Tuesday 23 October 2007

Thaw Explained

Nick McCabe has posted a new blog on his MySpace page and had this to say:

"Here's a little note on the 'Thaw Session'. What you hear is the first thing that went to tape, yes, tape, we were already playing as the machine went into record, literally twenty mins after si turned up. When we decided to make this available we started to edit and polish, get the intro a little more slick, move instruments around, etc, and then Si and myself had a think and decided to do that would be out of step with the spirit of the offering. It's not a "taster", it's not a "clue" it's not a "used up b-side", it's not a "weaker track" or "out of step with the album" or any of that shit. Keep guessing Sherlock. This is what you would have heard had you been in the room with us, and you my friends, get to hear it. Gratis. Make of that what you will. Anyway, three days off albeit with tonsilitis and a particularly onerous 'comedy pickpocketing', back to the grind. Later."

The Thaw Session: Music Industry Reacts

The music industry has been reacting to the fact that The Verve have made new music.

Adam Benzine of music industry bible Music Week said: "As one of the most important bands of the Britpop era, it's great to see The Verve joining the likes of The Charlatans, Radiohead, Prince and Travis exploring new business models, revenue streams and new ways of getting their music out to fans.

"As an early supporter of the group, the NME are a natural fit for a band like The Verve, and this copy protection-free download of a jam session is a great way of building excitement around their return. They'll no doubt benefit from increased exposure much as The White Stripes and Babyshambles have done with their covermounts.

"That said, I can't imagine the Wigan lads will be following in Radiohead's footsteps with an honesty box offering if they record a new album."

Monday 22 October 2007

Verve Release New Music

The Verve have added an extra date to their reunion tour. The band will now play Nottingham Arena on December 11, in addition to the rest of their comeback shows.

Meanwhile, you can download the first 14 minutes of music The Verve made after deciding to reunite for free on NME.COM now.

Rather than kicking off their reformation with a band meeting, the Wigan legends met in a studio in Richmond and jammed out some musical ideas together.

The first fruits from that session can now be heard in the form of the 'The Thaw Session' - the title a reference to 'Deep Freeze', an experimental bonus track on the band's last album 'Urban Hymns' - a 14-minute track you can get for free.

To download a free version of the band's first new music in over ten years, simply head to NME.COM/verve, until October 28.

Friday 19 October 2007

Special Verve News On The Way

Nme.com has some very special news about The Verve, which will be announced on Monday (October 22) at noon (BST).

Without giving too much away, they have said that they will be bringing information that all fans will want to know about, so make sure you're here at the start of next week to find out what's going on.

Saturday 13 October 2007

New Song Titles Revealed

Si Jones has posted a new blog on his MySpace about what he and The Verve have been up-to in the past few months. He has also revealed song titles for the new songs The Verve have wrote:

Sit And Wonder
Judas
Appalachian Springs
Mona Lisa
Rather Be

Thursday 11 October 2007

Ashcroft On The Verve

Richard Ashcroft has been talking to 6 Music about The Verve reunion and progress on their new album.

He says that writing new material was the most natural thing in the world:

"We just turned up and without going into too much psychology and ripping ourselves to peices, I think we met and within 20 minutes we were playing music.

"So I think we're just going to let the music do the talking and I'm very happy with the results we've got so far."

And he says relationships within the band are amicable:

"We've had a few fights but thats just the way it is - Nah - we're fine, we're cool, it's good. Y'know it's all about the healing process, it's about forgiveness and it's about moving on, it's all about love it's all about peace. No more fights."

He may have had success as a solo artist, since The Verve broke up, but Richard says there's nothing quite like being in a band when it's all going well.

"Certain bands have got certain combinations that a bit of magic happens and I'm very lucky to have been part of that before and looking forward to the future and doing it again so it's all very exciting."

The Verve kick off a winter tour at the Glasgow Academy on 02 November, and Richard says it will be hard to chose the setlist:

"Sometimes lyrically you feel uncomfortable with stuff you've done in the past, so lyrically it's got to be right for me now, and musically for the rest of the guys.

"But luckily we wrote some songs that had a timeless quality so we're not too fearful about it. Should be good concerts."

Monday 8 October 2007

Urban Classic

The Verve's last album, Urban Hymns has won the Q Classic Album at this years Q Awards, Richard Ashcroft was there in person to collect the award and had this to say about the new album they are currently working on:

"It should be out by Summer, it sounds great all Verve fans will be happy with the mix, from people who loved Northern Soul, Urban Hymns, it's all there, we 're buzzing."

Friday 5 October 2007

Verve Extend Their Stay In Manchester

The Verve have added an extra Manchester date to their forthcoming UK tour, after the original date sold out in just two minutes.

The new date will now take place at Manchester Central on December 21.

The band will now play five shows in December - starting at London's 02 Arena on December 13.

Thursday 4 October 2007

Possible Support Acts For Verve Comeback Gigs

Nick McCabe as posted info on his MySpace page on who he and Si Jones would like as support acts on the Verve's comeback gigs:

"As of 8th October we're in the thick of it. Will have the moby but probably no net access for the foreseeable future. Apols for the backlog. Must. Try. Harder. xxxx

Here's an idea... Hot water possibly... fuck it... Some highly inappropriate supports have been suggested for the December gigs. We've had a good think and Si and myself fancy: Modest Mouse, Guillemots, Jose Gonzales, Midlake, Arcade Fire, obviously some of these might consider it beneath them, you never know though. Of course I'd love Nova Saints and Exit Calm in there- what do you reckon? I'd personally love to see Afghan Whigs/Twilight Singers every night, don't know if Greg loves us as much though, ha... Your gigs innit ;-) make sure you don't have to endure this weeks indie flavour on yr big ticket, lets all have a good night. Direct your angst at http://verveunofficial.forum5.com, and not at myself thanks (sorry Trish), and we can take notes. We love to help out new bands but we have certain criteria with this arena shit so the answer is 'no' before you flood me with requests. Cheers, see you in November.... "

Verve Break Silence About Inter-Band Fighting

The Verve have revealed how they settled the differences that split up the band after the release of their classic album, 'Urban Hymns'.

Richard Ashcroft and his band members explain how they resolved their issues in the new issue of NME, on sale now.

"We had quite a lot of time being angry," guitarist Nick McCabe explained, talking about the fighting that split the band. "Then, once you've sort of resolved a lot of things in your own mind, you kind of realise that it wasn't such a big deal in the first place.

"Then you think, 'God, what went on there?' All the stuff that happened since is a bit of a nonsense, really."

"It's all bollocks really," frontman Richard Ashcroft went on to say. "We're not here to get on the fucking couch. We've got our lives, we've got kids, we've got our wives. There's a lot of sacrifice goes on making a record and we're prepared to do that."

Tuesday 2 October 2007

Verve Announce New Tour Dates

The Verve have announced a series of new dates after their comeback shows sold out.

The band will now tour in December, with tickets going on sale on October 5 at 10am (BST).

The dates are:

London O2 Arena (December 13)
Glasgow SECC (15)
Belfast Odyssey Arena (17)
Manchester Central (20)

Plus, see this week's issue of NME for a exclusive comeback interview with the band - the first time they have spoken anywhere since reuniting.