Artist:The Verve
Song:Bittersweet Symphony
Album:This Is Music: The Singles 92-98
The 1997 single Bittersweet Symphony was the only big hit for the British band The Verve. And unfortunately it came with a ridiculous royalty dispute. The Verve was a bigger deal at home. But they are a one hit wonder in the US. The Verve members were all students at Winstanley College in Wigan, England. They formed in 1990 led by lead singer and main songwriter Richard Ashcroft, Nick McCabe on guitar, Simon Jones on bass and Peter Salisbury on drums. After playing local clubs, The Verve signed with Virgin's Hut label in 1991. After releasing a 1992 EP, they recorded their 1993 debut album A Storm in Heaven with producer John Leckie. Though the album was critically acclaimed, neither The Verve or Virgin were happy with the album's commercial performance. When the 1995 album A Northern Soul didn't do much better, The Verve split up. Ashcroft was known to be a hothead and he didn't think things were working. They continued to work together in the studio minus McCabe. And keyboardist Simon Tong was added. McCabe did return for the 1997 album Urban Hymns. The album was produced by Martin "Youth" Glover of Killing Joke. The big surprise was when Bittersweet Symphony reached #2 on the British Singles chart and crossed the pond and reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified Platinum. The repeated symphonic refrain was sampled from a Rolling Stones instrumental album recorded by Andrew Loog Oldham. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote the song Last Time. But the rights were owned by their former manager Allen Klein. That money grubbing weasel refused clearance for the sample. You can imagine how much money was involved. This behavior was typical of Klein. After his 2009 death, his son Jody and Jagger and Richard returned all the royalties to Ashcroft. Though they continued to tour, there were rumors of problems and The Verve split up in 1999. You can get all their singles on this comp. Ashcroft released a couple of solo albums. The Verve reunited for the 2008 album Forth. After touring to support the album, The Verve split up for good. Ashcroft continues to record with little success. Why was Bittersweet Symphony a hit? Maybe listeners thought it was an Oasis song. Here's the video for Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve.
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