tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70307263195557148342024-02-08T00:31:36.881+00:00Vervecroftthe latest on the verve and their solo projectsVervecrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005817978708809716noreply@blogger.comBlogger128125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030726319555714834.post-31336408331892657852016-02-22T14:53:00.002+00:002016-02-22T14:53:51.363+00:00Liam Gallagher Praises New Ashcroft Track<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: white; color: #333333;">Liam Gallagher has spoken positively of Richard Ashcroft </span><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: white; color: #333333;">'s new solo track following the announcement of The Verve </span><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: white; color: #333333;">frontman's forthcoming new album.</span><br style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: white; color: #333333;">Ashcroft will release his fourth solo album 'These People' on May 20, today revealing his new track 'This Is How It Feels'.</span><br style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: white; color: #333333;">Oasis singer Gallagher has since taken to Twitter to say that it's "good to hear" Ashcroft again after a six year absence. </span><br style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: white; color: #333333;">"New tune sounding good," Gallagher added</span></span>Vervecrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005817978708809716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030726319555714834.post-72859678505058051832016-02-22T14:48:00.001+00:002016-02-22T14:48:10.366+00:00Richard Ashcroft Announces New Album 'These People'<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: white; color: #333333;">The Verve frontman will release his fourth solo album 'These People' on May 20, which he describes in a cryptic statement as concerning "some personal and world events [taking] a dark turn leading to a sense of urgency and a clearing of the mind".</span><br style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: white; color: #333333;">The album, his first since 2010's 'United Nations Of Sound', was recorded largely in Ashcroft’s basement home studio and features orchestration from Wil Malone, who worked with Richard on The Verve’s 'Northern Soul' and the ten million-selling 'Urban Hymns' as well as his 2000 debut solo album 'Alone With Everybody'.</span></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: white; color: #333333;">The album tackles topics such as the war in Syria, the Arab Spring uprisings and the death of a close friend because, as Ashcroft’s statement reads, "to do nothing would be a crime in this sick nihilistic age of war". The singer also claimed he had been "experimenting with old and new equipment trying to find new textures and sounds to accompany an ancient art" and credited last year’s spate of acoustic shows in Mexico, Zurich and Bilbao for helping him realise "my lane in the chaos becomes clearer – to be a modern day troubadour". </span><br style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: white; color: #333333;">Ashcroft told </span><em style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">NME</em><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: white; color: #333333;">: "Over the period I wrote this we’ve lived through incredible times. Highly contentious wars were going into the pot. There were grassroots movements that were then turning into semi-revolutions, there was Tahrir Square. There was everything kicking off all over the globe, people being divided. Pepper spray everywhere, tear gas… We’re in a very nihilistic age, we’re in death-ridden, world war times and I like to reflect the society we’re in but I also wanna possibly project something that gives us a sense of hope</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: white; color: #333333;">The album's tracklisting will be:</span><br style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">'Out Of My Body'<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />'This Is How It Feels'<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />'They Don’t Own Me'<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />'Hold On'<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />'These People'<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />'Everybody Needs Somebody To Hurt'<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />'Pictures Of You'<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />'Black Lines'<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />'Ain’t The Future So Bright'<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />'Songs Of Experience'</strong></span>Vervecrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005817978708809716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030726319555714834.post-67841600319114344052016-02-20T11:55:00.001+00:002016-02-20T11:55:05.156+00:00Youth On Urban Hymns<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The producer and Killing Joke bassist has produced everyone from Alien Sex Fiend to Bananarama. He recently gave an interview and talked about his time when he worked on Urban Hymns:</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"There’s something very wonderful about being part of a band’s adventure as they break through. I don’t know what happened to Richard Ashcroft just before Urban Hymns: the band had been this very jamming, psychedelic act on the gigging circuit for two albums – then the songs seemed to just come to him from above, absolutely perfectly formed, with the knowledge of how to sing them. Recording his vocal was probably the easiest I’ve ever done, but the challenge then was to make the music and production reach the same level, and that took over six months. As ever with a band, there’s a lot of conflict resolution for the producer, a lot of: “Well let’s try recording both versions and see which one sounds best.” A lot of stunning material was recorded that never came out and I’m hoping that on the 20th anniversary, maybe some of it can be heard on a special edition. It was worth all of that effort though, and it ended up one of the best-sounding records I’ve ever done - due mainly to Chris Potter who engineered and mixed it. He aced that one."</span></span>Vervecrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005817978708809716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030726319555714834.post-84796133543613868982014-09-10T19:30:00.000+01:002014-09-10T19:30:13.851+01:00Ashcroft "New Material Will Be Out In December"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsR71HoKC1jPMgN6e1HkeOzmilCzOqitGbY-j3-ic-5q5UK-oRAjIiaSbr2TqPNusRfTA4pjJKijSKu4FjHwZNaCrfZcnFZ5mvGzJPgulOkscWMm7SSqI2OukCfPxYWGlboYW-L2Hl06dM/s1600/richard-ashcroft-august-2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsR71HoKC1jPMgN6e1HkeOzmilCzOqitGbY-j3-ic-5q5UK-oRAjIiaSbr2TqPNusRfTA4pjJKijSKu4FjHwZNaCrfZcnFZ5mvGzJPgulOkscWMm7SSqI2OukCfPxYWGlboYW-L2Hl06dM/s1600/richard-ashcroft-august-2014.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />Vervecrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005817978708809716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030726319555714834.post-50827835494132169682014-06-03T23:04:00.001+01:002014-06-03T23:04:29.684+01:00Nick McCabe Selling Equipment To Fans Via Facebook<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Former Verve guitarist Nick McCabe is selling off various guitars, amps and pieces of musical equipment via his Facebook page. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">McCabe announced the sale on May 18 and has been regularly updating the items on sale. Among the sought-after pieces are a 1972 Telecaster Deluxe seen on the 'Love Is Noise' video, and pedals used on 2008 Verve album 'Forth'. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In a May 18 post, McCabe concedes that "The past two years have been hard on my bank balance" but later writes that he's finding the clear-out rewarding. "I'm actually extracting a lot of joy from selling all this stuff off, who'd have thought," he wrote. He's also been posting pictures of himself packing and signing items bought by fans.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">McCabe has let sentimentality get the better of him when it came to one item, his red Fender Stratocaster, named Spike, which was removed from sale. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"I've had all kinds of reactions to selling that guitar, but generally people closest to me say, 'You can't'," he writes. "I've managed to autoerase most of my history several times, maybe it's time to [stop] doing that. Everything else is still up for grabs."</span>Vervecrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005817978708809716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030726319555714834.post-60049883409206469462014-02-16T20:29:00.000+00:002014-02-16T20:29:37.112+00:00Nick McCabe Sailing Into Calmer Waters With New Band<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Heres an interview with Nick McCabe done recently with the Manchester Evening News:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After a bruising time with The Verve, guitarist Nick McCabe tells Sarah Walters why he's now ready to unveil his new band</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Nick – best known as peerless guitarist in Wigan band The Verve – is putting together the 'technicals' for a short tour with his new band Black Submarine, who stop off at the Deaf Institute on Wednesday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Despite years of working with musical luminaries such as John Martyn, and as a producer, he has never formed a band outside The Verve. “The last Verve album had a couple of lessons for me really,” says Nick.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">“I had previously come out of that band quite damaged, as the scapegoat for various machinations in the band that had been pinned on me. Post each period of The Verve, I had a period of convalescing and licking my wounds.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">“The reason I continued at all is because I'm passionate about music, and that's been a blessing and a curse – while that's given me the conviction to carry on making music, I have rejected the notion of getting involved in anything with a profile that would ruin the satisfaction of it.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Recording sessions for the final Verve record, Forth, were what allowed Nick to 'make peace' with those anxieties. He rekindled a fruitful writing relationship with The Verve's bassist Simon Jones, and it soon became clear that they could put together a project they'd been considering working on since they were teenagers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">“It was a bit of a triumph over adversity,” Nick recalls, “we realised all the bull**** didn't have to affect us. I don't think The Verve ever played as well as we did on that tour, but it's not to be underestimated the politics in that band; even the people who worked with us got sucked into the dysfunction.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">“Pete Salisbury (The Verve's drummer) was going to come on board with us, but his loyalty to Richard (Ashcroft) and the politics... Rather than getting embroiled in that, he just bowed out gracefully.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">“A lot of other things conspired in our favour: I had a working relationship with Mig (Schillace – former drummer for Portishead) and I'd been sparring verbally with Dav (Davide Rossi – strings visionary for Goldfrapp, Coldplay and the Forth LP). Instead of belligerently sticking two fingers up at the music business, I thought, 'Well, I've invested most of my life in this business, this is what I want to hear and if that satisfies my idea of quality then someone else is going to get it too'.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">“At this point in life, I can look at things and realise how lucky I am.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Finally, then, in 2010 Nick, Simon, Davide and Mig unveiled The Black Ships, and an EP started doing the online rounds – Kurofune, a 25-minute psychedelic masterpiece and classic McCabe territory. A legal challenge from an American band forced a name change from on to under the ocean, the Massive Attack-style revolving roster of singers was abandoned in favour of permanent vocalist Amelia Tucker and, 18 months on, there's an album ready to go.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">New Shores is 'the cream of a big crop' from sessions that were more jammed than contrived. It's pretty wow: majestic and utterly without musical boundaries. It's no accidental wander away from the genres and Zeitgeists McCabe rejects, and it acknowledges how liberated musicians in a post-major label age can be.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">“Genre fascism has gone the other way, even prog's being rehabilitated! And that means we're in a position where everybody has very disparate tastes and everything you hid away in your record collection as your dirty little secret is fair game,” Nick smiles.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">“Music doesn't have to be this highly conceptual hybridisation, it can be as simple as letting your subconscious vomit. That's where I'm more excited really – when things spill forth and you go, 'Where did that come from?'. If you've got five people in a room and they all let their subconscious vomit you're going to get something really interesting.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Laughter erupts. “Honestly, though, I'm going back to being five years old listening to The Planets suite by Holst, you don't have a visual stimulus for what you listen to so you've got more room for imagination. I like to think with this record we've let the universe in – that it's a drug experience without the drugs.”</span><br />
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<br />Vervecrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005817978708809716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030726319555714834.post-5700272753411019922013-10-22T15:42:00.000+01:002013-10-22T15:42:01.419+01:00Pete Salisbury Performs At Jon Brookes Tribute Concert<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Charlatans headlined A Night For Jon Brookes, a tribute concert for their late drummer, at London's Royal Albert Hall (October 18).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The evening started with Birmingham band Dumb, followed by Tim & Friends, a line-up featuring New Order's Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert, Mumford and Sons' Winston Marshall, The Vaccines' Freddie Cowan and Arni Arnason, and The Pretenders' James Walbourn, with Tim Burgess on vocals.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Manic Street Preachers' James Dean Bradfield was up next followed by Liam Gallagher & Friends, essentially Beady Eye without injured guitarist Gem Archer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Finally, The Charlatans came to the stage, with former The Verve drummer Pete Salisbury filling in for Brookes. Speaking to NME before the concert, Charlatans bassist Martin Blunt said: "There was a tour when Jon was ill and wasn't going to be able to play. We asked who he wanted to replace him, and his first choice was Pete Salisbury."</span><br />
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Vervecrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005817978708809716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030726319555714834.post-5506763626176548302013-10-22T14:10:00.003+01:002013-10-22T14:10:52.692+01:00Black Submarine Announce Debut Album And Gigs<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Black Submarine have announced their debut album New Shores, which will be released on Monday February 3 via Kobalt Music, with a free track ‘Black Submarine’ available to download now from the band’s website.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Black Submarine are Nick McCabe (ex-The Verve guitarist), Simon Jones (ex-The Verve bassist), Davide Rossi (multi-instrumentalist/string arranger for Goldfrapp/Coldplay), Michele ‘Mig’ Schillace (ex-drummer for Portishead/Santa Cruz) and Bristol-based vocalist Amelia Tucker.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The band will be bringing New Shores to a live audience in February with two exclusive UK headline shows.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">2014 Live Shows:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Wed February 5: Manchester, Deaf Institute</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Thurs February 6: London, Wilton’s Music Hall</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Tickets go on sale at 9am this Friday ( priced at £17.50 in Manchester and £20 in London)</span><br />
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Vervecrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005817978708809716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030726319555714834.post-48576227587922595652013-10-15T21:09:00.000+01:002013-10-15T21:09:11.555+01:00Jazz Summers (Verve Manager) On Bittersweet Symphony<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A new interview with Jazz Summers (ex Verve manager) appeared online recently giving insight to the whole Bittersweet Symphony debate between The Verve and The Rolling Stones regarding songwriting credits:</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"I remember hearing The Verve put the finishing touches to Urban Hymns in 1997 and thinking, this album’s a masterpiece. That was the day I discovered there was a Rolling Stones sample on Bittersweet Symphony. It felt like winning the lottery but losing the ticket.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The sample, the producer told me, was from an orchestral version of the Stones’ 1965 hit The Last Time. A shadow crept across my soul. I knew who owned the copyright for that era of the Rolling Stones. It was a man called Allen Klein: former manager of the Rolling Stones, former manager of The Beatles.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Klein ran a company called ABKCO and he was notorious as a breaker of both deals and b***s.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">For Bittersweet Symphony to exist, we’d have to come to an agreement with Klein about our respective shares of the songwriting royalties. I called his assistant Iris Keitel in America and attempted to charm her.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">‘Oh,’ she said. ‘Yes, I know about this. Some idiot from EMI phoned me about this yesterday. I told him to f*** off, Jazz. You needn’t have called. We’re not going to let you use it.’</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I phoned Nancy Berry, who ran Virgin Records in America, and asked if there was any chance she could play Bittersweet Symphony to Mick and Keith. Those two were bound to put music before business.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The following week, Nancy called back with news that Klein would allow the song to come out and had agreed a 50-50 split. I was delighted. I called up the band and they were ecstatic, too. It was what they deserved, at the very least – a 50 per cent royalty on the song they’d written.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The next week, the contracts arrived. The deal wasn’t 50-50. It was 100 per cent Jagger/Richards. I phoned Nancy, and she confirmed what they’d done.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">‘The contract is right, Jazz, and it is 50-50, like they said: 50 per cent Mick, 50 per cent Keith.’</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">When Bittersweet Symphony was nominated for a Grammy, the song was attributed to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It baffles me, how Mick and Keith could bear that. </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Maybe they’re so used to having money and greatness bestowed on them, they just nodded, banked the cash and went with it.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We were asked to put the song on a Vauxhall advert. We declined, so ABKCO re-made it without the vocal and gave Vauxhall permission. </span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It’s the same when the football comes on TV in England: Richard Ashcroft’s sons tell him his music’s on, but it isn’t, not really, and that hurts him.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I loved The Verve, but there were tensions, and I couldn’t stop them from splitting. Likewise, if my artists don’t support me I can’t do my job. I need their backing."</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">To read the rest of the interview <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/event/article-2425458/Jazz-Summers-George-Michael-millionaire-fought-Stones-helped-Blair-No-10.html" target="_blank">click here</a></span><br />
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Vervecrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005817978708809716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030726319555714834.post-64817238172573854752013-09-19T13:27:00.001+01:002013-09-19T13:27:26.655+01:00The Verve Live @ Lollapalooza 1994<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This video surfaced on YouTube recently. Shot from the front row/beyond the barrier. Audio isn't the best, but some great close ups of Nick and the telecaster he used in those early days.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Just thought I'd share, for those that haven't already seen it:</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/1kOhlrgyYY8" width="459"></iframe><br />
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Vervecrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005817978708809716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030726319555714834.post-74878412844255233342013-07-28T15:07:00.001+01:002013-07-28T15:07:28.114+01:00Pre-Verve Era Track, "Documentary" Surfaces Online<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A former teacher at Winstanley College, Tom Sherrington, recently digitized a 1988-1990 school project (originally on cassette) featuring a track by Rain Garden, a pre-Verve band which included Richard Ashcroft and Nick McCabe (listen below).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Sherrington attended Richard Ashcroft's performance at the Latitude Festival last Saturday (July 20) and recently wrote an article on his website titled Talent. Conviction. Verve., where he made the reveal. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">To see the original and/or comment on it, please <a href="http://headguruteacher.com/2013/07/22/talent-conviction-verve/" target="_blank">click here</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F102098509" width="100%"></iframe></span><br />
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Vervecrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005817978708809716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030726319555714834.post-28456742063048351732013-07-23T21:05:00.004+01:002013-07-23T21:05:33.421+01:00Richard Ashcroft: 'Nostalgia Is Suffocating Festivals'<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Richard Ashcroft has said that he is not interested in reforming The Verve and headlining festivals with the band while new groups are being denied the same slots. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Ashcroft spoke to BBC 6Music's Lauren Laverne earlier this month and was quizzed on the possibility of fans seeing The Verve play again and if they were playing together at all. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Flatly denying the rumours, Ashcroft said: "It's not happening. You have to be real in life and I'm proud that we went in and recorded new material. The whole nostalgia thing is getting suffocating and it's difficult for younger acts, especially at festivals."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Explaining what he had said, Ashcroft continued: "If you look at some of the line-ups, I'm not ageist by any means, but it's dominated by nostalgia. We need the youth to create their own version of what may potentially become nostalgic but if they haven't got a place to do that because they're dominated by these big monster dinosaur acts, mopping up all the money."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Revealing that he is working on a new United Nations of Sound album, Ashcroft confirmed that fans will hear new music from him in 2013. "I've just been working for the past six, seven months in my cellar. I'm really excited, we should get the first potential tune in September. I'm just putting everything into it at the moment." The first, self-titled, United Nations of Sound album was released in 2010.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Taking a potshot at Blur frontman Damon Albarn, the singer added: "The great thing about the United Nations of Sound album is that because it wasn't something written by Damon Albarn it wasn't front page news or anything. None of my followers are sheep, nobody has been told to follow Richard Ashcroft since 'Urban Hymns' came out. Richard Ashcroft has never been in fashion. A lot of other artists feed off being the right people at the right time but to be able to play a gig 15 or 20 years later and have people sing your songs goes beyond fashion."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Richard Ashcroft was one of the performers at this weekend's Latitude Festival. The Suffolk event was headlined by Bloc Party, Kraftwerk and Foals.</span><br />
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Vervecrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005817978708809716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030726319555714834.post-80799214156845918492013-07-23T21:02:00.003+01:002013-07-23T21:02:43.804+01:00The Verve - 20 Mad Facts You Didn't Know<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In the other week's NME, The Verve guitarist Nick McCabe told Mark Beaumont how wild the band's speed-fuelled early days were. To accompany the feature, NME has a feature on nme.com featuring 20 things you didn't know about the band, 20 years after their debut.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.nme.com/photos/the-verve---20-mad-facts-you-didnt-know/309754/1/1" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Click here to see!</span></a><br />
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<br />Vervecrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005817978708809716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030726319555714834.post-64819475963444626982013-07-04T11:52:00.000+01:002013-07-04T11:52:22.987+01:00'My Life With Mad Richard' Interview With Nick McCabe<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A new interview with Nick McCabe entitled 'My Life With Mad Richard' appears in this weeks NME to mark the 20th anniversary release of A Storm In Heaven.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In the interview Nick recalls the recording of the album, the tours that followed and the drugs that were being taken, download below to read:</span><br />
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<a href="http://rapidshare.com/files/3801458717/VerveNME.pdf"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">http://rapidshare.com/files/3801458717/VerveNME.pdf</span></a><br />
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<br />Vervecrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005817978708809716noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030726319555714834.post-38432882390735746502013-07-04T11:40:00.002+01:002013-07-04T11:40:39.699+01:00Coldplay Thrilled Ex-Verve Stars Are Focused On Black Submarine<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Coldplay are thrilled that ex-Verve stars Nick McCabe and Simon Jones are focusing on their Black Submarine band.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The 41-year-olds presented Chris Martin and guitarist Jonny Buckland, 35, with their Best British Act gong.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Chris, 36, gushed: “We’re so thrilled to receive this from you. Why aren’t you still in The Verve?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">“We’re so psyched to be on stage with two legends.”</span><br />
Vervecrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005817978708809716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030726319555714834.post-81011120326776969942013-06-13T13:44:00.002+01:002013-06-13T13:44:36.207+01:00Bittersweet Symphony Comes 5th In Massive Australian Poll<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">'Bittersweet Symphony' by The Verve has been voted the 5th biggest song of the past 20 years in a massive Australian poll.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Over 940,000 votes were cast in the poll by Australian radio network Triple J. 'Wonderwall' by Oasis came first and was trailed by The White Stripes' 'Seven Nation Army' in second and Jeff Buckley's 'Last Goodbye' in third. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The entire top 100 can be viewed <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/hottest100/alltime/20years/" target="_blank">here</a>. Daft Punk, The Killers and Silverchair make three appearances each. </span><br />
Vervecrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005817978708809716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030726319555714834.post-11099661373378409042013-05-29T17:43:00.001+01:002013-05-29T17:43:28.251+01:00Black Submarine Debut Album Now Complete<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">According to a recent Facebook update, Black Submarine (formally The Black Ships), featuring former Verve members Simon Jones and Nick McCabe, have completed their debut album.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The band also includes Davide Rossi (Goldfrapp/Coldplay) on vocals and strings, drummer Mig Schillace (Portishead/Goldfrapp), and Amelia Tucker on vocals.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In the coming weeks, the band will be teasing new material and releasing a free download from one of the album's tracks.</span><br />
Vervecrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005817978708809716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030726319555714834.post-31602704378142070962013-04-30T17:29:00.000+01:002013-04-30T17:29:35.707+01:00Beyoncé Makes Nod to The Verve at London's O2 Arena<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Beyonce brought her Mrs Carter tour to London’s O2 Arena in spectacular fashion last night (April 29), making a surprising reference to The Verve during her set. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The nod came during her ballad 'If I Were A Boy', which featured the string motif from The Verve’s 1997 single 'Bitter Sweet Symphony', itself taken from an orchestral version of The Rolling Stones' 'The Last Time'.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Beyonce also covered her former band Destiny's Child's 'Survivor' and sang part of Dolly Parton's 'I Will Always Love You' before closing with ‘Halo' and a brief medley of 'Green Light' and 'Suga Mama'.</span><br />
<br />Vervecrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005817978708809716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030726319555714834.post-52883265761852035652013-02-14T12:02:00.002+00:002013-02-14T12:02:43.152+00:00Richard Ashcroft To Perform In Dubai<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Former Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft will perform in Dubai at the one-off gig on March 15, the first in a series of ‘Live at Atlantis’ events, as will Zane Lowe.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Noel Gallagher will also be performing with his current band the High Flying Birds, whose eponymous debut album was released to critical acclaim in 2011.</span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Ashcroft, who is a friend of Gallagher, will perform solo acoustic at the gig, relieving the memorable set he performed at Sandance in October 2011 which featured Verve hits including ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ and ‘Lucky Man’. A regular on Sandance Beach, Radio One DJ Zane Lowe will play out the night after Gallagher’s set.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">While the gig has been put together by the team behind the popular Sandance festival, organisers have made clear this is part of new series of ‘Live at Atlantis’ gigs which promise to bring more massive stars to Dubai throughout 2013. Meanwhile the first Sandance of 2013 has been set for Friday May 10.</span><br />
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Vervecrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005817978708809716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030726319555714834.post-89566090020274839182013-02-09T13:41:00.001+00:002013-02-09T13:43:26.777+00:00The Verve Documentary Space And Time<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">For those that have never seen it (me included)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/fvxNW840C3E" width="500"></iframe></span>Vervecrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005817978708809716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030726319555714834.post-85335536853816796332012-06-16T18:29:00.000+01:002012-06-16T18:29:36.023+01:00Richard Ashcroft: New Album to Be "Song Orientated"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Ahead of his performance at Hop Farm later this month the singer has been updating Xfm on his solo stuff... </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The former Verve frontman admitted to us that he's hoping to release a new solo album before the end of the year.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"I'm hoping it to be quite a quick process," he explained. "Hoping to go in with all the songs written, everything mapped out and go for performances and make it quite a stripped down, song orientated record really."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Richard Ashcroft plays Hop Farm Festival in Kent at the end of this month and told us he's looking forward to his first time there.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"I've never been to Hop Farm but it just seems a lot of the bull has been cut out of it," he told admitted.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"I've just been sorting out a small band for it. I'm gonna get Pete - who's been in the Verve with me from the start - I'm getting a great guy over from America playing guitar. I'm just getting it together a little idea of what I'm doing."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">He's playing the Sunday night of the non-corporate festival in Kent - ahead of headliners Suede.</span>Vervecrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005817978708809716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030726319555714834.post-77992609625380002672012-05-16T17:41:00.001+01:002012-05-16T17:41:29.032+01:00Verve In NME's Best Tracks Of The 90's<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The decade that brought us Britpop, grunge, superstar DJs - and a whole lot of crappy boy bands. Here are the best tracks according to the NME, The Verve have two entries in at 25 and at number 11:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">25 - History - Released September 1995</span><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Released as a single after Richard Ashcroft and his long-suffering troops first decided to call it quits, ‘History’ would have made a fitting epitaph: a suitably grandiose affair that pillaged its opening lines from visionary poet William Blake’s work ‘London’. Instead, when they reformed, its use of strings proved to be something of a catalyst for future hits such as ‘Bittersweet Symphony’.</span></i><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">11 - Bittersweet Symphony - Released June 1997</span><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Verve’s triumphant return after one of their myriad splits was marked by a new ‘The’ in front of their name and a whole heap of Allen Klein-baiting cowbells. Klein owned the rights to Andrew Oldham’s arrangement of The Rolling Stones’ ‘The Last Time’ from whence they were lifted, and he sued Richard Ashcroft and co to within an inch of their royalties. But it was all worth it, wasn't it?</span></i>Vervecrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005817978708809716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030726319555714834.post-15872887317892805022012-05-08T18:47:00.002+01:002012-05-08T18:47:43.328+01:00Urban Hymns Voted 30th Best Album Of All Time<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In a recent Absolute Radio listener's poll to discover the 'Best Albums Of All Time'. The Verve album 'Urban Hymns' finished in 30th place. You can read more about the poll at <a href="http://www.absoluteradio.co.uk/music/best-albums-of-all-time/index.html?&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=120412" target="_blank">Absolute Radio</a>.</span>Vervecrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005817978708809716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030726319555714834.post-29567230001837321102012-04-24T18:03:00.000+01:002012-04-24T18:03:55.284+01:00Richard Ashcroft Added To Hop Farm Festival Bill<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Richard Ashcroft has joined the line-up for this year's Hop Farm Festival.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The festival, which will be headlined by Bob Dylan, Suede and Peter Gabriel, takes place in Paddock Wood in Kent from June 29 – July 1. It will be Ashcroft's only UK appearance of the year. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Also joining the line-up are Kool And The Gang, The Futureheads, Gary Numan, Bellowhead, British Sea Power, King Charles, Howling Bells, Peter Hook and the Light, Gruff Rhys and a host of others. </span>Vervecrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005817978708809716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7030726319555714834.post-48271357568860197552011-06-02T12:42:00.000+01:002011-06-02T12:42:22.532+01:00Interview With The Black Ships<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Black Ships are a new band formed by Ex The Verve members Nick McCabe and Simon Jones and also features violinist and string arranger Davide Rossi and drummer Mig Schillace.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They have a new free EP out now and their first gig coming up this week. Red Rose chatted with them to see what lay ahead.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>So how did you guys meet and how obvious was it to you that you should make music together?</b></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nick: Well I’ve known Simon since sixth form and we have been mates since then obviously, erm Davide sort of met us two when we were back recording Forth with for The Verve, you know he came into do some work with us and well we got on and so it went from there.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Me and Si had been doing some work together away from The Verve anyway so it fitted. Mig was erm a friend of a friend and then when the Verve sort of looked like it wasn’t going to carry on we decided to do something together.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>How long have you been The Black Ships officially then actually working as a band?</b></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nick: Probably about a few months, Me and Si as you know were doing the Forth recording sessions and enjoying playing in The Verve again and the plan was originally to have Davide come in as the fifth, proper member of The Verve, I thought anyway but when that sort of appeared to have finished we decided to form this band properly.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>As individual musicians who has influenced your careers the most, in terms of other artists?</b> </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Simon: That’s a difficult one, obviously we all have favourite bands and artists but the amount is so wide and far reaching it is difficult to say. Like growing up there was not one person that I saw and thought, I want to pick up a guitar and play.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mig: Influences come from everywhere, you can be influenced by something you see everyday.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Simon: Exactly, like Mig says you can be influenced by something from..yesterday so it’s hard to say.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Davide: See for me being from Italy, I didn’t have the same music culture you have here, I grew up on classical music and I was brought up as a classical person so I can’t say other than classical and that sort of thing. Also, I would say we inspire each other we play things and do things that make us do other stuff or play things another way.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Have you ever been inspired by a lyric you have heard? Or even one you have been involved in writing?</b></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nick: Aaah well I didn’t start actually listening to lyrics till about 5 years ago! (laughs) Well I mean they don’t really matter to me being an instrumentalist, I am more influenced by listening to the instruments and the sounds created.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Simon: As Nick said, for me it is more about the sounds, y’know stuff the Roses and bands like that were doing, stuff that was around me at the time as I was growing up and getting into music and that kind of thing.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>The bands name if you research is relates to 16th century ships from America that arrived in Japan, is that where you chose it from?</b></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nick: (Laughs) Do you want the true story? Okay…Well we spent months and moths thinking of a name and were getting really frustrated and struggling to think of anything…</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Davide: I was a bit of a No man within the band, computer says no! And someone had suggested ‘The Black Sheep’ and I was sending out an email to the others saying ‘I don’t want to be that!’ but because I sometimes make mistakes in English I spelt it ‘Ship’…</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nick: So we thought ‘The Black Ships’ sounded alright and we went with that and eventually looked into the background of it as a name and thought it fits and makes us look like we were deep about it. I mean the 4 vessels it relates to, also relates to us 4 and the whole idea of the Americans sending over symbol of Christianity yet the Japanese thought these ships were evil brought it together nicely.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>So a mistake but then you thought actually the ideas behind it fit the band well?</b></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Simon: Yeah we liked it and the ideas behind it the whole ships thing of Mississippi, Plymouth, Sararato and Christ I can’t even say it! But yeah..</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>The band has no vocalist and you worked with guest vocalists on the EP, how will this work from now? Will you be instrumental or with lots of different guests?</b></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nick: We decided on the E.P to one song with vocals and two without to give a bit of everything but then decided it would work as one large piece and yeah we will be working like this from now because it gives us the chance to work with lots of talented guest musicians and although it can cause new problems just logistically it works for us.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Davide: We worked with two vocalists on the EP they are Charley Bickers and Amelia Tucker, two young musicians, who we think will have very successful careers.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>You have your first gig on Thursday, are their plans to tour this year after the gig? Or are you doing this gig to assess how it goes first?</b></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Simon: Well we have got to get the record done first then we can gig, I mean it is almost done so once we have got that finished we can do gigs. We are doing this gig just because we wanted to make it feel proper and real, and because we have no one to say ‘No, don’t do a gig!’ so we thought, yeah lets get one done.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>The record is probably about…85% done, it is all recorded just needs putting together how we want it.</b></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nick: 87% done I would say (Laughs)</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>You have no record label, are there any plans to get one? Anything happening on that front?</b></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nick: We are not openly courting someone, just seeing how it goes and I think we all said that if we find the right person, we will know we have and it will just feel right. What we want to do more than anything is to make sure we get the album out in the best way rather than doing what we did with the EP which was to just stick it on the internet which is just a big void, that won’t be happening with the album.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>You’re EP is mainly instrumental, will this sound be typical of the album or is their something more structured with actual songs?</b></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nick: I don’t think there is one uniform sound but erm certainly we have separate songs but we don’t know how it will be on the album, how it will be structured and how they will appear. I was actually surprised at how well received the EP was…</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Why were you surprised at the EP’s successful reception?</b></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nick: Well when we were back doing The Verve the 8 or 9 minute singles were being called too long and people kept telling us this and having opinions on it, so for this to be received how it was is different to that.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Simon: Back in the days of The Verve though, we didn’t care about that we just did it because we were there to be doing what we wanted to do and the people saying ‘it is too long’ It didn’t matter, I didn’t feel guilty about that.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nick: I did! When you have got someone whose job it is to go into radio stations with our single and people are saying ‘but it’s 9 minutes’ and they have to say, play it anyway! I felt guilty about that!</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>One last question…For me, as a massive Verve fan, is there likely to be another reunion?</b></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nick: I would have to say for me now, I mean there’s been three times now so I think probably no.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Simon: You will have to ask Mr. Ashcroft! (Laughs)</span></span>Vervecrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005817978708809716noreply@blogger.com0