RICHARD ASHCROFT About What The People Wanted From Him
26 August 2024
Well, you were quite weird in your early days, Richard.
Richard Ashcroft
Power Pop Ballad Champ RICHARD ASHCROFT Wins Gold Medal In BELGIUM
7 August 2024
Power pop champ and former The Verve (1990–1995, 1996–1999, 2007–2009)
frontman RICHARD ASHCROFT (aged 52 now) came, saw, and conquered Belgium
last Monday at Lokerse Feesten.
He did it with only 9 songs (with long outros) over a one-hour set. 6 epic ones from The Verve‘s grand 1997 opus Urban Hymns and 3 solo songs. This is what all artists/bands should do at festivals (to my ears), limiting their show to 1 hour, performing all the fans’ favorites in 60 non-stop ecstatic minutes.
Ashcroft is an expert in the matter. Every song was sung-along by the exultant crowd.
Every song was worth a gold medal. Everybody had a big smile, from left to right and
back on their faces even long after the show. Passionate music unites people.
And that’s what former weirdo Richard‘s goal is at every one of his concerts (as I witnessed myself several times), connecting the audience in an over-the-moon rapture. This time he got a big helping hand from his new guitarist, who got space and time for some mind-boggling guitar solos à la, yes, Jimi Hendrix. Exhilarating, just exhilarating.
Of course, as expected, RA closed the near-spiritual spectacle with all-time classic Bittersweet Symphony (more than one billion streams on Spotify). One of the best ever concert closers in my extensive concerts book. Watch fan footage here… Hail hail Ashcroft!
Hail hail Ashcroft!
SETLIST
1. Space and Time
2. Sonnet
3. Weeping Willow
4. Music Is Power
5. A Song for the Lovers
6. Break the Night With Colour
7. The Drugs Don’t Work
8. Lucky Man
9. Bitter Sweet Symphony
(All photos by Turn Up The Volume)
Magazine This – RICHARD ASHCROFT Xmas 1999
Picture This – RICHARD ASHCROFT In Belgium In 2016
Summer Live – RICHARD ASHCROFT With His ‘BITTERSWEET SYMPHONY’ At ISLE OF WIGHT (2019)
No change, I can change
I can change, I can change
But I’m here in my mold
I am here in my mold
And I’m a million different people
From one day to the next
I can’t change my mold
No, no, no, no, no
(Have you ever been down?)
I can’t change, oh, no
I can’t change, oh
‘Cause it’s a bittersweet symphony, that’s life
Tryna make ends meet, tryna find somebody then you die
I’ll take you down the only road I’ve ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places where all the veins meet, yeah
RA: Instagram
Magazine This! RICHARD ASHCROFT
Great magazine covers from the past
RICHARD ASHCROFT
The Verve
August 1997
Music Express (Germany)
C’mon, Richard, one more time…
New RICHARD ASHCROFT Album – 12 Bittersweet Lockdown Symphonies For Your Candlelight Dinners
31 October 2021
Like many other artists during lockdown, the question for Richard Ashcroft was also “What I am gonna do with all this free time between four walls?” Most of them started to cover others (that trend never seems to stop), some continued making new music and some were counting their money and/or annoyed their families.
Ashcroft decided to re-dress 12 of his most famous songs (The Verve/solo) and released Acoustic Hymns Vol. 1 this weekend. Acoustic? No, not really. Besides an acoustic guitar,
I hear piano, strings, synths, horns, and layers of harmonies. This album is actually about killing time by turning the selected tunes into bittersweet lockdown symphonies with smooth, elegant, and soothing arrangements.
I’m an Ashcroft fan, but I’ll go back to
the originals for my candlelight dinners.
Stream album via Spotify…
.
RICHARD ASHCROFT: Facebook
RICHARD ASHCROFT Shares Stripped ‘SONNET’ Version
New striking strokes
26 October 2021
RICHARD ASHCROFT, who celebrated his 50th birthday last month offers us
a new album titled ACOUSTIC HYMNS VOL 1 featuring twelve acoustic versions
of classic songs from his career – with The Verve and solo, on 29th October.
Order info here.
As third taster, we get a stripped version of SONNET,
one of the highlights of Urban Hymns, The Verve‘s best
ever album released in 1997.
Press play…
RICHARD ASHCROFT: Facebook
RICHARD ASHCROFT Drops Second Taster From His Upcoming Album – Here’s ‘THIS THING CALLED LIFE’
New striking strokes
2 October 2021
RICHARD ASHCROFT, who celebrated his 50th birthday last month offers us
a new album titled ACOUSTIC HYMNS VOL 1 featuring twelve acoustic versions
of classic songs from his career – with The Verve and solo, on 29th October. Order
info here
We already heard a stripped-down version of Bittersweet Symphony.
Here’s taster number two. A re-worked version of a song called A Thing Called Life
from his 2010 album with The United Nations of Sound. Unless there’s something
wrong with my ears I hear not much difference from the original.
Check it out…
RICHARD ASHCROFT: Facebook
RICHARD ASHCROFT – New Album ‘ACOUSTIC HYMNS VOL. 1’ Out 29th OCTOBER
12 September 2021
RICHARD ASHCROFT, who celebrated his 50th birthday yesterday (11th September), announced a new album titled ACOUSTIC HYMNS VOL 1 featuring twelve acoustic versions of classic songs from his career – with The Verve and solo.
First taster: ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ (of course)…
.
Tracklist
1. Bittersweet Symphony
2. A Song For The Lovers
3. Sonnet
4. C’mon People (We’re Making It Now)
5. Weeping Willow
6. Lucky Man
7. This Thing Called Life
8. Space & Time
9. Velvet Morning
10. Break The Night With Colour
11. One Day
12. The Drugs Don’t Work
12 September 2021
RICHARD ASHCROFT, who celebrated his 50th birthday yesterday (11th September), announced a new album titled ACOUSTIC HYMNS VOL 1 featuring twelve acoustic versions of classic songs from his career – with The Verve and solo.
First taster: ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ (of course)…
.
Tracklist