Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da…. Go see Richard Ashcroft on his current tour, and I defy anyone to NOT be humming or whistling that one-bar intro to the final song of this flawless 14-song set, on the way home or even at breakfast the next day like I did!
For the Birmingham gig, a capacity 15,600 fans were treated to a trawl through Richard’s back catalogue of songs from The Verve days and his solo work, which has produced five Verve albums and seven solo studio LPs. His latest release is the 13-track “Live Volume 1” which dropped at the end of March 2026.
On this tour Richard and his band are joined by a full string string section and backing singers to create a truly magical sound; specially on THAT song, the closer of a four-song encore, “Bitter Sweet Symphony”, from The Verve’s classic Grammy-winning 1997 album “Urban Hymns”.
A song that prompted a two-decade dispute over writing credits and royalties related to a sample from a Rolling Stones track; that afore mentioned ear-worm string section phrase from the intro. Until Mr Jagger and Mr Richards gave Mr Ashcroft back the writer’s credit and therefore the royalties in 2025.
Richard Ashcroft
There are eight Verve songs in this set, which opens with “Weeping Willow”, and then “Space and Time”, plus “Velvet Morning”, “History”, the big hit “The Drugs Don’t Work”, final song of the 10-song main set “Lucky man” and then in the encore, the superb “Sonnet” and the stupendous “Bitter Sweet Symphony”.
Welsh band the “The Royston Club” warmed up the crowd nicely, opening with “Shivers”, and closing with the excellent “Cariad”, on their first arena tour.
Then we hear a recording of Sabbath’s “Changes” over the PA system, dedicated to the late and the great Ozzy Osbourne on his home turf, to fanfare the headliner’s arrival.
Just the one track from Richard’s current studio album, 2025’s “Lovin’ You”, with the song “Lover” which opens the album and crops up at # eight in the set. Credited to Richard and Birmingham-born Joan Armatrading.
Setlist:
Weeping Willow
Space and Time
Music Is Power
A Song for the Lovers
Break the Night With Colour
Velvet Morning
Hold On
Lover
The Drugs Don’t Work
Lucky Man
Encore:
C’mon People (We’re Making It Now)
Sonnet
History
Bitter Sweet Symphony
The 54-year-old Lancashire-born lad’s 2000 debut solo album “Alone With Everybody” is represented by two songs from it, “A Song for the Lovers”, and “C’mon People (We’re Making It Now).
The latter of which features Liam Gallagher on the version included on the 2021 Ashcroft album “Acoustic Hymns Vol 1” – but both songs were initially recorded with the Verve for “Urban Hymns”, but never released.
Two songs tonight from 2006’s “Keys To The World”, his third solo album; “Music Is Power” which sampled Curtis Mayfield, and “Break The Night With Colour” – and one: “Hold On”, from his 2016 album “These People”.
The stage is pretty full with the band, singers and string players, and with giant letters all lit up spelling out “RA,” which prompted a chap sat next to me to laugh out loud and tell his scouser mates sat with him, that all Liverpool people said that all the time (say it loud in a scouse accent and you may get it!)
Richard alternates between acoustic guitar, no guitar and just vocals and the occasional tambourine shake.
Donning trade-mark black leather jacket, jeans and shades, and later discarding jacket for a tee-shirt; he personifies rock and roll cool. His voice, with that back of the throat growl, still a snug fit for this material.
It is 34 years since a young Richard from Wigan first played in Birmingham, as part of The Verve in a small Irish club.
These days he is used to much bigger venues; in fact tonight’s arena is a tad small compared to the mahoosive venues on the mammoth Oasis reunion tour which he opened for at the request of Liam and Noel.
On this tour, there are no pyrotechnics, state of the art lighting effects or video footage; no dancing girls or boys, no slick patter in between songs. No surprise guests. No miming or AutoTune.
None of that stuff. Not needed. There is a brilliant song writer; a master craftsman, and a bunch of brilliantly crafted songs. All you need. The band and strings are a bonus.
He could have sat alone on stage with just his acoustic guitar and a microphone, and the songs would still shine like diamonds.
Richard Ashcroft live is a rare gem and this gig a sweet treat ahead of Easter Sunday’s ‘legal’ pig-out on choccie eggs!
- The seven date tour kicked off in Cardiff in March and the Brum date is the penultimate show before the tour wraps in Newcastle tomorrow night (Monday 6th April). But there are a few more chances to catch him live soon, with a date in Dublin and Warrington’s Neighbourhood Weekender both in May, TRANSMT Glasgow in June, Cardiff Castle and London’s Alexandra Palace in July, and many more festivals and outdoor headliners in the UK and Europe across the summer.
Photos by Jason Sheldon
Words by Rita Bruce
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