The Verve‘s classic hit ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ is being released on 7 inch vinyl for the first time ever.
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The ‘Urban Hymns’ hit, which has recently enjoyed a revival at Richard Ashcroft‘s support slots during Oasis‘ Live ’25 reunion tour, is set to be reissued on December 5.
The limited-edition translucent green 7 inch vinyl will feature the original artwork and includes Ashcroft-penned B-side ‘So Sister’, which appeared on the original single. You can pre-order it here.
The song was a huge hit for The Verve in 1997 reaching Number Two in the UK singles chart and Number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The video also became iconic but the song was bittersweet for the band after The Rolling Stones won the publishing rights to it after their former manager Allen Klein – who controls all Stones material from 1963 to 1971 – sued the band over their sample of an orchestral recording by Andrew Loog Oldham. That snippet came from an orchestral version of The Stones’ 1965 song ‘The Last Time’, which Oldham recorded for the album ‘The Rolling Stones Songbook’.
As a result all of the publishing rights and royalties from ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ went to Klein’s company, ABKCO
But in 2019, one of Ashcroft’s managers managed to win back the rights to ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ from The Rolling Stones.
More recently the song has seen a resurgence for Ashcroft during his support slot at Oasis’ shows particularly when one young fan went viral after Shazaming the track.
The clip has even made its way to Ashcroft himself, who shared a post on Instagram making a nod to it and saying that “all new fans” are accepted at his live shows. “Day two. Thanks to everyone who came down and gave such beautiful support for my set,” he wrote.
“If you don’t know it Shazam it, all new fans welcome!”
Ashcroft later said the tour was a “real catalyst” for young fans. He is due to play a run of solo headline arena dates early next year, following a concert at Manchester’s Co-op Live in November. Due to high demand, Ashcroft went on to add a handful of new shows to the tour last summer, which now includes stops in Glasgow, Birmingham, and Newcastle.
Last month, Ashcroft also announced details of a stop at London’s Alexandra Palace Park, and shortly afterwards revealed a huge summer show at Englefield Estate.
Visit here for tickets and see all Richard Ashcroft’s dates here.