Bitter Sweet Symphony

About this song

The orchestral arrangement was based on an Andrew Loog Oldham recording of The Rolling Stones' 1965 hit "The Last Time." A series of court cases over the song meant The Verve received only token royalties for almost 22 years, while Oldham, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards collected the rest. In May 2019, Jagger and Richards agreed to give up their songwriting credits and publishing rights. The song's music video pays homage to Massive Attack's "Unfinished Sympathy" and shows Richard Ashcroft walking along Hoxton Street in North London.

Fun facts

• Samples “The Last Time by The Andrew Oldham Orchestra” and “The Last Time by The Rolling Stones”.
• Sampled in 38 other songs, like “Ruby Song by Insane Clown Posse”.
• Covered 23 times, including “Bittersweet Symphony (Acoustic) by Richard Ashcroft”.
• Written by Richard Ashcroft, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
• Produced by The Verve and Martin Glover.