The Verve wowed fans in London last night (13.12.07) with their biggest show in nearly a decade.
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The reformed band – Richard Ashcroft, Nick McCabe, Simon Jones and Pete Salisbury – played their biggest show to date since their reunion this year at The O2.
Sporting his new peroxide-blonde hairstyle and dark sunglasses, frontman Ashcroft, who famously once claimed he felt like Jesus Christ on stage, was in typically aloof form as the band kicked off with A New Decade to huge cheers.
In a set littered with the band’s trademark jams, fans were treated to Space And Time, Gravity Grave and the crowd-pleasing Sonnet. But it wasn’t until Lucky Man that the cheers really grew and even Ashcroft seemed moved, excitedly smashing his guitar with the final chord.
The biggest cheers of the night, however, were reserved for Bitter Sweet Symphony, bringing the entire venue to its feet.
The Verve’s phenomenal success in the 90s with singles such as Bitter Sweet Symphony and The Drugs Don’t Work prompted Oasis star Noel Gallagher to single them out as “one of the most important bands in history”, but they were plagued by internal rows between Ashcroft and McCabe and eventually split in 1999.
The band will next perform at Glasgow’s SECC Centre, the Odyssey Arena in Belfast and Manchester Central.
