"I can name you 50 bands who are doing OK now and in two years they will be forgotten. History will forget them. But history has a place for us. It may take three albums but we will be there."

The arrogance of this sentiment earned Richard Ashcroft ridicule and condemnation when he said it in 1993.

His band, The Verve’s third album was Urban Hymns.

With Urban Hymns, and with 'Bittersweet Symphony' and 'The Drugs Don’t Work' in particular, The Verve found their place in history; they can claim a good place in any arguments over best album of the nineties and would put up a damn good fight for the best album ever crown.

There is however far more to them than their final masterpiece. The earlier work on A Storm In Heaven and A Northern Soul reveals more of The Verve as a convention-challenging, genre-bending group of musical innovators, at the heart of which were the twin genii of Ashcroft and guitarist Nick McCabe.

It was McCabe’s guitar that made The Verve different: his myriad influences (The Durutti Column to Joy Division via Hendrix and Pink Floyd) and refusal to simply repeat lines generated an almost psychedelic ambience and incredible sense of energy. With McCabe, The Verve created a colossal effects laden wall of sound described by Ashcroft as a "whole new universe".

It’s a good analogy, as there is something "universal" about the sound. It is huge, daunting and slightly frightening, it’s also just that little bit prog.

Of course, the presence of two such talents within a group caused repercussions and after initially splitting following A Northern Soul, only to reform for Urban Hymns, the Verve split for good in 1998 after its release.

Couldn’t really go out on a better album could they?

text by Mike Boyes.

Upcoming events

• T In The Park Friday, Fri 11 Jul at Kinross T In The Park with Feeder, Stereophonics, The Chemical Brothers, KT Tunstall, Scouting For Girls

Past events

• Glastonbury Sunday, Sun 29 Jun at Glastonbury Festival. (post review)
• The Verve, Mon 28 Apr at New York WaMu Theatre. 1 review (read/post)
• Mon 17 Dec at Belfast Odyssey Arena. (post review)
• Sat 15 Dec at Glasgow SECC. (post review)
• Thu 13 Dec at London O2 (formerly the Millennium Dome). (post review)
• Tue 20 Nov at Manchester Manchester Central (Formerly G-Mex). (post review)
• Fri 09 Nov at London Roundhouse. (post review)
• Thu 08 Nov at London Roundhouse. (post review)
• Tue 06 Nov at Blackpool Empress Ballroom. (post review)
• Mon 05 Nov at Blackpool Empress Ballroom. (post review)
• Sat 03 Nov at Glasgow Carling Academy. (post review)
• Fri 02 Nov at Glasgow Carling Academy. (post review)

News

• 30/06/2008: The Verve's 'Mover' available as free download
• 26/06/2008: The Verve confirm album title and release date
• 08/04/2008: Glastonbury rockists force Eavis to re-open ticket registration this afternoon
• 27/03/2008: 'Fookin classic mate!': late nineties British indie kings feature on new classical album
• 04/03/2008: V Festival pinches Glastonbury headliners, adds Lenny Kravitz
• 15/02/2008: RATM confirm themselves, The Verve, Kings of Leon and REM for T in the Park 2008
• 08/02/2008: The Verve, Kings of Leon to headline Glastobury 2008?
• 22/01/2008: Kraftwerk, Dark Side of the Moon, Portishead: full Coachella line-up here
• 21/01/2008: Muse and the Verve headlining V Festival, apparently
• 16/01/2008: EMI to sack 2,000 say new owners

Features

• 02/07/2008: The Weekly DiScussion: the best of 2008's forthcoming albums
• 02/05/2008: DiS @ Coachella: Prince, Portishead and The Verve? Pigs might fly...
• 08/04/2008: The Weekly DiScussion: has Glastonbury's bubble burst?
• 19/03/2008: The Weekly DiScussion: Shall we party like it's 1997 again?
• 05/07/2007: The Weekly DiScussion: your band is dead, long live your band...
• 02/07/2007: Could be a lifetime before I see you again: why I don’t want to see (The) Verve back together...

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