The Verve

The Verve fit the classic British rock model: Richard Ashcroft was the lippy sex poet on the mike, a long, tall swirl of cheekbones and pretension, while Nick McCabe was the shy, perfectionist guitar wizard. For a while, they struck brilliant musical sparks by driving each other up the wall, regularly throwing crockery in the studio and breaking up after each album. A Storm in Heaven was a top-notch debut, full of long, druggy jams, shoegazing guitar excursions, and Mad Richard's shambolic, shamanic vocals. A Northern Soul kicked home with the gorgeous breakup ballad "On Your Own" and the epic "History," which opened with a reading from William Blake before exploding into the massive chorus, "You and me/We're history." It was their breakthrough, and the Verve celebrated by splitting up almost immediately.

The lads kissed and made up for the triumphant international smash Urban Hymns, which included "The Drugs Don't Work," "Weeping Willow," and "Come On." They even cracked America with "Bittersweet Symphony," a brooding doom-show ballad coasting on a heavenly string sample nicked from an orchestral version of the Stones' "The Last Time." The sample cost the Verve all the publishing rights to their biggest hit. (Of course, the Stones nicked "The Last Time" from James Brown, who nicked it from the Staple Singers, who nicked it from an ancient African-American spiritual, but that's showbiz.) When Ashcroft and McCabe suddenly remembered how much they loathed each other, the Verve split again. Ashcroft lost cred with his 2000 solo debut Alone With Everybody, typified by the perfectly titled, absolutely moronic "C'mon People (We're Making It Now)." But he still possesses superhuman levels of sullen rock-god charisma and contributed excellent lead vocals to the Chemical Brothers' Come with Us. Ashcroft turned 30 on September 11, 2001. The odds are still excellent that he will write a terrible song about it. (ROB SHEFFIELD)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide