Bitter Sweet Symphony

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Bitter Sweet Symphony is a song by the English rock band The Verve. It was released on 16 June 1997 as the lead single from their third album, Urban Hymns. The song was produced by Youth at Olympic Studios in London and is built around a sample from the 1966 orchestral version of the Rolling Stones’ The Last Time, arranged by the Andrew Oldham Orchestra. The Verve added strings, vocals, guitars, and percussion to create a grand, uplifting sound.

Licensing the sample led to a famous dispute. The Verve hadn’t cleared the Rolling Stones’ composition, so Allen Klein, the Stones’ former manager, blocked the sample’s clearance. As a result, The Verve gave up all royalties to ABKCO, and the songwriting credits were changed to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. In 2019, long after Klein’s death, Jagger, Richards, and Klein’s son returned the rights and the songwriting credits to Richard Ashcroft, the Verve’s lead singer.

The music video, directed by Walter Stern, features Ashcroft walking along a busy street in Hoxton, London, bumping into passersby as the band members gradually join him. The video received heavy MTV airplay and earned nominations for Video of the Year and other categories at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards. It has been parodied and referenced in various ads and shows, helping the song stay in public memory.

Bitter Sweet Symphony was a major chart success. It reached number two in the UK and stayed on the charts for months; it peaked at number 12 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The song won praise from critics and fans and became one of the defining tracks of the Britpop era. It was named Single of the Year by Rolling Stone and NME in 1997, and it has appeared on several lists of the era’s best songs. It’s also been celebrated for its iconic video and its lasting influence on pop and rock music.

Beyond its initial success, the song has continued to be recognized as a landmark moment in 1990s music. It was later used in Nike and other advertisements, and The Verve performed it with Coldplay at Live 8 in 2005, an event that underscored its enduring popularity.