The Verve Documentary

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0:00 Intro
0:26 Richard Ashcroft
1:12 Early Days
2:17 First Releases and The Verve E.P.
4:06 A Storm in Heaven
5:32 Lollapalooza and Legal Issues
6:45 A Northern Soul
8:55 First Split
9:34 Urban Hymns
10:56 Urban Hymns Tour & Bittersweet Lawsuit
12:08 Second Split & Solo Projects
13:17 Reform and Forth
14:47 Final Split & Current Projects
15:46 Conclusion
My Top 5 Favorite Verve Songs:
5. She’s a Superstar (The Verve E.P.)
4. Slide Away (A Storm in Heaven)
3. History (A Northern Soul)
2. Gravity Grave (The Verve E.P.)
1. The Drugs Don’t Work (Urban Hymns)
The Verve Documentary Song List:
1. Sonnet (1997)
2. Super Stupid (Funkadelic, 1971)
3. All in the Mind (1992)
4. She's a Superstar (1992)
5. Gravity Grave (1992)
6. Star Sail (1993)
7. Slide Away (1993)
8. The Sun, the Sea (1993)
9. This Is Music (1995)
10. A New Decade (1995)
11. On Your Own (1995)
12. History (1995)
13. Bitter Sweet Symphony (1997)
14. The Drugs Don’t Work (1997)
15. Lucky Man (1997)
16. A Song for the Lovers (Richard Ashcroft, 2000)
17. Quicksilver (The Shining, 2002)
18. Love Is Noise (2008)
19. Appalachian Springs (2008)
20. The Only One I Know (The Charlatans, Live 2022)
21. The Drugs Don’t Work (Acoustic Hymns Vol. 1, Richard Ashcroft, 2021)
Sources:
www.allmusic.com/artist/the-v...
www.concertarchives.org/bands...
faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-verv...
musicsaves.org/verve/intervie...
www.nme.com/photos/the-verve-...
www.richardashcroftonline.com...
www.stwing.upenn.edu/~pmarin/...
www.thevervelive.com/p/biogra...
www.udiscovermusic.com/artist...

[@tonywilthshire308]

Verve forever ❤

[@StainedGlassStories]

Hell yeah! ❤️

[@misubi]

Their first record is my favorite album of all time. Timeless magic that sounds elemental.

[@tzt1182]

Still in full rotation in all of my music playing choices.

[@34muggsy34]

It's incredible. To me a Top 10 Album of all time.

[@slothDAMN]

I'm 100% with you there - I bought it on cassette the day it came out and it's been one of my favourite albums ever since. There's really nothing else like it, and it never ceases to completely thrill and hypnotise me. I like A Northern Soul a fair bit too, but it's just not on par with the debut. I dug Urban Hymns at the time, but have absolutely no interest in it now. It's interesting to me how as their music became more regular the album covers did too - Urban Hymns surely has one of the laziest, lamest cover pictures of all time. whereas all the images around A Storm in Heaven are phenomenal. I never bothered with Forth, although the cover for that one is better (if still kinda generic).

[@misubi]

@@slothDAMN Awe man you totally hit on the head. I bought the vinyl album for Storm in Heaven so I could hang it up on my wall as art. It's so mysterious, the cave inviting you into it. Then the albums get more literal and flat. Urban Hymns is really a Richard Ashcroft solo album.

[@slothDAMN]

@@misubi I really need to buy it on vinyl, too - I still have the original cassette and CD, and also the deluxe edition CD boxset that came out in 2016 (which is a totally lush object, but tbh I'm not a massive fan of the remaster as it brings the drums to the fore in a way that very much changes the feel of the record, giving it an almost Madchester/baggy kinda vibe at times, which is both weirdly distracting and really dials back the almost elemental feel of the original mix - especially in terms of Nick McCabe's guitar, which on the OG version really did feel like the album title at times), but for some stupid reason I never picked it up on vinyl (the only Verve release I ever bought on vinyl was the Gravity Grave 12", which I still have and - like everything from this era of the band - also has fantastic cover art). The cover for A Northern Soul is meh but passable, but the Urban Hymns cover just plain sucks - that image would suck even if it was just a photo of the band in, say, an NME article circa the release of the album. And yes, that album is totally more of a Richard Ashcroft solo thing and massively suffers from a lack of noticeable input from McCabe. It actually really bugs me that most people only really know/associate the band with Urban Hymns and specifically Bittersweet Symphony, as that sound is so far from how they began and so less interesting, and was also much more a thing of its time (which, to my mind/ears, was not really a great time for British guitar-based music), whereas A Storm in Heaven, while very clearly an early 90s record, has proved itself to be timeless and utterly unique. So yeh, I 100% agree with you - and am sorry for the loooooong reply! 😂

[@hiddenwiltshire]

I was in the same year as them in Winstanley College and remember them well. They did good, released some really good music that will stand the test of time.

[@withnail7217]

Love the Verve, annoyingly overlooked. Best band I have seen live. Wigan haigh hall 98. Biblical. No band could jam like the Verve.

[@StainedGlassStories]

Man I would love to see them live someday. People here in the states seem to only know Bitter Sweet Symphony and nothing else. Their discography is full of exciting material

[@withnail7217]

Hopefully they will come back, I love the early trippy stuff it was amazing, everyone in the band was a super talented musician. A storm in heaven is my favourite album.

[@stefansnijders8943]

I count myself fortunate to have seen them on second stage at Lollapalooza in 1994...I was tripping balls on LSD, but I saw them. And it was one of the best live performances I've ever seen.

[@kp4588]

You lucky bastard. I was at lollapalooza 93 (which they also played second stage) and had not heard of them at that point. I was probably watching Arrested Development (the hip hop group, not the show) or some other shitty band rather than seeing the Verve. Fortunately I finally found them and saw them perform several times since. I still would have loved to see their set….

[@fanyfanytiffanyy]

Lucky lucky you I was born in 1999😭😭😭. This generation has nothing for me

[@giovannivenditti4978]

Really well done. There will be no other band like that... . A Northern Soul is magnificent.

[@trevordoolan5011]

I feel lucky to still have Verve first four E.P.s released and the debut L.P. on vinyl...⚫ .

[@StainedGlassStories]

That's incredible! Never get rid of them!

[@trevordoolan5011]

​@@StainedGlassStories Here's a few more Irish Bands you may like to check out -- Rollerskate Skinny (the first couple E.P.'s & Debut Album had Jim Shields, Kevin Shields (MBV) brother, on Guitar. Check out "Cushy Daughter", "Violence To Violence", "Speed To My Side") The Whipping Boy (they should've been bigger. Check out "Favourite Sister", "Buffalo", "When We Where Young", "Twinkle") Into Paradise (check out "Burns My Skin" for starters.) Fontaines DC (start with "Big", "Hurricane Laughter", or just check out their bunch of KEXP Performances on the KZbin. Fontaines DC have, so far, released three superb albums in the last three years. Fontaines DC should be the next big thing...) Gilla Band (formerly Girl Band. Another current Irish Band, check out "Paul" and then go forth.) .

[@northernthrifter8817]

Lucky man

[@SamM_Scot]

Absolutely love the shoegaze/dream pop sound of thier earlier releases in 'She's A Superstar' and 'History'. Very nice mini documentary on the band :-)

[@shaunewilliam1831]

That amazing first album, blows my mind today weekly as the Urban hymns blew my mind age 12

[@edwardduarte7393]

Urban Hymns is my desert island CD for sure. It was in my 6 cd-changer and just stayed there for about two years. BRMC is fantastic. I listen to them all the time,. Saw them a few times as well. My buddy Shawn and are big shoe gaze dudes. We are always talking about them. Great channel.

[@shaunewilliam1831]

Wow you made a brilliant documentary here, great work , this is amazing, well done!

[@Laura7733]

I first heard of the Verve when I was recording the soundtrack from the film Sliver for a friend. I'd only got it for Massive Attack! Back then you had to listen to the whole album to record it from CD to tape lol. So I ended up listening to it all, Star Sail came on, and my mind was blown. Totally hooked, and it still remains my favourite song of theirs. After that I got everything of theirs. At this point the band had already split after Northern Soul, then not long after I'd got into them, Bittersweet Symphony and Urban Hymns came out! Seen them twice, but I'd liked to have seen them in their early, more shoegaze days. Thank you for this video, very interesting!

[@Foo-oo-oo-oolsGold89]

I was more of a Verve fan when they first came into the Scene. How on earth they didnt become bigger straight off of the back of that record is astonishing to me. They were amazing live and Richard's Voice was better than the majority of indie bands around at that time.

[@t3br00k35]

Nice work. I’m in my forties and still listen to Storm In Heaven regularly.

[@kp4588]

My favorite band. Period.

[@chrisNJLiverpool]

Loved this. Great to see equal emphasis on all parts of their discography. They really check so many marks. Too bad we were robbed of the records that could’ve been from 2000-2005 or so.

[@tzt1182]

McCabe is a guitar God. I guess I am going to have to go back and listen to Forth again. It just didn't hit with me at the time. I remember anxiously waiting for it to be released and then I was disappointed. I have a feeling it may grow on my now.

[@HerHallOfMirrors94]

So much nostalgia. Great video. 🙂👌🏼

[@StainedGlassStories]

Thank you Her Hall of Mirrors :) I'm glad you found it to be nostalgic!

[@Journeytomakingchange]

Thanks for this insight into the Verve's history, I bought the album urban hymns when I was 14 yes old , one of the best albums of all time

[@bsmith6646]

Ahhh good times. Love The Verve. Urban Hymns brings back great memories and nostalgia from the late 90s for me. Great doc, thank you!

[@user-yb2tt7vt4b]

feel seriously fortunate to discover these guys and (how many of us) looking back can not separate what they created from my teenage head & heart and as they used the photos of a burning Porsche with a bumper sticker that reads: MUSIC SAVES... and that's completely my experience and never being the same human afterwards..

[@yannleroch1760]

Sonnet as an intro . YEAH

[@mckayman24]

To me you’re like a setting sun, you rise then you’re gone 🎵 ❤️

[@Weatherface]

Thanks for the video. Lucky to have three Verve moments… Saw them at soak-drenched Glastonbury 95 (McCabe’s amp blew out and they played a guitar-free Life’s An Ocean) then at little Wolverhampton Civic Hall in 97 when BSS was released or on the radio but definitely before Urban Hymns was out. They only played Bittersweet and The Drugs Don’t Work from Urban Hymns. Oh and probably C’mon. It was ecstatic. I can still see Richard screaming down at our faces. And then a few years later I got to record an album at Sawmill Studios where A Storm in Heaven was recorded. What a treat to play in that same room. Not boasting, I’m a Lucky Man.

[@williamzefanya4319]

I really like the song Black and Blue but unfortunately it never got a studio release

[@Nikokooks]

Finally a video covering the the verve

[@jos9116]

A very underrated band. Should be seen as on a par with REM or even The Smiths

[@colbymoody4877]

Amazing as always, this is seriously becoming one of my favorite channels. Keep up the awesome work dawg!

[@StainedGlassStories]

Thank you so much, it really means a lot to read that! I hope I won't let you down in the future!

[@libertard6101]

Best !!! Thanks. Love this Doc, Always indebted to this band for giving me , amorous love for this group!!! 🤙🏽

[@TheAverageGuy12]

Great job as always guys. It was with some trepidation I approached this with such a well known and loved Indie band. You blew it out the park! If you gave up on the band after "Urban Hymns" do yourself the biggest favour and get "Forth" you won't be disappointed!

[@andrewhudson3723]

I need to go listen to all these records...

[@seniornibbs1969]

i was lucky to see them at the eden project 2008 glad i did such a good band with songs that are more like anthems. such a shame they arent touring

[@mlteyt]

I'd be quite interested in a video examining the Black Country bands that appeared on the Indie scene. Although most weren't shoegazers, they did to some degree bridge the geographic space between the emerging Madchester scene and the London scene. Bands like Ned's Atomic Dustbin, the Wonder Stuff and Pop Will Eat Itself were in many ways similar in ethos but diverse in direction, with PWEI dipping a toe into the dance scene, the Wonder Stuff toying with folkish elements and NAD incorporating a more punkish sound with a (twin) bass focus.

[@mountaingoat3012]

Neds were class. I still listen to their 1st two albums. Stuffies has some good stuff too. I would put Senseless Things and Mega City 4 in the same genre, crusty indie.

[@seanwinkel8890]

how I adored this band back in the day.

[@faunoram]

Awesome video !! The Verve is a band that Ive always loved !! Thank you for the excellent job !!

[@StainedGlassStories]

Thank you so much Ramiro, they are such an amazing group! I appreciate your continued support my friend

[@faunoram]

@@StainedGlassStories Un abrazo !

[@valentinlira1567]

I just bouth richads acustic solo album , fan of this band since i first heard them in early 90 s istill in love with the melancolic sound

[@mountaingoat3012]

I was lucky enough to buy All in the Mind when it’s was released and loved Verve. I remember seeing them support Spiritualized and left when Verve finished. She’s a Superstar and Blue were brilliant early tracks.

[@CJFS00s]

(12:36) That was for Live 8, a sequel to Live Aid. 👍🏻

[@simonrichards6739]

I’m a northern soul, Manchester and Richards description of us is spot on!

[@seagirl1100]

Really great overview

[@andyrichardson5802]

I was there at Glastonbury '93- magic in the afternoon.. and then at Wigan / Haigh Hall, a huge celebration.. absolutely brilliant! Beck, and John Martyn supported..

[@carolbrooks4681]

Golly Gosh what a journey. I feel more absolutely in all of the challenges musicians have to go through. But i suppose if it's a choice of life, i'ts gonna be a hard challenge. I think Richard Ashcroft is the intellectual of modern music. He worked hard for it, so looking forward to his new ventures.x

[@vanman757]

Really good job !! ❤🙏🏻🙂👍🏻

[@sethlivingston6427]

so fortu.ate, saw them at slims in sanfrancisco in the mid nineties. beautiful show, inspired me on my own musical journey.

[@creaturesaintly1786]

Lovely, lovely video!! would love to see an A.R Kane video!!!

[@StainedGlassStories]

Thank you Creature Saintly! That's a great idea!

[@nikirst]

Wow, what a great video

[@GOLDENFLYWARRIOR]

Thank you post posting this video. I'm still obsessed with The Verve. I was also thrilled when I learned Bitter Sweet Symphony" is based on a sample from a 1965 version of the Rolling Stones song "The Last Time" by the Andrew Oldham Orchestra. The Verve added strings, guitar, percussion and vocals. They obtained rights to use the "Last Time" sample from the copyright holder, Decca Records, but were denied permission from the Rolling Stones' former manager, Allen Klein. Following a lawsuit, the Verve relinquished all royalties and the Rolling Stones members Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were added to the songwriting credits. In 2019, after Klein's death, Jagger, Richards and Klein's son ceded the rights to the Verve songwriter Richard Ashcroft.

[@adrianelizondo2903]

Great video 👍

[@StainedGlassStories]

Thank you Adrian!

[@kinggeedorah9228]

McCabe was leagues ahead of everyone else in 92-94

[@fabricemichel3336]

bonjour j'ai apprécié vôtre documentaire hello i enjoyed very much your documentary i saw the verve in concert in Paris in 1997 thank you very much best regard from Paris a fan Fabrice

[@Joerideout1]

Ashcrofts 30th birthday September 11th 2001. What a downer

[@StainedGlassStories]

FR, your 20s are over, and on top of that it's 9/11. That would suck

[@fabulousmanner]

Saw them at lollapalooza second stage, 95 I think?. Really Hypnotic amazing band I’m like damn who is this?

[@machoboyrandyandsavage3439]

Camden Roundhouse 2007 is an evening I will never forget 🙌🏻

[@rainstein3680]

Terrific band, ,led by the charismatic Richard Ashcroft!!

[@alexriezrolzans6935]

All in the mind..... The verve. Best of band... 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿England...

[@sconni666]

You forgot to mention that in 2019 Jagger and Richard’s returned the royalties.

[@lh889]

Good video ❤

[@angelfalcon4739]

The verve !!!!! ❤️🤘🏻

[@yannFZ]

Long live captain rock!!!

[@matkagrogan5251]

It is such a shame Nick McCabe is not active anymore. Same for Simon Jones, one of the best bassists that emerged from the UK indie scene

[@Ryan-br6np]

Nick has released a ton of material on bandcamp. Si runs a recording studio and produces for bands.

[@pasqualemaiello7931]

Love Forever

[@user-pd7pj5jt9d]

😊cantante potentissimo...❤

[@Dmyra]

but damn if they could have done one more psychedelic album T-T

[@coconut6431]

You guys should do a video on my vitriol, theyre so underrated

[@benjaminlawler4432]

Yes the Verve forever

[@aza109954]

Gee Alan Jones is a ffff flippin great guy

[@jonarmistead4839]

Its not "Haigh, Manchester". Its "Haigh Hall" which is in Wigan (Greater Manchester), otherwise this is a brilliant video.

[@johnIZaUWL]

So I heard they eventually got thrown off Lollapalooza because they were TOO DAMN LOUD 😳 for the side stage especially and that’s VERY bizarre IF true eh???

[@lekcindr]

So unfortunate these guys couldn't keep it together. We could've had so much more incredible music. Musical tragedy.

[@ryamair3889]

‘The drugs don’t work’ isn’t about drug abuse. He’s singing about his father in hospital and the pharmaceutical drugs not being effective

[@deanothemanc5281]

Wigans finest.

[@stonedrose1]

A Northern Soul is their best work.

[@marcellixxx]

I seen them in San Francisco 🤭 1993 SLIMS I was 16 im 46 now

[@seanthomas2906]

Verve..... The ep , storm in heaven, b sides. Brilliant. The rest of it just weren't for me sadly

[@ubuntuber1619]

Ashcroft could pass for young David Gilmour.

[@paulunwin8564]

One day they will get back together for 1 more time well I can only hope

[@arunca190]

No one can touch The Verve… not even themselves in their separate projects.

[@TheMusicalElitist]

All the people that only know UH aren't real Verve fans.

[@paulmessis1094]

McCabe was the shoegaze element in this group.

[@StainedGlassStories]

Agreed! Incredible guitarist.

[@club_rock]

THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN SPACEMEN 3 THE CHARLATANS ⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️

[@gavgrundy6399]

You need to listen to swervedriver and adorable. Enjoy

[@mountaingoat3012]

Swervedriver = Class. Raise and Mezcal Head mostly

[@michelleryan1989]

September 2023 🖤🤘🏻🎆Rock on. Leave a message.🇮🇪xx

[@AdamLB]

I'm the 1000th liker

[@johnborucki4798]

😮who said you could this call??.

[@johnunderwood3132]

Rolling Stones have enough money. Should have never sued

[@jacquesmesrine8031]

A Storm In Heaven is borderline perfect. Ive always said that it didnt make it because the album cover was so utterly shite that didnt catch people's attention in a time when bands visual art and appearance were so crucial as MTV was marketing bands that way.

[@Weatherface]

Utterly shite? Are you mad? A Storm in Heaven has one of the most elaborate iconic album covers of all time! Brian Cannon at Microdot who did the design was THE 90s album art guy of that era, largely off the back of his work with Verve

[@jacquesmesrine8031]

@@Weatherface absolutely atrocious mate. Don't care if the artist was fckin Caravaggio, a good cover is "The Great Escape", "Definitely Maybe", "This is Hardcore" or even "Forth" since we're talking about The Verve. That light coming in some sorta cave made that you couldn't even see the burning "verve" letters unless you were getting close to it. Considering that those days it was all cassette tapes, even harder to read only to realise that was maybe a jazz compilation from Verve Records. A pile of wank

[@Weatherface]

​@@jacquesmesrine8031 Well, you've laid down an interesting point of view there for people to enjoy for evermore so I'll leave you to keep soaking up the incredible cover of The Great Escape. While we're at it, have you seen how bad the Abbey Road cover is? It doesn't even say "The Beatles" on it anywhere.

[@jacquesmesrine8031]

@@Weatherface I remember being a toddler when I first saw Abbey Road on one if my dad's records and I found fascinating that one had no shoes. So even for a grown up baby, Abbey Road is interesting. Now, a storm in heaven couldn't even catch the attention of kid in the spectrum brother 😂

[@jimmypopt.v.3037]

Great band. Somewhat ruined by this American voiceover that is read from a script, unless she`s a robot.

[@jimmypopt.v.3037]

Give some "nuance" to the voiceover, you sound apathetic to the point of fascination

[@johnborucki4798]

Wrong !!!!!!!!

[@tortoisetamer486]

Ashcroft is just as good a front man as Liam Gallagher and just as good a song writter as Noel Gallagher FACT . History is one of the best written songs in the last 25 years, gets to you, like no other tune does🙂

[@amancalledsun]

He’s a miles better songwriter than Noel.

[@johncadogan2675]

Pure excellence genius band