Richard Ashcroft

Richard Ashcroft (Wigan, 11 September 1971) is an English singer and songwriter. Between 1989 and 2009 he was the vocalist of the British band The Verve, of which he had been a member since its formation until its final dissolution. His greatest successes with the band include ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’, ‘The Drugs Don't Work’, ‘Sonnet’, ‘Lucky Man’ and ‘Love Is Noise’.

He maintains a close friendship with members of other British bands such as Oasis, Coldplay, The Chemical Brothers and Unkle, with whom he has collaborated both in studio recordings and in live performances. In July 2005 he took part in the Live 8 charity concert, held in London, alongside Coldplay, performing ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’.

In 2007, eight years after The Verve's split, the group reunited to record a new album, titled Forth. However, this stage proved short-lived: at the beginning of 2009 the band dissolved again.

Ashcroft then resumed his solo career and released his fourth album, RPA & The United Nations of Sound, on 19 July 2010. The title refers to the name that Ashcroft himself gave to his new band of musicians, ‘The United Nations of Sound’ (The U.N.O.S.).