History Music / TheVerve

The band reunited in 2007 and recorded a new album, ''Forth''. Jury's still out on whether it's good or not. They apparently broke up again recently. VitriolicBestBuds, much?

* {{Bishonen}}: You can kinda sort of argue that they were this in the early nineties. I mean, look at the picture...

* {{Sampling}}: "Bitter Sweet Symphony", [[ScrewedByTheLawyers infamously resulting in trouble with the former manager of]] Music/TheRollingStones. Music/KeithRichards himself thought that was bullshit, saying, "I'm out of whack here, this is serious lawyer shit. If The Verve can write a better song, they can keep the money." In 2019, when Ashcroft won an Ivor Novello Award, he noted that Jagger and Richards had signed over their publishing rights for the song.

However, bad luck once again struck The Verve after a success, when Allen Klein -- the former manager of Music/TheRollingStones and the person that owned the band's entire pre-1971 catalogue -- sued the band for excessive use of a sample from The Andrew Oldham Orchestra version of "The Last Time" in "Bitter Sweet Symphony", that forced the band to change the writing credit to Jagger/Richards and give the Stones all their royalties (later lawsuits finally brought it to Ashcroft/Jagger/Richards). [=McCabe=] left soon afterwards. The band tried to continue their tour with a new guitarist, but in the face of negative reviews and decreasing popularity announced their break-up in April 1999. In May 2019, 22 years later, it was announced that the rights to the song had returned to the Verve along with their share of the royalties, with Jagger[=/=]Richards waiving their credit on it too.

->''"I'll be hearing music 'til the day I die"''

However, the band ran into trouble soon afterwards. Threatened with a lawsuit by {{jazz}} label Verve Records, they changed their name to "The Verve". While touring the USA, Ashcroft was hospitalised for dehydration after drinking excessively and Salisbury was arrested for destroying a hotel room in Kansas while in drug-induced delirium. To win time, Hut released the compilation ''No Come Down'', which included B-sides and out-takes.

* EpicRocking: Almost half their songs qualify; they have some thirty tracks that are at least six minutes long.[[note]]"Virtual World" (6:20), "Butterfly" (6:39), "She's a Superstar" (8:54), "Feel" (10:39), "Gravity Grave" (8:23), the ''Voyager 1'' version of "Slide Away" (6:02), "One Way to Go" (7:16), "So It Goes" (6:11), "A Northern Soul" (6:32), "Drive You Home" (6:41), "(Reprise)" (6:11), "Dance on Your Bones" (7:27), "Life's Not a Rehearsal" (6:21), "The Rolling People" (7:01), "Catching the Butterfly" (6:26), "Come On" (6:38), "Country Song" (7:50), "MSG" (7:02), "The Longest Day" (7:23), "Echo Bass" (6:38), "Sit and Wonder" (6:59), "Judas" (6:18), "Numbness" (6:34), "Noise Epic" (8:13), "Columbo" (7:30), "Appalachian Springs" (7:33), "Muhammad Ali" (6:20), "Chic Dub" (6:12), "All Night Long" (7:26), the [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes unofficially released song]] "Blue Pacific Ocean" (6:20), and "The Thaw Session" (14:09).[[/note]] Just missing the cutoff is their biggest song, "Bitter Sweet Symphony", at 5:58. Their longest songs are "The Thaw Session" (14:09) and "Feel" (10:39).

* BreakupBreakout: Sort of averted. Ashcroft's solo career wasn't as well-received as his work with The Verve, with a frequent complaint being the sheer amount of soggy ballads.

* AntiLoveSong: "Love is Noise", overtly. ("Love is noise/Love is pain/Love is the blues that I'm singing again...")

* EpicRocking

* {{Sampling}}: "Bitter Sweet Symphony", [[ScrewedByTheLawyers infamously resulting in trouble with the former manager of]] Music/TheRollingStones. Music/KeithRichards himself thought that was bullshit, saying, "I'm out of whack here, this is serious lawyer shit. If The Verve can write a better song, they can keep the money."

However, bad luck once again struck The Verve after a success, when Allen Klein - the former manager of Music/TheRollingStones and the person that owned the band's entire pre-1971 catalogue - sued the band for excessive use of a sample from The Andrew Oldham Orchestra version of "The Last Time" in "Bitter Sweet Symphony", that forced the band to change the writing credit to Jagger/Richards and give the Stones all their royalties (later lawsuits finally brought it to Ashcroft/Jagger/Richards). [=McCabe=] left soon afterwards. The band tried to continue their tour with a new guitarist, but in the face of negative reviews and decreasing popularity announced their break-up in April 1999.

->''I'll be hearing music 'til the day I die''
-->'''The Verve''', "Already There"

-->''I'll be hearing music 'til the day I die''
-->The Verve, "'''Already There'''"

'''The Verve''' were a famous alternative rock band from Manchester in TheNineties, known both for their troubled existence, drug abuse, and their musical style, a combination of PsychedelicRock, space rock and {{Shoegazing}}/DreamPop, a kind of anomaly in a city dominated by the Madchester scene. But you probably know them as the guys who did "[[BlackSheepHit Bitter Sweet Symphony]]".

Initially named "Verve", the band was formed in 1990 in Wigan, Greater Manchester by singer Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick [=McCabe=], bassist Simon Jones and drummer Peter Salisbury. Defined largely by Ashcroft's enigmatic vocals and [=McCabe=]'s [[EchoingAcoustics reverb-soaked]] psychedelic riffs, they received a contract with Hut Records in 1991, where they made their debut with three singles and an EP named ''Verve''. Making an initially favourable impression with critics and achieving mild success on the charts, the band worked with Music/TheStoneRoses and Music/{{Radiohead}} producer John Leckie on their first full-length album. Entitled ''A Storm In Heaven'', the album was released in 1993 to excellent reviews and climbed up to #27 on the UK charts thanks to major label backing (in this case, Virgin Records) and catchy, spacey psychedelic rock.

However, the band ran into trouble soon afterwards. Threatened with a lawsuit by jazz label Verve Records, they changed their name to "The Verve". While touring the USA, Ashcroft was hospitalised for dehydration after drinking excessively and Salisbury was arrested for destroying a hotel room in Kansas while in drug-induced delirium. To win time, Hut released the compilation ''No Come Down'', which included B-sides and out-takes.

Initially named "Verve", the band was formed in 1990 in Wigan, Greater Manchester by singer Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick [=McCabe=], bassist Simon Jones and drummer Peter Salisbury. Defined largely by Ashcroft's enigmatic vocals and [=McCabe=]'s [[EchoingAcoustics reverb-soaked]] psychedelic riffs, they received a contract with Hut Records in 1991, where they made their debut with three singles and an EP named ''Verve''. Making an initially favourable impression with critics and achieving mild success on the charts, the band worked with TheStoneRoses and {{Radiohead}} producer John Leckie on their first full-length album. Entitled ''A Storm In Heaven'', the album was released in 1993 to excellent reviews and climbed up to #27 on the UK charts thanks to major label backing (in this case, Virgin Records) and catchy, spacey psychedelic rock.

-->The Verve, '''Already There'''

!!Associated Tropes:

* AntiLoveSong - Love is Noise, overtly. ("Love is noise/Love is pain/Love is the blues that I'm singing again...")
* TheBandMinusTheFace - You just can't have The Verve without Nick...
* {{Bishonen}} - You can kinda sort of argue that they were this in the early nineties. I mean, look at the picture...
* BreakupBreakout - Sort of averted. Ashcroft's solo career wasn't as well received as his work with The Verve, with a frequent complaint being the sheer amount of soggy ballads.

* ImportantHaircut - Their early psychedelic stuff was made while the band-members had long hair that lent them a Bishie appearance (the image above is from 1992). Once they switched towards a more general AlternativeRock sound with ''A Northern Soul'' they largely cut their hair shorter (well, except for [=McCabe=]).

* {{Sampling}} - "Bitter Sweet Symphony", [[ScrewedByTheLawyers infamously resulting in trouble with the former manager of The Rolling Stones]]. Music/KeithRichards himself thought that was bullshit, saying, "I'm out of whack here, this is serious lawyer shit. If The Verve can write a better song, they can keep the money."

----

[[quoteright:306:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tvr.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:306:The Verve during their heyday.]]

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tvr.jpg

TheVerve were a famous alternative rock band from Manchester in TheNineties, known both for their troubled existence, drug abuse, and their musical style, a combination of PsychedelicRock, space rock and {{Shoegazing}}/DreamPop, a kind of anomaly in a city dominated by the Madchester scene. But you probably know them as the guys who did "[[BlackSheepHit Bitter Sweet Symphony]]".

Initially named "Verve", the band was formed in 1990 in Wigan, Greater Manchester by singer Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick [=McCabe=], bassist Simon Jones and drummer Peter Salisbury. Defined largely by Ashcroft's enigmatic vocals and [=McCabe=]'s [[EchoingAcoustics reverb-soaked]] psychedelic riffs, they received a contract with Hut Records in 1991, where they debuted with three singles and an EP named ''Verve''. Making an initially favourable impression with critics and achieving mild success on the charts, the band worked with TheStoneRoses and {{Radiohead}} producer John Leckie on their first full-length album. Entitled ''A Storm in Heaven'', the album was released in 1993 to excellent reviews and climbed up to #27 on the UK charts thanks to major label backing (in this case, Virgin Records) and catchy, spacey psychedelic rock.

However, the band ran into trouble soon afterwards. Threatened with a lawsuit by jazz label Verve Records, they changed their name to "The Verve". While touring the USA, Ashcroft was hospitalised for dehydration after drinking excessively and Salisbury was arrested for destroying a hotel room in Kansas while in drug-induced delirium. To win time, Hut released the compilation ''No Come Down'', which included B-sides and outtakes.

The Verve commenced sessions for their new album with {{Oasis}} producer Owen Morris in Wales. Marked by turmoil, a massive drug intake and several incidents (including Ashcroft disappearing for days and Morris smashing a window with a chair to celebrate the recording of the song "History"), ''A Northern Soul'' was released in 1995 to more critical acclaim and a slighly higher place on the chats (#13 this time). The album saw the band move away from the spacey, reverb-heavy psychedelia of ''A Storm in Heaven'' towards a more focused, [[DarkerAndEdgier harsher]] alternative rock sound, but it still kept psychedelic elements such as [=McCabe=]'s echoey guitars and Jones' and Salisbury's funky grooves.

The band failed to capitalize on the success as internal tension led to a temporary breakup. Ashcroft, Jones and Salisbury reunited soon after and recruited Simon Tong as guitarist when [=McCabe=] initially refused to join. [=McCabe=] eventually returned in early 1997. With a complete lineup and Tong remaining as second guitarist, the band recorded their third album, ''Urban Hymns'', which struck a balance between their early, spacey style and the AlternativeRock they had switched to. ''Hymns'' again received critical acclaim but became a mainstream success, reaching #1 on the charts and becoming one of the fastest-selling albums of 1997 in the UK, propelled by the smash hit single "Bitter Sweet Symphony".

However, bad luck once again struck The Verve after a success, when Music/TheRollingStones manager sued the band for excessive use of a sample from an orchestral version of "The Last Time" in "Bitter Sweet Symphony", that forced the band to change the writing credit to Jagger/Richards and give the Stones all their royalties (later lawsuits finally brought it to Ashcroft/Jagger/Richards). [=McCabe=] left soon afterwards. The band tried to continue their tour with a new guitarist, but in the face of negative reviews and decreasing popularity announced their breakup in April 1999.

!!Discography:

* 1992 - ''[[SelfTitledAlbum Verve EP]]''
* 1993 - ''A Storm in Heaven''
* 1994 - ''No Come Down'' (compilation of B-sides and outtakes)
* 1995 - ''A Northern Soul''
* 1997 - ''Urban Hymns''
* 2008 - ''Forth''.

* {{Bishonen}} - You can kinda sorta argue that they were this in the early nineties. I mean, look at the picture...
* BreakupBreakout - Sorta averted. Ashcroft's solo career wasn't as well received as his work with The Verve, with a frequent complaint being the sheer amount of soggy ballads.

* ImportantHaircut - Their early psychedelic stuff was made while the bandmembers had long hair that lent them a Bishie appearance (the image above is from 1992). Once they switched towards a more general AlternativeRock sound with ''A Northern Soul'' they largely cut their hair shorter (well, except for [=McCabe=]).

* {{Sampling}} - "Bitter Sweet Symphony", [[ScrewedByTheLawyers infamously resulting in trouble with the manager of the Rolling Stones.]] Keith Richards himself thought that was bullshit, saying, "I'm out of whack here, this is serious lawyer shit. If The Verve can write a better song, they can keep the money."

* BlackSheepHit - "Bitter Sweet Symphony" and their first single "All in the Mind".

* CreatorBacklash - Nick [=McCabe=] thinks that [[http://www.excellentonline.com/story/nick-mccabe-interview-733 The Verve's albums are inferior to their demos]], and Ashcroft regrets bringing Nick back to record ''Urban Hymns'' and wishes he would have released it as a solo album.
* CreatorBreakdown - Richard Ashcroft suffered from depression for a long time, and had to use meds frequently to cope with it. Hence some of the music and lyrics sound depressed.

* OldShame - From the same interview, Nick admits he doesn't think much of "Butterfly" since the band just bashed it out in the studio at 3 AM because the record label told them they didn't have enough songs for the album.

* {{Sampling}} - "Bitter Sweet Symphony", [[ScrewedByTheLawyers infamously resulting in trouble with the manager of the Rolling Stones.]] Keith Richard himself thought that was bullshit, saying, "I'm out of whack here, this is serious lawyer shit. If The Verve can write a better song, they can keep the money."

TheVerve were a famous alternative rock band from Manchester in TheNineties, known both for their troubled existence, drug abuse, and their musical style, a combination of PsychedelicRock, space rock and {{Shoegazing}}/DreamPop, a kind of anomaly in a city dominated by the Madchester scene. But you probably know them as the guys who did "[[BlackSheepHit Bittersweet Symphony]]".

The band failed to capitalize on the success as internal tension led to a temporary breakup. Ashcroft, Jones and Salisbury reunited soon after and recruited Simon Tong as guitarist when [=McCabe=] initially refused to join. [=McCabe=] eventually returned in early 1997. With a complete lineup and Tong remaining as second guitarist, the band recorded their third album, ''Urban Hymns'', which struck a balance between their early, spacey style and the AlternativeRock they had switched to. ''Hymns'' again received critical acclaim but became a mainstream success, reaching #1 on the charts and becoming one of the fastest-selling albums of 1997 in the UK, propelled by the smash hit single "Bittersweet Symphony".

However, bad luck once again struck The Verve after a success, when Music/TheRollingStones manager sued the band for excessive use of a sample from an orchestral version of "The Last Time" in "Bittersweet Symphony", that forced the band to change the writing credit to Jagger/Richards and give the Stones all their royalties (later lawsuits finally brought it to Ashcroft/Jagger/Richards). [=McCabe=] left soon afterwards. The band tried to continue their tour with a new guitarist, but in the face of negative reviews and decreasing popularity announced their breakup in April 1999.

* BlackSheepHit - "Bittersweet Symphony" and their first single "All in the Mind".

* {{Sampling}} - "Bittersweet Symphony", [[ScrewedByTheLawyers infamously resulting in trouble with the manager of the Rolling Stones.]]

The band failed to capitalise on the success as internal tension led to a temporary breakup. Ashcroft, Jones and Salisbury reunited soon after and recruited Simon Tong as guitarist when [=McCabe=] initially refused to join. [=McCabe=] eventually returned in early 1997. With a complete lineup and Tong remaining as second guitarist, the band recorded their third album, ''Urban Hymns'', which struck a balance between their early, spacey style and the AlternativeRock they had switched to. ''Hymns'' again received critical acclaim but became a mainstream success, reaching #1 on the charts and becoming one of the fastest-selling albums of 1997 in the UK, propelled by the smash hit single "Bittersweet Symphony".

However, bad luck once again struck The Verve after a success, when TheRollingStones manager sued the band for excessive use of a sample from an orchestral version of "The Last Time" in "Bittersweet Symphony", that forced the band to change the writing credit to Jagger/Richards and give the Stones all their royalties (later lawsuits finally brought it to Ashcroft/Jagger/Richards). [=McCabe=] left soon afterwards. The band tried to continue their tour with a new guitarist, but in the face of negative reviews and decreasing popularity announced their breakup in April 1999.

!Discography:

!Tropes:

* CreatorBreakdown - Richard Ashcroft suffered ([[IGotBetter He's better now]]) from depression for a long time, and had to use meds frequently to cope with it. Hence some of the music and lyrics sound depressed.

Discography:

Tropes:

* EpicRiff

* FaceOfTheBand - Ashcroft and [=McCabe=].

* MagnumOpus: ''Urban Hymns''

* SeasonalRot - Ashcroft's solo career.
* TearJerker - "On Your Own", "History", "The Drugs Don't Work".
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks - You will find some fans who say this about ''Urban Hymns'' (even Nick thinks it "just sits nicely next to the {{Oasis}} record" and "it's okay as far as pop goes"), but most of them reserve this for Ashcroft's solo career.

* {{Sampling}} - "Bittersweet Symphony", infamously resulting in trouble with the manager of the Rolling Stones.