Richard Ashcroft: New Album to Be "Song Orientated"

Ahead of his performance at Hop Farm later this month the singer has been updating Xfm on his solo stuff... 



The former Verve frontman admitted to us that he's hoping to release a new solo album before the end of the year.


"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."


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.


"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.


"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."


He's playing the Sunday night of the non-corporate festival in Kent  - ahead of headliners Suede.

Verve In NME's Best Tracks Of The 90's

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:


25 - History - Released September 1995


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’.


11 - Bittersweet Symphony - Released June 1997


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?

Urban Hymns Voted 30th Best Album Of All Time

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 Absolute Radio.

Richard Ashcroft Added To Hop Farm Festival Bill

Richard Ashcroft has joined the line-up for this year's Hop Farm Festival.


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. 


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.