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"I was thinking about the times I could have had And whether they turn out good if they turn out bad." -- from "Drive You Home" |
| Richard Ashcroft : | Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar |
| Nick McCabe : | Lead Guitars |
| Simon Jones : | Bass Guitar |
| Peter Salisbury : | Drums, Percussion |
| Simon Tong : | Rhythm Guitars, Keyboards |
The Verve's history begins in Wigan, a town in the northern part of England with Richard Ashcroft wanting to be a singer in a band. Eventually he meets Peter Salisbury and Simon Jones in elementary school. Later the three of them encounter Nick McCabe in Winstanley Sixth Form College. In the beginning the four of them would spend hours at a time both listening to music and jamming. Their music was very free-form and spacey at times, but always powerful. Eventually they would land a contract with Hut Records and release the singles, "All In The Mind", "She's A Superstar", and "Gravity Grave" (to be compliled for the American Verve E.P. release). Verve shows during this time were marked by assorted antics of Richard Ascroft, including his claims that he could fly. This was when he earned the nickname "Mad Richard".
In late 1992, Verve (as they were called before the American Verve Jazz label started to complain, forcing them to add "The") were approached by the brilliant producer John Leckie (The Stone Roses, Radiohead, Ash, The Posies, early Simple Minds etc.). Eventually they started to record their first full length album, A Storm In Heaven. This album marked a continuance of Nick McCabe's amazing guitar work (Leckie calls him the most gifted guitar player he's ever worked with) and the two singles: "Blue" and the first song the band ever wrote together, "Slide Away. This album is considered by many Verve fans to be their best. The Verve tour opening for the likes of Spiritualized, The Black Crowes, and Smashing Pumpkins. Eventually by the end of 1993, the band gets its own headlining slot with Acteone in the US and for the UK the then-unknown Oasis as an opening act.
Now officially called "The Verve", the band releases an album including b-sides from their British singles for America called "No Come Down". This album also contains the stunning live version of "Gravity Grave" from their performance at Glastonbury 1993. After a short European Tour, The Verve eventually hit America for another round of touring as a second stage act for Lollapalooza. Other first stage acts that year were the Breeders, George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars, The Beastie Boys, and the headliners Smashing Pumpkins. The Verve shared the second stage with bands like, The Flaming Lips, Luscious Jackson, and Girls Against Boys. It was on this trip America that several things happen that affected the Verve's future. In Kansas City, Richard almost died of dehydration after a big drinking binge the night before. Not too long before that Peter Salisbury is arrested for criminal damage. Nick and Richard aren't communicating well and they return to begin recording the next album.
With Owen Morris (Electronic, Oasis) taking on production duties this time, the chaotic recording sessions began for their second full-length album, A Northern Soul. A few things happened prior to the beginning that made this album the dark, cathartic work that it is. When Richard returned home he found his apartment locked up with all his possessions gone. To top it off Richard broke up with his girlfriend of 6 years. All this, plus tension between Nick and Richard made for a truly maddening recording experience. Despite all this The Verve created a truly brilliant album which showcased all of their individual talents, while proving that there was a chemistry there that could never be duplicated. You can see a review of this album I have written for more about what most considered a brilliant album. Two singles were released before the album broke: "This Is Music" and "On Your Own". The Verve toured the UK and shortly afterwards the US, with Hum taking an opening slot. You can also see a review I wrote for the Philadelphia show on July 26, 1995, which I consider one of the best concerts I have ever seen in my life. Although at the height of their game, this tour only served to make tensions higher between the band. Which leads me to...
After the US tour things started to look good for the band commercially. They had a huge festival to play and soon afterwards a chance to open for Oasis, who by now were incredibly famous in England and even the US. The Verve played the T In The Park Festival in Glasgow on August 5, 1995. It would be the last show they would play for quite some time. The day after this show Richard informed their manager at the time, John Best, that the band was through, claiming, "It no longer felt right." In the midst of overwhelming critical success, Richard pulled the plug. Ironically the final single off their second album, "History", a song based on William Blake's poem entitled, "London" , was released in two parts with one cover saying "All farewells must be sudden." In an interview years later, Simon Jones remembers hearing the song on the UK radio and simply crying. Was all lost and gone?
Shortly afterwards Richard, Simon, and Peter decided to work together with an old school mate, Simon Tong. The band worked on what they would eventually realize to be a series of recording sessions that weren't quite up to what they had realized before as The Verve. John Leckie was called in to help and basically took the band under his wing, teaching them recording techniques, sound dynamics, and basically how to record material without Nick's presence. After these sessions were deemed fruitless the band tried Owen Morris again to no avail. During this time Richard and John Squire met at a party and they talked of teaming up, but nothing ever came of it. Bernard Butler of Suede was also approached and the band convened with him. At first the match seemed good but eventually it didn't work out for whatever reason. The band had demos but they weren't quite as powerful as they had hoped for. One thing was missing...
At this point, I had been on the Raft Email List for about 6 months. There was talk of a band called "Sensation", that Richard and the rest had formed, who were planning a spring release on both sides of Atlantic. There was much speculation about what exactly was going on, but no one had anything concrete to offer as to any plans for the remaining members who were recording, let alone what Nick McCabe was doing. Then the following post was made:
Can you imagine how happy all of us were? Musically speaking this was the best news I certainly had ever heard. This came shortly afterwards:Date: Thu, 30 Jan 1997 Subject: VERY IMPORTANT NEWS To all on the mailing list, I suggest you all go and get a drink... You wanted new on the Verve, here's the best news yet... There has been no official press release yet and hasn't been fully confirmed, BUT my sources (who are extremely reliable) say that Nick McCabe in the studio withh Richard, Pete and Simon. The boys will play together again. Simon Tong stays in the group. Nick will play lead guitar and Simon will play guitar also. They will be a five piece band and they will continue as THE VERVE. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's not yet absolutely confirmed but my sources say Nick is definitely in the studio with the four lads...
Date: Fri, 07 1997 Subject: News on the Verve Hi all, Here's the latest news. Nick is in the Verve, its official. They're all in the studio recording the new album. Simon Tong will stay in the band. And they will be called the Verve. The album is scheduled (hopefully) for release in September, the rest of the world will get it a bit later... Nick is definitely back in. and he'll play on the album. The Verve = Richard, Nick, Pete, Simon and Simon..
What happened after that? Most of you know the story after this. I'll
let you see it how I did. Check out the news links I assembled that have
told the story from this point on:
More History...
