The Verve were an English rock band formed in 1990 in Wigan by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones, and drummer Peter Salisbury.
Beginning with a psychedelic sound indebted to shoegazing and space rock, by the mid-1990s the band had released several EPs and three albums. They also endured name and line-up changes, breakups, health problems, drug abuse and various lawsuits.
Their commercial breakthrough was the 1997 album Urban Hymns and their single "Bitter Sweet Symphony", which became a worldwide hit.
Soon after this commercial peak, the band broke up in April 1999, citing internal conflicts. The band's original line-up reunited in June 2007, embarking on a tour later that year and releasing the album Forth in August 2008. In 2009, the band broke up for the third time.
"Bitter Sweet Symphony" is based on music from an Andrew Loog Oldham adaptation of a Rolling Stones song, "The Last Time" and the song's lyrics were written by Verve vocalist Richard Ashcroft. It was released on 16 June 1997 reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart.
The song's momentum built slowly in the United States throughout the latter months of 1997, ultimately leading to a CD single release on 3 March 1998, helping the song to reach number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also became famous for the legal controversy surrounding plagiarism charges.
Rolling Stone ranked "Bitter Sweet Symphony" as the 382nd best song of all time.
In May 2007, NME magazine placed "Bitter Sweet Symphony" at number 18 in its list of the "50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever".
In September 2007, a poll of 50 songwriters published in Q magazine placed "Bitter Sweet Symphony" in a list of the "Top 10 Greatest Tracks". Pitchfork Media's included the song at number 29 on their Top 200 Tracks of the 90s.
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