The Verve

The Verve was a British rock and roll band of the 1990s, originally formed in Wigan, England in 1989. Richard Ashcroft, Nick McCabe, Simon Jones and Peter Salisbury signed a deal with Hut Records, not long after forming, and released "All in the Mind" (1992), which topped the indie charts. This was followed by other successful singles, including "She's a Superstar" and "Gravity Grave".

1993's A Storm in Heaven was critically acclaimed but a commercial failure. Pop audiences did not go for the long, dark psychedelic jams that the critics and indie rock audiences loved. In 1994, the band was on a disastrous Lollapalooza tour; Ashcroft was hospitalized for dehydration, while Salisbury was arrested for destroying a hotel room in Kansas.

The next album, A Northern Soul (1995) was a difficult one to record, as personality conflicts, creative differences and liberal use of Ecstasy provided great tension. The album sold disappointingly, and Ashcroft soon quit the Verve, only to reform it a few weeks later, replacing McCabe with Simon tong until he agreed to return in 1997. With McCabe, the Verve recorded Urban Hymns, which is now recognized as one of the masterpieces of Britpop; the group hit the mainstream in a big way with "Bittersweet Symphony", a complex, orchestral song built around a sample from "The Last Time" (the Rolling Stones), done by a symphonic orchestra. The song was a smash success in the UK, and the album sold well, as did the next three singles, "The Drugs Don't Work", "Lucky Man" and "Sonnet". At the height of their popularity, the group disbanded in 1998 after McCabe unexpectedly pulled out during a tour.