SPOTLIGHT = The Verve (1 song) & Verve Pipe (1 song)

A tale of 2 “Verve”s: 1 from England & 1 from E Lansing MI….

#1
The Verve formed in Wigan (England) in 1990 by Richard Ashcroft, Nick McCabe, Simon Jones & Peter Salisbury. This song was originally released 06/16/1997 as the lead single from their 3rd studio album, ‘Urban Hymns’. Based on the Andrew Loog Oldham orchestra version of The Rolling Stones’ “The Last Time”, a plagiarism charge resulted. As momentum for the single built in the United States in late 1997, a CD single release was done 03/03/1998. In the USA, this single peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 & #4 on the Alternative Songs charts. Elsewhere, it notched in the Top 15 of 13 other charts. While this song is the band’s only hit in the USA, it sparked a string of hits in England, with 3 of their next 4 releases charting in the Top 10 there.

#2
Verve Pipe formed in E Lansing MI in 1992 by Brian Vander Ark, Brian Stout & Donny Brown. This song hit the airwaves 01/27/1997, the 3rd release from the band’s album ‘Villians’, & peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, #9 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks & #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks charts. Elsewhere, it notched at #6 in Canada & #28 in Australia. The band’s only other Top 10 was 1996’s “Photograph”.