The Verve Unearth Rare Live Concert Footage From 1998
The clips capture the English rock band’s performance at Wigan’s Haigh Hall in 1998, including performances of ‘Space And Time’ and ‘Sonnet.’
The Verve have unearthed three rare new live recordings of a 1998 concert at Haigh Hall in Wigan, their hometown. The new clips, shared earlier this month, are the first videos to appear on their official YouTube channel in years.
Attended by over 30,000 fans, the May 24th, 1998 show at the outdoor Wigan venue is now counted among the group’s most iconic live sets. It arrived just a year after the group released their acclaimed album—and commercial breakthrough—Urban Hymns, which featured hits like “Sonnet” and “Bitter Sweet Symphony.” Under a year later, in February 1999, “Bitter Sweet Symphony” would receive a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Song—later that same year, the group would disband amid internal conflicts. Although they’ve reunited multiple times over the years, they’ve remained broken up since the 2008 release of their record Forth.
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Among the three new live clips from the Haigh Hall show now available to stream are performances of Urban Hymns tracks “Sonnet” and “Space And Time.” The third clip captures a live rendition of “This Is Music,” a track off the Verve’s sophomore album, 1995’s A Northern Soul.
The uploads follow the June announcement that Urban Hymns will see a vinyl reissue later this year. The Verve’s lead singer Richard Ashcroft, who has performed as a solo act since 2000, also joined Oasis on their highly-anticipated reunion tour, which kicked off July 4th—he performed alongside the Gallagher brothers on dates in the UK and Ireland.
