released their first three singles in 1992. Following the appointment of the company Savage and Best as their management, the band recorded their debut album at Sawmills Studios in Cornwall with producer John Leckie. Referred to mainly as a psychedelic album, A Storm in Heaven was largely written in the studio.
"Bitter Sweet Symphony" is a song by the English rock band the Verve, released on 16 June 1997 by Hut Recordings and Virgin Records as the lead single from their third album, Urban Hymns. It was produced by Youth at Olympic Studios, London.
Simon Tong is an English guitarist and keyboardist who was a member of the Verve between 1996 and 1999. He has played with Damon Albarn on tour with his bands Blur and Gorillaz, and as a member of the Good, the Bad & the Queen. He ranks in BBC's "The Axe Factor" as the 40th greatest guitarist of the last 30 years.
"History" is a song by English rock band the Verve. It was included on their second album, A Northern Soul (1995), and was released 18 September 1995 as the third and final single from the album, charting at number 24 on the UK Singles Chart. The song is notable for being released after the band's sudden first break-up. In 2014, NME ranked it at number 312 on their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". There was no original music video filmed for the single. Instead, an official compilation of clips from the Verve's previous music videos was created by Richard Ashcroft.
"Lucky Man" is a song by English rock band the Verve. It was written by singer Richard Ashcroft. The song was released as the third single from the band's third studio album, Urban Hymns. It was released on 24 November 1997, charting at number seven on the UK Singles Chart. The song was the band's second top-20 hit on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in the United States, climbing to number 16. In Canada, "Lucky Man" peaked at number 25 on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart. It also reached the top 40 in Finland, Iceland, Ireland, and New Zealand.
"The Drugs Don't Work" is a song by English rock band the Verve. The song was written by Richard Ashcroft and is featured on their third studio album, Urban Hymns. It was released on 1 September 1997 as the second single from the album, debuting at number one on the UK singles chart. The beginning of the video shows the band walking down the street, following on from the end of "Bitter Sweet Symphony".
Simon Robin David Jones is an English bass guitarist. He played bass and provided occasional backing vocals for the rock band The Verve.
"She's a Superstar" is a song by the English rock band Verve. It was released as the band's second single on 22 June 1992. It reached number 66 on the UK Singles Chart and topped the Independent Singles Chart. "She's a Superstar" and "Feel" were recorded at The Manor Studio in Oxfordshire, England with producer Barry Clempson.
"The Last Time" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones featuring the Andrew Oldham Orchestra, and the band's first original song released as an A-single in the UK. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and recorded at RCA Studios in Hollywood, California in January 1965, "The Last Time" was the band's third UK single to reach number one on the UK Singles Chart, spending three weeks at the top in March and early April 1965. It reached number two in the Irish Singles Chart in March 1965, and was released on the US version of the album Out of Our Heads on 30 July 1965.
The discography of English alternative rock band The Verve consists of four studio albums, two compilation albums, two video albums, three extended plays, fourteen singles, two promotional singles and fifteen music videos.
Forth is the fourth and final studio album by English alternative rock band the Verve. It was released internationally on 25 August 2008 on EMI and a day later in North America on the On Your Own label. The band reformed in 2007, having broken up for the second time nearly a decade earlier, in 1999. Forth was their first new studio album since Urban Hymns (1997), and their first since A Northern Soul (1995) to feature the band's original line-up without second guitarist and keyboardist Simon Tong. It is also the second album to feature producer Chris Potter, who by this point also served as Ashcroft's solo album producer.
Acoustic Hymns Vol 1 is the sixth studio album by English singer and musician Richard Ashcroft. The album was released on 29 October 2021 through Righteous Phonographic Association and BMG Rights Management. Ashcroft's longtime collaborator Chris Potter returned for production duties after not being involved on the previous album Natural Rebel. The album consists of new versions of songs from Ashcroft's back catalogue, spanning both his solo career and his time with the Verve, mainly from 1997's Urban Hymns. The album debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, Ashcroft's highest chart position since 2006's Keys to the World.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
